BY ROMULUS HUTA
SOLOMON Islands champions Solomon Warriors played with 10 men and lost 2-0 in their opening Oceania champions league Group B match against Erakor Golden Star of Vanuatu yesterday in Tahiti.
Warriors played with 10 men following the dismissal of number one goalkeeper Abraham Izomo Bird in the 63rd minute.
Bird was sent off for early shower after handling a shot from Tony Kaltack outside the area.
Kaltack latched onto the opportunity after capitalising on a genuine error by Bird.
Bird, after a loose ball, attempts for a throw to his team mate but somehow it slipped off his hand and landed infront of Kaltack’s boot.
Kaltack picked up the ball and went for a shot but was handled by the keeper, resulting in a straight red card in the process.
The show turns out to be a misery for Warriors for the next five minutes after Bird’s dismissal where Erakor quickly grabbed two goals in the 66th and the 67th minute through well-taken strikes by Brian Mansale and Tony Mansale.
The two quick goals by the Ni-Vanuatu side compounds Warriors misery as Erakor held on to claim maximum competition points in Group B.
The give-away by Moses Toata and his boys against Erakor places them in an uphill battle situation where Warriors must win their remaining two matches if they are to remain in contention for a place in the last eight.
Their final two matches are against all francophonie rivals namely AS Lossi of New Caledonia and AS Dragon of Tahiti.
