South Island United produced a stunning finish to the opening match of round five of the OFC Pro-League, coming from behind to beat Vanuatu United FC 2-1 at HFC Stadium in Suva yesterday evening. After trailing for much of the second half, South Island struck twice in stoppage time — an equaliser in the fourth minute and a winner four minutes later — to snatch all three points in dramatic fashion.
Vanuatu seized the initiative early in the second half when Azariah Soromon, the former Suva representative, put them ahead in the 50th minute. Soromon’s strike ignited the Vanuatu supporters, many of whom had travelled to the capital to back their side. “It’s a great feeling to be back here in the stadium, I had a lot of great memories here and I thank the supporters for coming down in numbers to support the team,” Soromon said after the game.
South Island United, however, refused to go quietly. With the clock deep into stoppage time, they capitalised on a lapse in Vanuatu’s possession to level the scores in the fourth minute of added time. The drama continued: Ry Mcleod fired home the decisive goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time, completing a remarkable turnaround and sending the South Island players and travelling fans into raptures.
Vanuatu head coach Lars Hop expressed his frustration at how the match was lost so late. “The last goal ruined our whole performance because we just needed to kick the ball away and then it’s a draw,” Hop said, lamenting his side’s inability to close out the match after taking the lead.
South Island United head coach Rob Sherman praised his players’ resilience and stressed that the result came down to returning to their game plan. “We just basically needed to stay in the team plan. We drifted off that for 25 minutes in the first half, but we went back to it, and the boys really executed it really well and we dominated the second half and ultimately, we got the just rewards,” Sherman said. He added that maintaining consistency and executing their tactics flawlessly will be vital if his team are to keep their finals hopes alive as the Pro-League progresses.
Yesterday’s result handed South Island a morale-boosting victory in the opening fixture of round five and served as a reminder of the fine margins in knockout qualification races. For Vanuatu United, the loss will be a bitter lesson in game management; for South Island United, the comeback underlines their belief and fight at a crucial stage of the campaign.
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