Nelson Sale sees red

A 60th minute strike from defender Kolinio Siviki saw Fiji defeat Solomon Islands in their second friendly match at the Churchill Park Stadium in Lautoka yesterday.

Solomon Islands were forced to finish the match with 10 men in the second half after defender Nelson Sale picked up a second yellow to see the red card come out after striking a Fiji playerduring an off the field incident.

Chances were there for the Solomon’s they could not convert as old problems of goal finishing instinct visibly still a big problem for them.

The scores were locked 0-0 at half time but saw Siviki sinking the winner for Fiji in the 60th minute with a spectacular free kick to tie the aggregate friendly 1-1.

Local fans took to social media after the result yesterday to discuss the friendly match and Solomon Islands preparation for their upcoming OFC 3rd stage World Cup 2018 qualifies against PNG at Lawson Tame on June 6.

“Great game boys, for this time round lets focus on the game with PNG. In future we need a team with academics, bachelors, Masters, PhDs so that we have a team of professionals,” one fan said.

“Today, our players do not understand what is tactical within technical in any game plan. They not even understand basic football. A simple game plan even made our players confused on what to do, why they do it, how they do it, where they do it. Hope for our game with PNG,” he added.

“Two weeks of training is not enough. PNG well prepared for Solo. Is Solomon Islands fully prepared for PNG?” another questioned.

“Solomon Islands National team has never been classified as threat to any other pacific Islands countries.

“We haven’t won any major trophy in outdoor soccer in our region since gaining our Independence. Maybe the only trophy Solo won was the Melanesian Cup which was played by Vanuatu and Fiji some years back.

“So accept the fact that we are just an average team with some flair of talented players who registered their names based on their individual skills and not because of the team.

“So stop criticizing and labelling us with titles that we never had the luxury of. Better focus for the next game,” another critic said.

Meanwhile Solomon Islands Head Coach Felipe Vega- Arango said he will be using these two international friendly matches to select his final squad who will take on PNG next month at Lawson Tama.