Lautoka broke the deadlock when Isikeli Jeke gave the host a handy lead but the visitors bounced back. Three minutes from the final whistle, Finau was on target to nail a free kick to wrap up the match.
Tonga along with Samoa, American Samoa and Cook Islands are preparing for the first stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers which starts Tuesday at the J.S. Blatter Stadium in Apia- Samoa.
Lautoka Football Association President Shalendra Prasad said, Tonga looks determined to prove a point
“Tonga was a very good side and gave us a really tough time taking the match right down to the wire. Lautoka had to work hard for a win and in the end the dying stage free-kick made the difference,” Prasad said.
The overall winner of the first stage will progress to stage two of the playoffs, facing the likes of Fiji, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
A report on the Tonga Football Association official website further elaborated on their intentions.
The November 22-26 playoffs will be Tonga’s first on the international scene after four years of absence and Australian Coach, Chris Williams is optimistic his squad of 23 footballers will return home with a smile.
“It is vital that we have a good game against American Samoa if we want to make a progress through, but we have a strategy and we are pretty confident in what we need to do and hoping to give them a good game and hopefully cause an upset or two” Williams said.
Tonga is ranked 201st in the FIFA world rankings – its lowest, due to inactive participation, nonetheless, given the team spirit and commitment, the tables could see a slight improvement.
“The boys are pretty excited and with eight months of training everyday, for us really, its more getting our process right and it a chance to test out a few things but for me it doesn’t really matter what the score is in that game, its more about the performance and how they are getting the things that we have done at training correct” he says. “Its great to play Lautoka and its awesome to have such quality opposition and we are looking forward to it” Williams added.
Tonga’s team is headed by Fetu’u Vea and will depart Fiji tomorrow for Samoa.
Fiji FA MEDIA
Lautoka 2 Tonga 1
