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Solomon Islands 18, American Samoa 0, OFC Youth Futsal

The American Samoa Youth Futsal squad before their game against Solomon Islands at Bruce Pulman Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on Wednesday, October 4, 2017.  [FFAS MEDIA/Brian Vitolio]American Samoa Youth Futsal team’s captain Gabriel Taumua in action against the Solomon Islands during a game of the OFC Youth Futsal Tournament at Bruce Pulman Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on Wednesday, October 4, 2017.  [FFAS MEDIA/Brian Vitolio]Joseph ‘Junior’ Choi of American Samoa and a Solomon Islands opponent in action during a game of the OFC Youth Futsal Tournament at Bruce Pulman Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on Wednesday, October 4, 2017.  [FFAS MEDIA/Brian Vitolio]American Samoa’s Henry Milo Tiatia gets physical on the ball with a Solomon Islands’ opponent during a game of the OFC Youth Futsal Tournament at Bruce Pulman Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on Wednesday, October 4, 2017.  [FFAS MEDIA/Brian Vitolio]Walter Pati of American Samoa dribbles away from two Solomon Islands’ opponents during a game of the OFC Youth Futsal Tournament at Bruce Pulman Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on Wednesday, October 4, 2017.  [FFAS MEDIA/Brian Vitolio]

The Solomon Islands are the best in Futsal (indoor soccer) in Oceania, and they showed it with an 18-0 beating of American Samoa in their first game of the OFC Youth Futsal Tournament at Bruce Pulman Arena in Auckland, NZ.

They were superior in all aspects of the game – technical ability, fitness, shooting, passing and receiving.  They ran around and by the territory’s teams with ease, finishing the second half with 11 goals, after scoring seven in the first.

 “I give our boys a lot of credit for playing their hearts out against a team that was better than us,’ said the team’s coach, Tunoa Lui. “We had our chances to score as well, it was just poor execution and bad luck that we walked out of that game scoreless.”

American Samoa played well during some stretches of the game, keeping Solomon Islands at bay, but in the end they just could not hold back the juggernaut that was the Solomon Islands.

 “We are going to regroup and get ready for the second day of the tournament because it will be against New Zealand and New Caledonia,” Lui explained.

There were many positives the coaches were able to take away from the way the team performed, almost scoring at one point, and threatening on several chances as well.  Despite playing on the defensive for most of the game, the players fought hard, defended to their best and kept their heads up even as their opponents kept scoring.

It was the first time for all of them to play on hardwood court, and the players have admired playing on such a surface, and the experience gained is tenfold.  They are looking forward to playing the rest of the tournament on this surface.

The game against New Zealand kicks off at 1 PM, and vs. New Caledonia that match will start at 4 PM on October 5 (NZ time and date).