Commins Menapi (18 September 1977 – 18 November 2017) was a

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

striker, who was last the manager of

Western United Western United Football Club is an Australian professional football club. The club is based in the western Melbourne suburb of Truganina, the club aims to represent western Victoria, incorporating the western suburbs of Melbourne; the region ...

. He guided them to their first and only Telekom S league title season 2014/2015.

Club career

He played for YoungHeart Manawatu in New Zealand,

Sydney United Sydney United 58 Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club and current NSW NPL Champions based in Edensor Park, Sydney, New South Wales Australia. The club was formed as Sydney Croatia in 1958, by Croatian Australians in the area, but ...

of the old National Soccer League in Australia and for

Marist FC Marist Football Club, formerly known as Marist Fire Football Club, is a Solomon Islands football club based in Honiara. They were winners of the 2006/2007 Solomon Islands National Club Championship. They qualified for the Oceania Club Champion ...

, a club from the

. 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 Waitakere United was a football club based in Waitakere City, New Zealand. They were one of the franchises in the ISPS Handa Premiership. They played their home games at Fred Taylor Park in Kumeu and The Trusts Arena. History Waitakere Uni ...

lost the final 3–2 however, he would not be suspended for the

OFC Champions League The OFC Champions League, also known as the O-League, is the premier men's club soccer competition in Oceania. It is organised by the OFC, Oceania's football governing body. Beginning as the Oceania Club Championship (1987–2006), it has been ...

final against Ba F.C. because of the OFC and New Zealand Football being two separate organisations. Commins rejoined Solomon Islands team

after a period spent as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

International career

He represented the

Solomon Islands national football team The Solomon Islands national football team is the national football team of the Solomon Islands, administered by the Solomon Islands Football Federation. The Solomon Islands national football team was founded in 1978. They were officially recog ...

on over 30 occasions, scoring a record 34 goals (including 7 against non-FIFA members). Menapi was arguably the most famous

footballer, after scoring twice for his country against Australia in a sensational 2–2 draw in the

Oceania Nations Cup The OFC Nations Cup is an international association football tournament held among the OFC member nations. It was held every two years from 1996 to 2004; before 1996 there were two other tournaments held at irregular intervals, under the name ...

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 New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. In that tournament, Menapi scored four goals in six games. Since Australia's exit from the Oceania Football Confederation, he is the all-time leading goal scorer for the OFC.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Solomon Islands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Solomon Islands goal''.

Death

Menapi died in Honiara in November 2017 at the age of 40, in the early hours of the day, of undisclosed cause.

External links

*
Player profile
– Waitakere club website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menapi, Commins 1977 births 2017 deaths Solomon Islands footballers Solomon Islands international footballers People from Temotu Province National Soccer League (Australia) players Sydney United 58 FC players Waitakere United players YoungHeart Manawatu players Nelson Suburbs players Marist F.C. players 2000 OFC Nations Cup players 2002 OFC Nations Cup players 2004 OFC Nations Cup players Expatriate soccer players in Australia Expatriate footballers in Fiji Expatriate association footballers in New Zealand Solomon Islands expatriate sportspeople in Australia Solomon Islands expatriate sportspeople in Fiji Solomon Islands expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand Association football forwards