2-0 Down, 3-2 Up - Tahiti Sink Solomons In Stoppage Time by Jeremy Ruane Tahiti produced one of the great Houdini acts in the brief history of the Oceania Nations Cup on July 7, as they came from 2-0 down to overcome the Solomon Islands 3-2 in a rip-roaring see-saw affair at North Harbour Stadium, a result which all but ends the beaten team’s hopes of progressing further in a competition in which they finished third in 2000. Commins Menapi just failed to give the Solomons a sixth minute lead when he slipped as he rounded Tahitian goalkeeper Daniel Tapeta, the ball trickling agonisingly wide of the target for the Sydney United striker. But he was celebrating three minutes later, after combining with Batram Suri to set up an open goal which Patteson Daudau gleefully accepted, as Tahiti’s defence was sliced open with the minimum of fuss. Stung, the Tahitians applied the old adage, "The best form of defence is attack", and promptly swung onto it with a vengeance. They created a string of chances before the twenty minute mark, and were left wondering what they had to do to score. Raimoana Bennett and Felix Tagawa initially caused chaos in the Solomons’ back-line, their combined presence forcing Saeni Daudau to clear for a corner, which Tony Senechal took. This was partially cleared to Tetahio Auraa, whose header fizzed inches over the bar. Back came Tahiti again, Severino Aefi dealing capably with a rasping Geiamano Guyon drive, before Mahlon Houkarawa cleared off the line from Tagawa, following a well-flighted Senechal free-kick from the left. Another Tahitian raid came to pass in the 24th minute, but this one had a sting in the tail - literally. Guyon and Tagawa linked up to present Senechal with a chance, which the talented number ten took in his stride, first-time on the volley. Aefi’s save matched the shot for quality, and the goalkeeper quickly sparked a counter-attack. Patteson Daudau barrelled down the right, and got to the byline, from where he whipped in a low cross. With boots flailing at the ball all around him, Menapi flung himself forward, his head appearing in a position where angels would fear to tread. His reward was the sight of the ball looping over the completely wrong-footed Tapeta and into the net - 2-0 to the Solomons, a goal totally against the run of play, and one which left the Tahitians temporarily stunned. Within minutes, the goalscoring Daudau nearly added a third, his shot, from a Stanley Waita free-kick, fizzing narrowly wide of Tapeta’s left-hand post. But the Tahitians responded quickly through Tagawa, who forced Aefi to produce a double-save to deny him the goal the losing team so desperately needed to get back into the contest. Steeve Fatupua-Lecaill and Samuel Garcia teamed up in the 36th minute to send Senechal scampering through the Solomons defence, but with half the goal gaping, he directed his shot straight at Aefi, who quickly sparked another Solomons raid, which culminated in a delightful Patteson Daudau cross picking out Menapi, inside the six yard box and with the goal at his mercy. You would have put your house on him making it 3-0 - it was easier to score than miss! Cue the sight of Menapi putting his hands to his head in disbelief, as the ball continued rising over the crossbar, Tapeta looking on in astonishment. Little did we know it at the time, but it was to prove a crucial miss. For two minutes before the interval, Tahiti pulled a goal back, and how! Defender Sylvain Booene had joined the attack at this late stage of the half, and he latched onto a loose ball near the edge of the Solomons’ penalty area and cut inside. He then straightened and unleashed an absolute screamer from twenty yards which careered through the arms of the startled Aefi and crashed into the back of the net at a huge rate of knots - the goalkeeper barely saw it, such was the ferocity with which it was struck. It was just the fillip Tahiti needed, going into the dressing rooms, and they came out still fizzing from the confidence booster Booene’s bullet had offered them. Soon after the resumption, Aefi was called on to deny Tagawa once more, after Vivian Wickham had been caught in possession by Bennett. In the 58th minute, the Tahitians drew level, and it was a goal their efforts fully merited. Senechal slalomed his way down the left flank, and whipped in a cross to the far post which was headed partially clear. Guyon latched onto, and laid the ball back to Auraa, who miscued his shot. The ball landed perfectly for Tagawa, however, and with Aefi totally wrong-footed, his tap-in was greeted with wild delight by his team-mates and the Tahitian supporters. It was all on for young and old now, with the remaining half-hour seeing the Solomons largely hanging on, as Tahiti, with their tails up, went for the winner. Guyon squandered a gift-wrapped chance when shooting straight at Aefi in the 64th minute, before Tagawa lifted the ball over the bar on the stretch, after an outstanding piece of skill by Fatupua-Lecaill, whose deft turn into space and exquisitely weighted curling cross were right out of the top drawer. Tagawa then couldn’t believe his luck as his 78th minute skidded across the face of goal and off the far post to safety, while seven minutes later, substitute Gabriel Wajoka squandered a glorious chance when clean through on goal with Aefi to beat. The custodian produced a fine block, but Tagawa was onto the rebound in an instant, only for Timothy Paoka to come to his goalkeeper’s assistance by blocking the ball for a corner, then denying Tagawa with a last-ditch tackle inside the six-yard box as the striker - distinctive by his bandaged head following an aerial collision - moved in for the kill. Deep inside injury time, Tahiti were afforded one last chance to grab the win they needed to keep their interests in the 2002 Oceania Nations Cup alive. Some thirty yards out from goal on the left-hand side of the Solomons half, they were awarded a free-kick which Fatupua-Lecaill took. The ball curled into the penalty area, and kept on curling and, all the time, dipping, past incoming defenders and attackers alike, and past Aefi, before bouncing onto the far post and into the net for a most unlikely winner. The Tahitians were beside themselves - in coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2, they had accomplished what, after twenty-five minutes, to them must have seemed to be the footballing equivalent of Mt. Everest. In contrast, the Solomon Islanders were distraught, having been so near to securing a point, only to have it snatched away from them with virtually the last kick of the match. But their profligacy earlier in the match came back to haunt them, and with host nation New Zealand their last match in the group, their prospects of further progress suddenly look decidedly forlorn. Solomon Islands:     Aefi; Omokirio, S. Daudau (booked, 65), Houkarawa, Ruhasia; Waita (Paoka, 69), Wickham, Koto, Suri (Firisua, 83); Menapi, P. Daudau (Faarodo, 75) Tahiti:                 Tapeta; Tchen, Booene, Auraa, Fatupua-Lecaill (booked, 30); Maurirere, Garcia, Guyon, Bennett (Terevarua, 83); Senechal (Wajoka, 75), Tagawa Referee:            Matthew Breeze (Australia)