The Falcons and Kahu have kicked off their Pacific Cup campaigns with two tight losses against Nauru, both games within a goal.
In their return to the international stage, the Falcons battled it out in the opening quarter of the game with Misilifi Faimalo kicking the first goal of the game. Nauru started to gain momentum in the second, kicking two goals and putting the Falcons under all sorts of pressure.
The Falcons put their foot on the pedal in the 3rd and forced their way into the lead with some slick hand passing around the ground that broke apart Nauru’s solid defence. With only a small 2 point lead heading into the break, the fourth quarter was shaping up to be a nail biter.
Nauru returned the favour in the fourth and their relentless pressure forced some uncharacteristic errors from the Falcons. Some stray shooting from Nauru kept the Falcons close, but with time winding down, the score board pressure forced the falcons to move away from their game plan and go long down the line, playing into Nauru’s hands as they seeped up an loose attempt and locked the ball in the Falcons back half.
Falcons Goal Scorers
Lachie McBride 2, Te Manawa Staples-Rei, Carlos Donnell-Brown, Misilifi Faimalo, Sean Butler, Brendan Clark
Falcons Best
Misilifi Faimalo, Tane Kirton, Sean Butters, Andy Howison, Lachie McBride, Sam Anderson
The inaugural Kahu side stated off with a hiss and a roar, with Sam Lightfoot kicking the first goal inside 3 minutes. Nauru managed to get one back, but the Kahu continued to attack hard and gain an early lead through some great shots on goal finishing the quarter with an 11 point lead.
The Kahu started the second quarter well but Nauru came out strong in the back end of the quarter to build up a commanding lead. Down by 15 at the half time break the Kahu came in and resettled as they prepped themselves for a big half of footy.
Returning back to their form in the first quarter with Izzy Goodwin kicking the first goal of the quarter inside the opening 2 minutes, setting the stage for a flurry of goals with Kate Turnbull kicking the Kahu’s second for the quarter not to long after.
With only a small margin between the sides, The Kahu mounted a full pressure attack on Nauru, slowly closing the gap. With time on the running down on the clock, Nauru used up every second they could eventually coming away with a narrow 2 point win. Although they couldn’t quite get the win on their first outing. The Kahu showed they are genuine contenders to take out the Pacific Cup
Kahu Goal Scorers
Kate Turnbull 2, Sam Lightfoot, Emily Hunter, Kaylee Tavendale, Izzy Goodwin
Kahu’s Best
Buell Verkade, Axel Oswald, Demi Salton, Izzy Goodwin, Sally Houlahan, Chloe Rahui-Durkin
