TUVALU continued their Futsal campaign.
Today, they met the feisty boys from Port Vila who drew level with Solomon Islands yesterday.
Early passes connected early for Michel Coulon and Kemly Lehi as Vanuatu mounted the pressure. Their attacking momentum seemed to intensify each time Paul Takaro was subbed into the court. They were dominant in possession and dictated the pace of the game.
Vanuatu soon found out that it would not be easy to score against Tuvalu. In-form goalkeeper Katepu Iosua guarded their goal with immense focus and dedication. The 37-year-old is probably Tuvalu’s best player this year.
Tuvalu threatened to score goals while attempting to convert quick turnovers into points. Jason Alama, Maalosi Alefaio and Keni Vine were looking for a chance to slot one in.
With plenty of missed opportunities for Vanuatu and a couple from Tuvalu, the fist half ended without a goal.
Vanuatu finally scored in the sixth minute of the second half. Takaro and Sandy Mesau showed magical skills before tapping it for Justine Alick to score. Then they doubled their lead with a stunning shot from Mesau for a 2–0 lead.
But just when Vanuatu was looking to run away, Tuvalu pulled one back after Tafufaiva Ionatana smacked a loose ball in front of the goal. Goalkeeper Charlie Boe had no chance.
Takaro extended Vanuatu’s lead with a goal. He equaled Filipe Baravilala of Fiji as the tournament top scorer with a total of four goals.
However, Ionatana scored another goal for Tuvalu. A late consolation for their consistent pressure and brave effort all game.
Vanuatu held on to the end to narrowly beat Tuvalu 3–2.
Kiwis thrash Fiji at home
FIJI and New Zealand went into today’s match with one loss each.
Filipe Baravilala was given the captaincy role for this match. Kartik Sharma replaced Kitione Baleloa at goalkeeper.
Starting their attack, Ramzan Khan and Merrill Nand contested hard in the middle channel for Fiji.
New Zealand remained calm and composed despite Fiji’s relentless attack. Then a quick turnover saw Philip Fatialofa drill one for the far left. The 18-year-old Sharma had no time to react to that.
New Zealand scored their second goal from En Watanabe after a swift pass from Logan Wisnewski.
The lead increased further to 3–0 after Ethan Martin dribbled along the right corner before feeding a nice pass to Rahan Ali to smack it through.
Rajneel Singh managed to rifle one back for Fiji. Baravilala was always strong in attack. He scored a spectacular goal to bring Fiji back into the game. The score was 3–2 to New Zealand.
Tempers flared as the pace of the game picked up. New Zealand exhausted their six fouls which meant Fiji would have a direct shot with every other next foul committed by New Zealand for the remainder of the half.
After a tight first half, Neeraj Sharma locked up the scores 3–3 all with a fantastic kick. Goalkeeper Hamish Mitchell did not see that one coming in between his legs.
New Zealand reclaimed the lead. Cooper Wink finished off a brilliantly executed set piece. Fatialofa was again in the mix calling the shots for that one.
Then Fiji was in trouble after committing six fouls. Frustrations got the better of them.
Matthew Peden extended the lead further 5–3 for New Zealand.
Fiji’s weak defense was exposed as they deployed the flying keeper.
Jordan Ditfort (2), Ethan Martin (2) and Watanabe also scored to seal the win for New Zealand.
At full time, New Zealand thrashed Fiji 10–3.
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