Samoa Stun Fiji To Claim Best-ever Finish At OFC Women's Nations Cup

Fiji huffed and puffed for long stages but couldn't find a way past Samoan goalkeeper Kamy Anaya and were made to rue a number of missed chances, as two early goals carried Samoa to victory.

It marks Samoa's highest finish at an OFC Women's Nations Cup, beating their previous best effort of fourth from the 2022 edition.

Positioned 20 places below Fiji on the FIFA™ rankings, Samoa stunned the tournament hosts early on with a special display of finishing from Lilly Dowsing.

After linking up with Oteta Kitiona at the top of the box, Dowsing turned the ball onto her right foot and picked out the top left corner to open the scoring inside eight minutes.

A further eight minutes later she made it two, leaving Ka’iulani Scott with no chance by picking out the top right corner of the net with the help of the underside of the crossbar.

It proved the decisive period of the match, Dowsing giving Samoa a two-goal lead they would never relinquish.

Fiji tried to conjure a response before the break, but Kamy Anaya in the Samoan goal proved hard to beat.

Sereana Naweni saw a long-range effort parried soon after falling behind, whilst Narieta Leba came close with two efforts late in the half.

By the time the second stanza had started, Fijian coach Angeline Chua had already made three of the five changes available to her, bringing all of Ema Mereia, Koleta Likuculacula, and Trina Davis into the action to try and spark a comeback.

Likuculacula’s free kick effort that struck the base of the crossbar signified Fiji’s intent to intensify their efforts after the break, but despite dominating close to all of the possession and territory, they couldn’t find a way through Samoa’s rearguard.

Around the hour mark Mereia cut inside off the right flank and took on Anaya, only to have her effort parried behind, before Cema Nasau sent a header inches over the top of the crossbar from the following corner delivery.

Samoa came close to scoring a third against the run of play soon after, when Oteta Kitiona nodded her header onto the top of the crossbar. Victory looked apparent in the 75th minute though, when Elesi Tabunase pulled a shot wide of the bottom-left corner from point-blank range effort, summing up Fiji’s woes in front of goal.

Fiji continued to prode and poke through the closing stages but couldn't find a way through as Samoa held on to close out their campaign with an historic win.

Samoa: 2 (Lilly DOWSING 8’, 16’)
Fiji: 0
HT: 2-0

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