Solomon Islands has been crowned winner of the 2023 MSG Prime Ministers’ Cup in New Caledonian Capital following a decisive goal by professional footballer Raphael Lea’i in the 77th minute of the second half of the final match with the hosts New Caledonia
SOLOMON Islands have been crowned the winners of the 2023 Melanesian Spearhead Group Prime Ministers’ Cup after defeating the hosts New Caledonia by a 1-0 goal margin in the ninth edition of the championship last Saturday night in Noumea.
This year’s championships saw a very poor performance by Papua New Guinea (PNG) who lost 1-nil to Vanuatu who settled for the bronze.
The unprecedented performance by the hosts New Caledonia in their first two matches against PNG and Vanuatu respectively sent many to predict another victory for them in the final match with Solomon Islands.
Solomon Islands first match with PNG saw a 3-1 win, whilst their second match with Vanuatu concluded with a tight 1-nil score margin.
In the final match between Solomon Islands and New Caledonia, the latter appeared to be the stronger team at the beginning but nonetheless were unable to convert their strength into scoring. By half-time, the score tally remained at nil-nil.
For Solomon Islands, it was not their best performance in comparison to past MSG Prime Ministers’ Cup Championships. The second half of the final match became a more of a level contest and it was not until the 77th minute that the ‘Wonder Boy’ himself Raphael Lea’i Jr popped up with a goal – the decisive winning goal for Solomon Islands.
The goal came out of nothing really. In other words, it was an unexpected goal. It was a loose ball which the Wonder Boy passed on to a few of his mates before rounding up the New Caledonian goalkeeper and popping it into the goal mouth.
It was a very impressive performance by Leai being on the ball in the buildup to the tremendous goal that secured Solomon Islands victory in the championship. That moment was a true demonstration of quality football by the professional footballer and it seemed to have just been waiting to happen.
Indeed, it was a magical moment – a truly sensational moment when Leai scored the goal which was his fourth in the tournament, earning himself the Golden Boot Award and Solomon Islands the MSG Prime Ministers’ Cup Crown. In addition, Solomon Islands Goalkeeper Philip Mango won the Golden Glove Award. What a feat!
The winning of this year’s MSG Championship by Solomon Islands was inevitable to bring out a strong squad for the 17th Pacific Games in Honiara next month as stated by Head Coach Felipe Vega-Arango before the National Men’s Team flew off for the tournament.
The Spaniard said, “We have to prepare and test different positions. Offensively the team is good but a few works in defense we will do to identify and work on during this trip to New Caledonia.”
By IAN LADDS
Solomon Star, Honiara
