Courtesy: Oceania Football Web Site


Plenty of drama on day one

The first day of action at the OFC Futsal Championship brought with it no shortage of drama and a fitting finale in the form of a thrilling last-gasp draw.

The fans that packed into Suva's Vodafone Arena had plenty to cheer about across the four games but it was the vital clash between Fiji and New Zealand, who each took a point after a dramatic 4-4 tie, that will linger longest in their memories.

Earlier in the day, Tahiti got their campaign off to the perfect start with a 6-0 win over Tuvalu while Vanuatu also posted a comprehensive victory, 9-2 over Kiribati. The Solomon Islands then swept aside New Caledonia 13-5 to confirm their position as favourites for the title.

Fiji coach Intiaz Khan saw his side bounce back from 4-1 down to earn their point and was delighted with the resolve shown.

"I should thank the players for their committment and the hard work they put in today," he says. "We called a time-out when we were three goals behind with nine minutes to go because I felt that would give us enough time to get back into the game and the boys were able to do it."

New Zealand opposite Matt Chandler was not so upbeat and admitted the draw felt like a loss.

"I thought we should have put the result beyond Fiji but, in credit to them, they kept going," he says. "It will be a character-building experience for us - it's now about what we do next and how we react to that. I think we'll react positively because we have a lot of quality.”

The hosts, who have finished runners-up for the past two years, did not take long to hit the lead, earning the advantage in just the third minute through Sandeep Nair.

But the Futsal Whites were not knocked off their stride by the goal and appeared content to let Fiji have the bulk of the possession. Coach Chandler had clearly devised a tactic based around soaking up the Fiji pressure and hitting back on the break and it worked well for the most part, bringing a reward in the 15th minute when captain Marvin Eakins fired a low shot home to equalise.

The skipper repeated the trick just after the halftime break to give his side the advantage for the first time and two more goals, to Lucas Silva and Dylan Manickum, then put them well in control. But Fiji were in no mood to surrender meekly and strikes from Uraia Loki and Ajesh Narayan meant they were just 4-3 behind with only one minute remaining.

The worst fears of Chandler and his players were then realised when Hussein Sahib scored with almost the last kick of the match to make it 4-4.

The other games were not as tightly-fought but still produced a raft of goals and impressive attacking play. The most notable performance was that of the Solomon Islands, who justified their favouritism in emphatic manner against New Caledonia.

Inspirational captain Elliot Ragomo led the way with five goals while Micah Lea’alafea and Jack Wetney both helped themselves to a brace. The other Solomon goalscorers were James Egeta, Moffat Sikwa’ae, Jeffery Bule and Lenson Bisili while New Caledonia replied through a first-half Cedrick Humuni hat-trick and a lone Romain Guitton strike. Solomon defender Bisili even gave them a helping hand with an own goal but it wasn't enough to unduly worry coach Dickson Kadau and his charges.

"We played well but we will face harder games at this tournament. We are favourites to win the title so the players feel under pressure to do well but they are good at handling that," Kadau says.

New Caledonia coach Eric Michalak might have wished for an easier start to the tournament but felt his players did not make things any easier for themselves.

"It was always going to be difficult but I felt we made too many individuals errors," he says. “If you make a lot of mistakes against a side like the Solomon Islands then you are likely to be punished and that’s what happened.”

Vanuatu and Tahiti also made impressive starts to the tournament but would have expected nothing less against underdogs Kiribati and Tuvalu. A Ben Hungai hat-trick and braces from both Louis Dominique and Fenedy Masauvakalo helped secure the 9-2 win for Vanuatu, for whom Ricky Tuigalo and Don Mansale also netted. Tournament newcomers Kiribati scored their historic first goals through Kireata Sosene and Baunteraoi Kaiorake.

Tahiti’s 6-0 triumph over Tuvalu came courtesy of strikes to Tahiarii Tutavae, who scored twice, Manu Faarahia, Capo Turinoho, Chocalat Maperi and Michel Maihuri.

Tahiti - Tuvalu Match Summary: click here

Vanuatu - Kiribati Match Summary: click here

Solomon Islands - New Caledonia Match Summary: click here

Fiji - New Zealand Match Summary: click here

Competition Summary: click here


Upcoming matches

Kiribati vs New Zealand
Tuesday 17 May, 1pm local time

Tuvalu vs New Caledonia
Tuesday 17 May, 3pm local time

Fiji vs Vanuatu
Tuesday 17 May, 5.30pm

Solomon Islands vs Tahiti
Tuesday 17 May, 7.30pm




Courtesy: Oceania Football Web Site


Tahiti 6 - 0 Tuvalu

Tahiti have made their intentions at the OFC Futsal Championship clear with an impressive 6-0 win over Tuvalu in the opening match of the tournament.

