Solo U-17 losses World Cup campaign to NC in OFC semi

 

SOLOMON Islands Under-17 team lost October’s FIFA World Cup campaign after being knocked down by the under dogs New Caledonia in yesterday’s semi-final match at the OFC U-17 Championships at Stade Pater in Tahiti.

New Caledonia upsets the local side 3 – 2 in a nail-biting match yesterday.

New Caledonia made history for their country as they claimed their first ever spot at a FIFA tournamant and a place in the OFC U-17 Championship final.

OFC Media reports Pierre Bako opened scoring early for New Caledonia when he followed up a clearance from the Solomon backline and fired the ball past Joel Nanago in the 23^rd minute, and the New Caledonians’ physical game kept the Solomons away from goal for the remainder of the first half.

Steward Toata fired back with an equaliser in the 63^rd minute after impressive build-up play between him and his teammates.  However, despite enjoying an advantage in both territory and possession for the majority of the game, the local side were unable to hold New Caledonia out on the counter attack and the Francophones regained the lead in the 68^th minute when Abiezer Jeno connected with a free kick in the Solomon box and found the net before goalkeeper Joel Nanago could make a move.

New Caledonia was sure the game was theirs when Vita Longue netted with 11 minutes remaining but a goal from Junior Allen in the fourth minute of additional time closed the gap and gave Solomons the inch of hope they needed to keep fighting, albeit in vain.

New Caledonia coach Michael Clarque was overwhelmed by the huge milestone reached by his young side, becoming the first New Caledonian team to qualify for a World Cup.

“It’s beautiful because it goes well beyond what I could have imagined,” he said.

“I was a bit worried that the stress would affect them because it is not easy knowing that you’re playing a World Cup Qualification match, but we played with strong spirit and it gave us confidence.

“Now we have seven months to work and we’ll see how we’ll perform in the World Cup. We’ve made our mark on the history of New Caledonian football today.”

Solomon Islands coach Marlon Houkarawa was heart-broken to fall short of reaching the final and the World Cup, but still felt proud of the effort given by the young team throughout the competition.

“I’m disappointed in the result. We expected the win today but unfortunately things turned out different. I believe the boys did all they could do but they were exhausted,” he said.

“I think they did extremely well in their previous games, especially against New Zealand and Fiji. Today they did not perform as I expected, not the same as they did against New Zealand a few days ago, but in football, anything can happen,” said Houkarawa.