The Solomon Islands will meet New Zealand in the final of the Oceania Under 20 football Championship after contrasting semi-final victories on Wednesday.
The Junior All Whites put on an impressive showing to sweep aside Fiji 6-0 in the day's later game but the earlier match was far more dramatic, with the Solomon Islands needing a penalty shoot-out to beat Vanuatu after the scores were tied at 2-2 on the 90-minute mark and 3-3 following extra time.
The head of the Mamulas delegation to the tournament, Derek Taka, says a mix-up in communication on the field nearly cost them against Vanuatu.
He says they will be the underdogs in the final but they wont die wondering.
"We try and psych the boys up for the game. We will be working on our failures during our pool match against New Zealand and the boys are really looking forward for the game on Friday. It is a competition and the sometimes we will try and hold space and ease the game we're looking for and we will give them everything we have."
Prior to the final Vanuatu and Fiji will playoff for third place at midday before the two finalists compete for the right to represent Oceania at the FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Columbia later this year.