Tahiti - Tuvalu Match Summary: click here

The well-drilled Tahitians' speed and movement was too much for a determined Tuvalu outfit to contain, although, based on this effort, the underdogs have improved since last year’s competition and appear to have the ability to cause their Group B rivals plenty of problems.

Those rivals will be more worried about the potential of Tahiti though, having watched them control the match and score a raft of well-worked goals.

They wasted little time in getting their noses in front, Manu Faarahia pouncing in just the fourth minute to give his side the upperhand.

It was an advantage they looked unlikely to relinquish when further strikes from Tahiarii Tutavae and Capo Turinoho, in the seventh and 12th minutes respectively, had them 3-0 up at the break.

Any hopes Tuvalu might have had of getting back into the contest were quickly extinguished within minutes of the second spell as Chocalat Maperi and Michel Maihuri both got themselves on the scoresheet.

Maperi’s goal was a fine individual effort, the big striker cutting in from the left and rifling an unstoppable shot into the top corner, while Maihuri had the simple task of sliding the ball home from close range after a fine passing move.

Tutavae then grabbed his second and Tahiti’s sixth in the 29th minute when he got his foot to a low cross and diverted the ball past Tuvalu goalkeeper Siopepa Tailolo.

Tuvalu enjoyed more of the ball in the latter stages and caused the Tahiti defence several scares but there was no further scoring as the victors closed the game out to post a comprehensive win.

Quotes

Tuvalu coach Takiao Vave:
We haven't been together much as a team so it is hard for us. But it is a good experience for our players and we need to make the most of being here. We want to score some goals of course and our main aim is to win a game because we haven't done that at this tournament before. We have seen some of the mistakes we have made today and we now need to put those right for our next match.

Tahiti stand-in coach Ethel Taputu:
We've been training for a while now so it was pleasing to see that hard work pay off. We told the boys that we wanted them to play with width and attack down the flanks and that's exactly what they did. It was good to see them follow the game plan well.





Courtesy: Oceania Football Web Site


Vanuatu 9 - 2 Kiribati

Vanuatu have joined Tahiti in opening their OFC Futsal Championship account with a comprehensive win, 5-1 over newcomers Kiribati.

Vanuatu - Kiribati Match Summary: click here

But it was far from smooth sailing against the unfavoured Kiribati, who have a comparatively small pool of futsal players to select from and were making their first ever appearance at this event.

Indeed, it was the tiny Pacific Island nation that opened the scoring, the dangerous Kireata Sosene bursting forward to get on the end of a flowing Kiribati move and smashing the ball home past goalkeeper Chickau Mansale in just the third minute.

It was the best start Kiribati coach Pine Iosefa and his charges could have hoped for but the lead wasn't to last long. Shocked at going a goal down against a side they were expected to beat comfortably, Vanuatu pressed forward straight away and were back on level terms within seconds when Ben Hungai shot across goalkeeper Kaben Ioteba to find the back of the net.

Vanuatu then hit the lead for the first time when experienced campaigner Louis Dominique struck home in the sixth minute and it was 3-1 when Ricky Tuigaloa converted a Fenedy Masauvakalo pull back five minutes later.

Masauvakalo went from provider to goalscorer just before the halftime whistle when he notched the first goal of his OFC Futsal Championship career to make it 4-1 as the teams went into the sheds.

Vanuatu coach Jean-Yves Galine saw his side go further in front shortly after the break when Hungai helped himself to a second and it looked like it could turn into a long afteroon for Kiribati opposite Iosefa.

But Kiribati rallied and defended resolutely to keep Vanuatu out and gave themselves a glimmer of hope in the 33rd minute when Baunteraoi Kaiorake scored his country's second ever OFC Futsal Championship goal with seven minutes remaining.

Their rowdy fans must have thought they would have more to cheer in the coming minutes but Vanuatu were in no mood to slip down a gear and instead fired in four unaswered goals to wrap the game up.

Masauvakalo notched his second from the penalty spot while Dominique also completed a brace Hungai rounded off his hat-trick. The other goal went to Don Mansale as Vanuatu underlined their potentially title-winning credentials.

They will face a much sterner examination of their abilities tomorrow though when they face hosts Fiji, who have finished runners-up for the previous two years.


Quotes

Vanuatu coach Jean-Yves Galine:
I am happy with the result but not the performance because there is definitely work to be done. I think we need to do better in front of goal. We created a lot of chances but didn’t take them all. We can’t afford to do the same against Fiji and New Zealand because they will be another step up. I think we are good enough to win the tournament but the Solomon Islands are the bench mark and we must get to their level.

