Kiwis Plan For Fiji Today
Final spots up for grabs in Lautoka
Four teams will be vying for two final places on offer as the OFC Men’s Olympic Qualifier tournament reaches its business end with today’s semi-final doubleheader at Lautoka’s Churchill Park. With two fascinating encounters on the menu, New Zealand and hosts Fiji will kick off the day’s proceedings before clash between Melanesian rivals Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.
Group A winners New Zealand will need to adjust quickly to the conditions in Lautoka after spending the past fortnight in Suva, while the hosts who finished runners up in Group B, will hoping to make the most of their familiarity with Churchill Park following their three previous outings there. Fiji will look to use any advantage they can muster against an impressive New Zealand outfit which amassed 22 goals and conceded only three to cruise into the semis with maximum 9 points.
Attacking Talent
Blessed with attacking talent upfront, Des Buckingham’s side includes the tournament’s two leading goal scorers Myer Bevin and Ben Waine as well as the likes of Clayton Lewis and skipper Logan Rogerson, both of whom have also impressed with their finishing prowess.
The Kiwis also boast plenty of big game experience with the vast majority of squad having participated in various U-20 and U-17 FIFA World Cups while coming through the ranks.
Leading up to their knockout match against Fiji the team morale is high and the players can’t wait to face their next challenge according to the coach.
Buckingham Positive
“The mood is really good, really nice environment, players are really positive, we have everyone available to us, so we are just really looking forward to playing Fiji,” Des Buckingham said.
Despite the New Zealand coach is happy with his sides performances to date, he insists there is still room for improvement. “We’ve had three good games in Suva, and we just want to get better going into the semi. “We want to play well, we have a couple of areas we want to focus on, we have let a couple of goals in the group games we need to tighten up on, but in terms of our playing style we just want to get better and better,” he added.
Playing the hosts will present a special challenge and Buckingham is expecting a stern test from the Fijians.
“It’s always tough to play the hosts, we’ve had this with the U-20 World Cup Qualifier last year in Tahiti , where we played Tahiti as the hosts, once in our group stage and again in the final, it’s nice to be here but to play the hosts will be a bit of challenge and of course they are the current holders of this competition, but we focus on ourselves and we will be ready for the game,” he explained
Fiji will go into their semi against New Zealand with the lowest goal tally among the remaining four teams.
After finding the net seven times in their opening two matches against Papua New Guinea and Tonga, Marika Rodu’s men have ended their final Group B match with a 1-0 defeat to Vanuatu.
Rodu Optimistic
“Finishing is a constant weakness which was evident in all three games, we have been able to create but it’s the finishing that’s letting us down, but the positive part of it is our ability to create the chances in front of goal,” he said.
“The mentality needs to be settled, everybody needs to understand that we are going to play New Zealand, they are the top team so we need to get past this mental block, New Zealand is a very tough team, very structured and they have been dominating this Oceania region for a while, This is something that is going to be tough to get over but once we get over this mental block, we should be in a space where we can play good football,” Rodu added.
Vanuatu strong squad
With 11 players from Vanuatu’s history making team, that alongside New Zealand represented Oceania at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, still part of the current U-23 Olympic squad, the Group B winners are a well drilled and experienced unit. Some of Vanuatu’s key players from 2017, including skipper Jason Thomas, his defensive partner Joseph Iaruel, playmaker Bong Kalo, striker Azariah Soromon and goalkeeper Daniel Alick have all contributed to their side’s march towards the semis and coach Etienne Mermer will again look to them for inspiration when they face the Solomon Islands.
“I’ve got my players who will start in the semis, I don’t think I will make many changes to the team, the most important players will need to take their responsibility against the Solomons on Wednesday,” he explained.
Preparations perfect: Suri
Solomon Islands will also have every reason to be confident after three impressive performances that saw them comprehensively defeating Samoa and American Samoa before a narrow loss to New Zealand following a thrilling encounter on the final match day in Suva.
Coach Batram Suri believes the closely contested match against New Zealand was the perfect preparation for the semis.
“Our last game was a test of character for the players to prepare for the semi-finals and we did well against New Zealand, and even though we conceded four goals, we continued to fight and showed we are here to compete,” he said.