THE Vodafone Fiji women’s football team has booked a historic first appearance in the OFC Women’s Nations Cup semi-finals in 20 years after an equally historic 12-0 win over Tonga, according to a report by OFC.
They’ll be joined in the semi-finals by New Zealand’s Football Ferns who beat Cook Islands 6-0 in the evening match at Stade Numa Daly.
In a report by OFC, the Bula girls completely overwhelmed Tonga in a match that saw three players score hat-tricks.
Luisa Tamanitoakula went on to add four goals to the tally after opening the scoring with an early sixth-minute goal.
Cema Nasau and Sofi Diyalowai were also in impressive form as they too scored three goals a piece.
The report goes on to say that the win puts Fiji and New Zealand equal on six points after two wins but the Football Ferns sitting top with a superior goal difference.
Fiji coach Marika Rodu said his team would now be planning ahead of the semi-final encounter.
“We will take the win but at the same time we need to come back down to earth and look ahead to a game which will most probably be New Caledonia or Papua New Guinea,” he said in the report.
“So for us, while we are getting closer to our goal, it’s important we stay focused and looking forward to the next game.”
“It’s a bit mixed – you want to celebrate but at the same time, the journey is not at its end yet.
Tonga coach Christian Koaneti congratulated Fiji for a well-deserved win.
“First of all, credit to Marika and his girls because we came into the game to challenge Fiji,” the Tongan coach said.
“But at the end, Fiji was on the upper hand and we are now looking forward to the final group game against Cook Islands.”
Fiji takes on New Zealand on Sunday to define the final standings in Group B ahead of the semi-finals.
