Courtesy: Manawatu Standard


Cup goal in sight again for O'Connor

by Daniel Richardson

Greg O'Connor has returned to the Futsal Whites with an eye on attending next year's World Cup in Thailand.

A member of the squad that failed to qualify for the 2008 edition, O'Connor is part of the 12-strong Kiwi contingent heading to Fiji this week to play in the OFC Futsal Championships.

Three-time Oceania champions and 2008 World Cup finalists the Solomon Islands loom as the major hurdle for the New Zealanders, with only the winner of the OFC tournament qualifying for the global event.

Luckily, they're on the other side of the draw and the Futsal Whites are in Group A with Fiji, Vanuatu and Kiribati.

"There's a lot of strong competition over there, especially with the Solomons," O'Connor said.

He said the Kiwi side had a different look to the one of a few years ago, and was coached by Hawke's Bay's national league mentor Matt Chandler.

The case of O'Connor is an interesting one, too.

Following a couple of seasons in Wellington with Western Suburbs, the former Palmerston North Boys' High School student played outdoor football for the University of Tampa for a year from mid-2009.

After things didn't work out in the United States, he returned to New Zealand and was signed by Palmerston North Marist last season, but barely featured as injuries ruined his winter.

The same problem reared its head during the summer, too, and after three games for YoungHeart Manawatu, the 24-year-old suffered a groin strain that halted his national league campaign.

"I'm feeling quite good now, so I'll be ready for the qualifiers," he said.

That will see Chandler breathe a sigh of relief about his man, who plays as a target or down the flanks on the futsal floor.

In the outdoor scene, O'Connor is a striker, and the Massey University business studies student is playing for Maycenvale United in the Central League this year.

He scored on his debut for the club, which coincidentally came against Marist as Hawke's Bay-based Maycenvale beat the Manawatu outfit 3-2 a few weeks ago.

O'Connor was lured to Hawke's Bay by his Futsal Whites team-mates Lucas da Silva and Marvin Eakins, who also play for Maycenvale.

He said that if New Zealand made it to the futsal World Cup, there would be a spike in interest in the five-a-side game, which is played with a smaller and less bouncy ball and is contested on an indoor court measuring about 42 metres long and 25m wide.

"There's been a huge development in the last few years," O'Connor said.

"A lot of the big international players in South America and Europe grew up playing futsal."

Futsal Whites: Elias Billeh (GK) (East City), David Plowright (GK) (Capital City Futsal), Tariq Assad (Capital City Futsal), Marvin Eakins (East City), Miroslav Major (East City) Dylan Manickum (East City), Lucas da Silva (Capital City Futsal), Miroslav Malivuk (Capital City Futsal), Nathan Robertson (East City), Daniel Koprivcic (East City), Greg O'Connor (Red Sox-Manawatu), Jakub Sinkora (East City).


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com