Courtesy: Solomon Star News


Kurukuru soars

Tuesday, 17 May 2011

by Carlos Aruafu

The Solomon Islands national futsal team, Kurukuru, got their FIFA World Cup campaign off to the perfect start with a 13-5 hammering over New Caledonia in the first match of the Oceania futsal championship yesterday in Suva.

Kurukuru entered the Vodafone Arena with the first five Captain Elliot Ragomo, Jack Wetney, James Egeta, Micah Lea’alafa and Paul Huia.

The score was so far the highest scoring margin in the first day of the tournament.

With hundreds of supporters from the Solomon Islands community and University students in Fiji, the Kurukuru lads came out firing in the first half of the game, scoring within the first opening minutes.

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 team talk 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 goal scoring stakes by Micah Lea’alafea and Jack Wetney, who both struck twice, as the Kurukuru ran riot in the second half.

Ragomo also added three more 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.

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.

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.


For Kurukuru the hope to repeat their win over New Caledonia last year has come true but now with a further extension in the number of goals that saw them adding five more goals to that of last year’s encounter.

In their previous meeting at the same tournament, Kurukuru emerged 8-3 winners.

Prior to the match head coach, Dickson Kadau says the opening match was important and the side will be looking for a win against what they expect will be a far-improved New Caledonian line-up.

Now that the first match is over Kurukuru has their eyes set on their next match.

In another matches earlier of the day one of the strong team Vanuatu beat Kiribati 9-2 while Tahiti thrashed Tuvalu 6-0.

The final match of the game saw New Zealand and Fiji at 4-4.


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