A second half onslaught from New Zealand saw the Futsal Whites overcome Fiji 10-3 in a fierce encounter at the OFC Futsal Men’s Cup 2025 in Suva.
In their final match of the OFC Futsal Men’s Cup 2025, Fiji pushed New Zealand hard but ultimately fell to a dominant second-half display.
Fiji’s Merrill Nand was a constant threat early, testing the New Zealand defence, while New Zealand looked to settle through Dylan Manickum’s guidance. But in the first period Fiji’s defence held strong, suffocating the New Zealanders attack.
The breakthrough came midway through the first half when Dylan Fatialofa struck cleanly from the left side of the circle to put New Zealand ahead. The second came from En Watanabe finishing neatly to double the lead.
Fiji’s defence battled to contain the pressure, but New Zealand kept the tempo high and were rewarded again through Rahan Ali to make it 3-0.
Fiji refused to back down, pulling one back when Rajneel broke into open space on the left edge, calmly controlled the ball and fired into the top left corner to beat the New Zealand keeper.
They bounced back again through their captain Filipe Baravilala who fired a shot rebounding off the New Zealand keeper for an own goal to make it 3-2 heading into the break.
Fiji continued their pressure into the second half and managed to equalise early as Neeraj Sharma broke through the left wing and calmly struck to beat the keeper bringing Fiji back in the match.
But, the Kiwis composure showed as Fatialofa linked with Cooper Wink to calmly strike the ball in. New Zealand would find another through Matthew Peden who edged his side further ahead.
The decision to play five players up front in an attempt to score was a detriment to Fiji, as New Zealand scored three simple goals without a goalkeeper. Jordan Ditfort, Casey Sharplin and Ethan Martin all found the back of the net as the clock ticked down. However, it was En Watanabe who had the final say slotting home a penalty and New Zealand’s 10th goal.
HT: 2-3
Fiji: 3 (Rajneel SINGH, Filipe BARAVILALA, Neeraj SHARMA)
New Zealand: 10 (Philip FATIALOFA (2), En WATANABE (2), Rahan ALI, Matthew PEDEN, Jordan DITFORT (2), Casey SHARPLIN, Ethan MARTIN)
Photo credit: OFC Media via Phototek