Central Coast beat Venus 3:0 in the second stage of the OFC Champions League on Wednesday morning. The hosts moved through the first quarter of the game with a fluency that suggested they had watched the opposition closely. Three goals in sixteen minutes settled any argument about who would progress.
B. Limoki opened the scoring in the eighth minute, a simple finish that came after Venus lost possession in their own half. To be fair, the visitors were not without their moments, but they could not hold the midfield for long. R. Le'ai doubled the lead just before the quarter-hour mark, and by then the pattern was clear. B. Leslie added a third in the twenty-fourth minute, and the match was effectively over.
Central Coast made changes from the fifty-fifth minute onward, bringing on M. Kaiha and later M. Teniau. B. Leslie came off in the seventy-sixth after completing the scoring, replaced by M. Shan. B. Limoki was withdrawn in the eighty-first, having contributed twice without needing to demonstrate further.
The result leaves Central Coast in a strong position at this stage of the competition. Venus, meanwhile, have lost two of their three games in the tournament so far. The gap between the sides is now three points, and the hosts have the advantage of home ground when they meet again.