Albert Bell scored in the second minute of stoppage-time to give Samoa a 3-2 win over the Cook Islands on the opening day of Oceania qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.
Strikers Luki Gosche and Campbell Bell traded goals as Samoa twice took leads, and as the Cook Islands twice battled back to parity in a tense match.
Earlier, Ramin Ott and Shalom Luani scored the goals as American Samoa beat Tonga 2-1 in the first match of the round-robin tournament.
Ott put American Samoa ahead with a speculative long-range shot in the 43rd minute and Luani sealed the win when he lobbed Tonga goalkeeper Kaneti Falela in the 74th minute.
Tonga pulled a goal back three minutes before fulltime when Unaloto Faeo headed home a cross from Lafaele Moala.
The second match between hosts Samoa and the Cook Islands was a thriller.
Gosche gave Samoa a 1-0 lead when he ran onto a reverse pass from Desmond Fa’aiuaso and beat Cook Islands goalkeeper Iona Lupena.
Lupena made amends when he first saved a penalty from Fa’aiuaso and, when the referee ruled the goalkeeper had impeded the shooter, he saved the second attempt by Silao Malo.
Campbell Best equalized after Paavo Mustonen’s curving free-kick was saved by Samoa’s Masi Toetu, but Samoa immediately regained the lead with Gosche’s second goal after a mistake in defense.
A low volley from Campbell Best locked the scores a 2-2 after 85 minutes, but Albert Bell’s scrambled goal in stoppage-time gave the hosts victory.
Only one of the four teams contesting the first round will progress to the next stage in Oceania qualifying, which involves seven other teams — including last year’s World Cup qualifiers New Zealand — playing a tournament at Fiji next June that doubles as the Oceania Football Confederation Nations Cup.
The top four teams from the Nations Cup will advance to the third and final round of Oceania qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
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