Kiribati official Tikai Atera:
It is our first time at this tournament and we learned how hard it will be to out-play these teams. We need to learn from this experience and then maybe we will do better next year. Obviously, we will not win the title this year but we just want to play to our potential in all our matches and comeback stronger next time.





Courtesy: Oceania Football Web Site


Solomon Islands 13 - 5 New Caledonia

The sides hoping to win the OFC Futsal Championship would already have singled out the Solomon Islands as the team to beat this week in Fiji.

Solomon Islands - New Caledonia Match Summary: click here

But they will be in no doubt about that fact now after the Kurukuru swept aside New Caledonia 13-5 in the third match of the tournament with a clinical display of skill and speed.

In the build-up to these World Cup qualifiers, Solomon Islands coach Dickson Kadau stated that his men were in the most determined frame of mind he had ever seen them and their desire to win was there for all to see this evening at Vodafone Arena.

Elliot Ragomo was the man most of the Kurukuru’s supporters had come to see and he did not disappoint the faithful, leading the way with five goals as seven different Solomon Islands players got their names on the scoresheet.

But New Caledonia made sure the defending champions did not have things all their own way and were still well in the game at the halfway point. A first-half hat-trick from stand-out Cedrick Humuni meant they went in for their halftime teamtalk only 6-3 down, Ragomo’s two goals being supplemented by strikes from James Egeta, Moffat Sikwa’ae, Jeffery Bule and Lenson Bisili for the Solomon Islands.

They were joined in the goalscoring stakes by Micah Lea’alafea and Jack Wetney, who both struck twice, as the Kurukuru ran riot in the second half. Ragomo also scored three more times to complete his five-goal haul.

The New Caledonians did manage to respond through Romain Guitton and a Bisili own goal but those efforts weren’t enough to unduly worry Kadau, who watched his side close out the match with relative ease.


Quotes

Solomon Islands coach Dickson Kadau:
We played well but we will face harder games at this tournament. We are favourites to win the title so the players feel under pressure to do well but they are good at handling that. I think New Zealand will be the team to beat. They are a well-organised side and understand how to play to their system.

New Caledonia coach Eric Michalak:
It was a very hard game to start the competition with and it was always going to be difficult but I felt we made too many individuals errors. If you make a lot of mistakes against a side like the Solomon Islands then you are likely to be punished and that’s what happened. I saw many good things from my team but just as many bad things.





Courtesy: Oceania Football Web Site


Fiji 4 - 4 New Zealand

Fiji and New Zealand have fought out a dramatic 4-4 draw in the final match on day one of the OFC Futsal Championship.

Fiji - New Zealand Match Summary: click here

Earlier today, Tahiti got their campaign off to the perfect start with a 6-0 win over Tuvalu while Vanuatu also posted a comprehensive victory, 9-2 over Kiribati. The Solomon Islands then swept aside New Caledonia 13-5 to confirm their position as favourites for the title.

The hosts, who have finished runners-up for the past two years, did not take long to hit the lead, earning the advantage in just the third minute through Sandeep Nair.

But the Futsal Whites were not knocked off their stride by the goal and appeared content to let Fiji have the bulk of the possession. Coach Matt Chandler had clearly devised a tactic based around soaking up the Fiji pressure and hitting back on the break and it worked well for the most part, bringing a reward in the 15th minute when captain Marvin Eakins fired a low shot home to equalise.

New Zealand continued to lie deep and there were no further goals for the remainder of the half.

The scorers were called into action quickly as the second spell resumed though, the Futsal Whites taking just one minute to get in front for the first time. It was skipper Eakins who again found the target to put his side into a good position to go on and win the match.

Two more goals, to Lucas Silva and Dylan Manickum, then put them well in control but Fiji were in no mood to surrender meekly and strikes from Uraia Loki and Ajesh Narayan put them just 4-3 behind with only one minute remaining.

The worst fears of Chandler and his players were then realised when Hussein Sahib scored with almost the last kick of the match to make it 4-4.


Quotes

Fiji coach Intiaz Khan:
I should thank the players for the committment they have shown and the hard work they put in today. We called a time-out when we were three goals behind with nine minutes to go because I felt that would give us enough time to get back into the game and the boys were able to do it. There were a lot of things that weren't perfect today. We conceded four goals which isn't very good, we will have to work on that.

New Zealand coach Matt Chandler:
It feels like a loss because at 4-1 up I felt we were controlling the game. I can't say I'm happy with a draw and I'd much prefer to have won the game obviously. I thought we should have put the result beyond Fiji but, in credit to them, they kept going. It will be a character-building experience for us - it's now about what we do next and how we react to that. I think we'll react positively because we have a lot of quality and I thought we could have had about five goals in that first half.


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