Courtesy: Fijilive


Solomons dump NZ in futsal opener

June 08, 2008

A young Solomon Islands outfit thumped arch rivals New Zealand 5-1 in the opening game of the Oceania FUTSAL World Cup qualifiers to stamp their mark in the competition at the Laucala Sports City 's Vodafone Arena this evening.

New Zealand, the pre tournament favorites were a no match for the nippy Islanders that played with sheer determination and guts.

Spain based inspirational Solomons captain Elliot Ragomo scored the first goal of the 2008 OFC Futsal qualifiers and gave his team an early lead.

Ragomo struck again in the dying minutes of the first spell to extend Solomons lead to 2-0 and send the packed Solomons fans into frenzy at halftime.

Micah Lea' alafa added the third goal in the second spell before Mofat Sikwa'ae and Jenan Kapu added two more to take the score to a massive 5-0.

The Kiwis pulled one back in the dying minutes through Luke Field to end the match with a 5-1 score in favor of the Solomon Islands.

In the second game of the evening, a strong Vanuatu side started their campaign with a resounding 6-0 trouncing of minnows Tuvalu.

Vanuatu scored an early goal through Jack Ala and lost its touch in the first half which was evenly contested with Tuvalu goalkeeper Felo Fetoto stealing the showing and making some daring saves and keeping the crowd entertained.

The floodgates opened in the second spell with Vanuatu scoring five goals through Ala (2), Derek Malas (2) and Captain Ben Edward (1).

In day 2 fixtures, Vanuatu plays New Zealand, Tahiti faces Tuvalu and Solomon Islands feature against New Caledonia. Host nation Fiji is on a bye.







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