Quanafia follows in Suri footsteps

Suri is a bona fide football legend in Solomon Islands scoring two goals in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Australia, winning league titles at home and abroad in a career that spanned just over two decades.
“When Batram was playing I looked up to him and what he did. He was a very good player and I admire him a lot.
“My strengths as a player are scoring goals and taking on defenders,” Quanafia says.
Little surprise then that Quanafia says the football cousins share goalscoring in common, despite Solomon Islands upset 2-0 loss to Papua New Guinea.
His eyes narrow as he recalls that painful defeat but he has a sharp prediction for their next match with Vanuatu.
“We’ll beat them. We’ll beat Vanuatu. Why? We lost last night to Papua New Guinea and now we have to win. It is a must-win game for us. Our motivation is high,” he says.
So where did it go wrong for the Solomon Islands on Friday evening? Quanafia believes it came down to two key elements.
“We played a good game but didn’t score goals. Our communication was not good. We didn’t make good use of our chances,” he explains.
While having a famous football cousin can be a pressure, one of Suri’s former international team-mates is providing some guidance for Qanafia’s football future, U-20 national team coach Commins Menapi.
Menapi, who played as a professional with Sydney United in the old Australian National Soccer League, rates Quanafia highly.
“We have a lot of good young players coming through and Dunstan is one of them.
“I am proud to coach and to give something back to the young ones coming through the ranks,” he says.
Quanafia, who plays for one of Menapi’s former clubs, Makuru, says the ex-Waitakere United striker is an inspiration.
“It is good he is our coach I have learned a lot from him as he was a good player. We are at our best when the ball is on the ground and he wants this,” he says.
Solomon Islands match with Vanuatu is the fifth time the two nations have met at this level. Solomon Islands have won two and drawn three of those games and have never lost to their rivals before.