Tuvalu – Solomon Islands Match Summary click here
There was little riding on this game as the Solomons had already qualified for the next stage of the competition and Tuvalu had seen their hopes of doing likewise ended yesterday with an 11-1 loss to New Caledonia.
But the Kurukuru were still keen to give their fanatical fans another win as they had yet to make sure of top spot and the unfortunate Tuvalu defence bore the brunt of that desire.
As is often the case, inspirational captain Elliot Ragomo led the way but even he would not have expected to get on the scoresheet seven times, a feat he managed thanks largely to a remarkable finish to the game.
Ragomo added five goals in the final four minutes to add to the two he scored earlier to complete a performance that underlined his reputation as the finest futsal player in Oceania.
James Egeta, Samuel Osifelo and Coleman Makau all notched braces while Micah Lea’alafa, Moffat Sikwa’ae and Jack Wetney also got on the scoresheet.
Although they failed to score, Tuvalu can take some heart from the fact that they restricted the Kurukuru to fewer goals than they put past them the last time the sides met – at the 2010 OFC Futsal Championship when the Solomons posted a 21-2 victory.
The Kurukuru will now go on to meet the second-placed Group A team, whose identity will be known by the end of today’s play, while Tuvalu will have a good opportunity to record their first ever win at this tournament when they face Kiribati in the 7th/8th play-off.
Quotes
Solomon Islands coach Dickson Kadau:
It was important to win because we have topped the pool now. We have had our ups and downs over the tournament so far but I have been happy with the results. It is a cliché but we are just going to take one team at a time. If we play our usual game I am confident we will get through the semi-finals. Tahiti gave us a very good game yesterday and if they can maintain that standard of defending I think they could also make the final.
Tuvalu coach Takiao Vave:
I’m very proud of my boys because we have made an improvement on last year. Considering we were playing the champions, I thought we did well. We are trying to get better and I think we are getting there slowly but we still need to do better. We are looking to get a win against Kiribati but we will have to see what happens.