Commins Menapi

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Commins Menapi bigraphy, stories - Solomon Islands footballer

Commins Menapi : biography

18 September 1977 –

Commins Menapi (born September 18, 1977) is a Solomon Islands striker, who is currently a Marist FC player.

International career

He has represented the Solomon Islands national football team on over 30 occasions, scoring a record 34 goals (including 7 against non-FIFA members). Menapi is arguably the most famous Solomon Islands footballer, after scoring twice for his country against Australia in a sensational 2-2 draw in the Oceania Nations Cup group match in 2004. The result was the only game in the competition that Australia did not win, and the result also ensured Solomon Islands’ progression to the next phase at the expense of New Zealand. In that tournament, Menapi scored four goals in six games.

International Goals

# Date Opponent Result Competition Goals
1 21 June 2000 COK}} 5 – 1 2000 OFC Nations Cup 1
2 28 June 2000 VAN}} 2 – 1 2000 OFC Nations Cup 1
3-5 4 June 2001 COK}} 9 – 1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 3
6-7 8 June 2001 VAN}} 7 – 2 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 2
8 7 July 2002 TAH}} 2 – 3 2002 OFC Nations Cup 1
9-10 14 June 2003 PNG}} 5 – 3 Friendly 2
11-12 1 July 2003 VAN}} 2 – 2 2003 South Pacific Games 2
13-17 3 July 2003 KIR}} 7 – 0 2003 South Pacific Games 5*
18-19 5 July 2003 TUV}} 4 – 0 2003 South Pacific Games 2*
20 7 July 2003 FIJ}} 1 – 2 2003 South Pacific Games 1
21-22 3 April 2004 VAN}} 2 – 1 Friendly 2
23 6 April 2004 VAN}} 2 – 1 Friendly 1
24-25 2 June 2004 TAH}} 4 – 0 2004 OFC Nations Cup 2
26-27 6 June 2004 AUS}} 2 – 2 2004 OFC Nations Cup 2
28-31 25 August 2007 ASA}} 12 – 1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 4
32-33 27 August 2007 TGA}} 4 – 0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 2
34 5 September 2007 NCL}} 2 – 3 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 1

* indicates goals against non-FIFA members

Club career

He has also played for YoungHeart Manawatu in New Zealand, Sydney United of the old National Soccer League in Australia and for Marist FC, a club from the Solomon Islands.

In the 2006-2007 season, he became the first player to be sent off in a New Zealand Football Championship Grand Final with a nasty studs up kick on Auckland City defender Riki van Steeden. Van Steeden’s leg was broken in the incident and Waitakere United lost the final 3-2 however, he would not be suspended for the OFC Champions League final against Ba F.C. because of the OFC and New Zealand Football being two separate organizations. Commins has rejoined Solomon Islands team Marist FC after a period spent as a free agent.