Still work in progress, says goal scorer

Bula FC team has moved up to sixth position of the OFC Pro League points table.

This was after the Roy Krishna captained-side beat Papua New Guinea’s Hekari FC 2-1 in their clash in Melbourne, Australia, on Wednesday night.

Bula FC goal scorer Thomas Dunn said despite the win they still need to work hard.

“We need to be improving all the time,” he said.

“We need to work on keeping the ball longer and also improve on our finishing.”

A disappointed Hekari FC defender Eric Joe said they failed to make use of their scoring opportunities.

“We need to fix our forwards and make sure they make more attempts at goal,” the Brazilian player said.

Both sides had tasted defeat in their opening matches in Melbourne, so were keen to hit the ground running and it was the Fijian side who looked brighter early on.

Veteran defender Filipe Baravilala was a focal point in the opening minutes and, having al-ready tested Dave Tomare with a decent effort, it was his work that led to the opening goal.

Finding space down the right-hand side, Baravilala’s cross was knocked forward by Fergus Gillion and Dunn was on hand toturn in from a matter of yards out.

A lengthy VAR check focused on a potential offside in the buildup but it was cleared and Stephane Auvray’s side had the early break-through they craved.

PNG Hekari’s task was made tougher soon after, when they were forced into an early change– Lekima Gonerau came off through injury and was replaced by Shane Sakael with only 18 minutes on the clock.

Bula FC took advantage of their opponents disjointed start and doubled their lead 10 minutes before the break. Countering from a PNG Hekari free-kick, the ball was worked out to Kaile Auvray, who burnt past his defender and fi red a shot in at the near post, with Tomare rooted to the spot.

It was a short lived two-goal lead however, as Ati Kepo grabbed his first goal of the season and halved the deficit for his side.

Winning the ball high up the pitch, Kepo’s quickfire effort from the edge of the box flashed past Didier Desprez and in off the post.

Stephane Auvray was forced into making a change at the break, with Scott Wara making way for Mohammed Ayman.

Ati Kepo almost took advantage of the disruption to Bula’s backline, latching onto a long ball over the top but firing straight at Desprez when perhaps he should have done better.