Courtesy: New Zealand FA Web Site


Futsal Whites gain valuable international experience

The Futsal Whites completed their three match tour of Tahiti with a 2-0 loss but gained plenty of experience leading into the OFC Futsal Championship which will be held in Auckland in July this year.

April 4, 2013

AUCKLAND – With only four players in the 12-man squad having prior overseas experience, Scott Gilligan had an eye on the future when New Zealand embarked on their three match tour of Tahiti, which proved an eye-opener for many in the group.

Tahiti completed a 3-0 clean sweep of New Zealand's Futsal Whites in the first FIFA-sanctioned international futsal series to be held in French Polynesia recording 3-1, 4-2 and 2-0 victories.

The Futsal Whites also managed to acclimatise to the heat and unfamiliar concrete court conditions by match day three, and once again held possession for long periods of the match but could not convert that pressure into goals.

With no score at the interval and Tahiti accumulating five fouls in the opening stages of the second half, New Zealand held high hopes of pulling a match back in the series only for the hosts to open the scoring towards the end of the match.

With no clock in the stadium there was confusion over the exact amount of time remaining and Gilligan threw caution to the wind and employed a 'fifth man', with captain Marvin Eakins playing as a flying goalkeeper. Despite the Futsal Whites managing a few shots with a man advantage, Tahiti scored a killer goal on the break to seal the fixture.

Currently ranked second in the Oceania region, Tahiti's Aito Arii once again proved the dominant force in the five-a-side game employing a resolute box defence and swift counter attack to wrap up the series with three wins, and unearthed a potential futsal star in Steven Tino.

The final match in the international series was the feature match of the opening day of the Festival des Iles, an annual football and futsal event bringing together over 700 players from around French Polynesia.

New Zealand’s focus will now switch to the ASB Trans Tasman Cup against the Futsalroos in Wellington June and the OFC Futsal Championship in Auckland in July.

Prior to those international competitions the Futsal Whites will embark on a roadshow tour to help promote the newly established dedicated futsal season from October to March. The national side will visit Wellington, Hawke's Bay and Tauranga playing in a series of showcase matches to promote the game.






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