Head coach Timothy Inifiri says the pressure on the players to perform has been upped since he named the final squad of 20.
“We now have the team that will play for the country so we have been working hard to make sure they will do well in the Nations Cup,” Inifiri says. “We have weekly fitness tests and we have continued to assess and correct problem areas.”
The Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) have also brought on board the services of Fa’amoana Topue, who has spent the last two weeks working on the fitness level of the players.
Inifiri believes New Zealand’s Football Ferns are likely to set the benchmark at the tournament and are the team everyone will want to beat.
“New Zealand have better facilities and access to specialised equipment so will definitely be the strongest team in the championship,” he says.
“Nevertheless, we have made it our aim to be one of the top teams in the competition and are working towards that goal.”
SIFF is lining up a series of friendly matches for the national team to help them with their preparation.
They played their first friendly against a Honiara women’s select side and came away 2 – 1 winners with the goals coming from Mesalyn Saepio and Prudence Fula.
They will meet the same opposition again this weekend in the knowledge that the Honiara team have also been training hard with the objective of upsetting them.
Inifiri’s squad has been boosted in recent days by the inclusion of striker Crystal Bwakolo. She replaces Miriam Tegu, who is nursing a knee injury and has been ruled out of the OFC tournament.
Bwakolo brings a wealth of experience to the team and her speed and sharp finishing will be great assets.
Inifiri says Bwakolo is one of the top female footballers in Solomon Islands and he is happy to have her back in the team after she was dropped for missing the final weeks of the selection trials.
The team worked on shooting this week and also continued with their fitness training under Topue.
Story and photo courtesy of SIFF Media.
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