Confederations Cup Results: Nigeria Ease Past Tahiti, But Amateur Side Win Hearts

Jun 17, 2013 11:29 PM EDT

Well, the result of the match between Tahiti and Nigeria was as expected, but the French Polynesian side certainly won a lot of hearts in the process despite going down 6-1 to the African champions in their Confederations Cup game in Belo Horizonte.

Placed 138th in the FIFA rankings, Tahiti were not expected to pose any threat to any side in the tournament, but they certainly ensured they were not just there to make up the numbers.

Nnamdi Oduamadi scored a hat-trick for Nigeria, with a couple of own goals and a late strike from Uwa Echiejile, easing Nigeria to the win.

However, none of the goals scored by Nigeria will stick to the spectators' memory with the lone strike from Jonathan Tehau causing a lot more excitement and sending the 180,000 or so people that make up country of Tahiti into raptures.

Until the 54th minute of the game on Monday, Tahiti had never even managed to score a goal in a major FIFA tournament - before Tehau sprung up and headed into the back of the net.

"It's a first for our country," Tehau told FIFA's official website. "I'm very happy to have scored and to have made my mark on the history of Tahitian football, alongside my teammates.

"My mind went blank when I scored. All I could think of was celebrating it properly with my friends.

Tehau would, 15 minutes later, score into his own net, but that still did not take away the fact that Tahiti had managed to score a goal of their own against the Africa Cup of Nations title holders.

"Let's forget that one, shall we," Tehau said with a smile when asked about the own goal.

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi was not too happy with his side's performance against Tahiti, a team ranked well over a hundred places below them.

"(Our performance against Tahiti) was OK but because we didn't have any idea of them, we did not know what to expect so it was difficult," he said.

"We did not play at our usual tempo. We gave them a chance to come back at us and play in a compact way in the middle.

"They are not a bad team. With more training sessions, they might become a very good team. I am more concerned with happens in with my team."

Nigeria now play Uruguay in their next match, and guess what awaits Tahiti - yes World and European champions Spain.

"Jonathan's goal was unexpected, but it gives us hope," Tahiti captain Nicolas Vallar said. "We know that we're very unlikely to surprise Spain, but scoring a goal against Nigeria has put the wind in our sails.

"And if we'd been a bit more clinical, we might even have grabbed a second. Jonathan could have had a brace."

Hope, as they say, springs eternal.

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