Courtesy: Sports Byte Sunderland


O’Connor: Men’s Futsal team has plenty to work on

Dan O’Connor admitted his side were far from their best as the University of Sunderland men’s Futsal team lost their opening game of the season away to Northumbria.

It was a harsh awakening for a team that has only had a few training sessions under its belt as Northumbria outclassed them from the first minute to run out 23-3 winners.

The passing and movement on show from the home side was simply too much for a Sunderland team mainly made up of players who were new to the game.

One of the bright sparks for Sunderland however was the performance of Dan O’Connor who marked his debut for the team with a goal.

The sports and exercise science student said: “I was pleased to score but it’s a team game so I’m disappointed with the result.

“I thought everyone did OK but we were far from our best and we have come up with a few things to work on in training this week.”

One of those things outlined by O’Connor was the team’s tactical play as they were caught out too many times on the counter which lead to a number of Northumbria’s goals.

A couple of players that were initially named on the squad sheet were nowhere to be seen at Sports Central which O’Connor believes could have made a difference to the outcome of the match.

He said: “All of our players have good ability so we have people to come and do the job when people are missing. Although, it might have been better to have a full squad and more substitutes.”

Sunderland are playing Durham next week and O’Connor is expecting the team to bounce back.

“I am expecting a much better performance and result next week,” he said. “Any defeat is horrible but I think it can make us more determined next time out and we should be looking to bounce back from this.”






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