Fiji off to good start at OFC U17 tournament

WHILE happy with the 3-0 win over Samoa, Digicel Fiji Baby Bula Boys coach Sunil Kumar knows there’s more work to be done if the host nation is to make the final of the OFC Under-17 Championship.

Goals from William Khan, Prashant Kumar and Vinayak Rao was enough for the home side to secure the three points from the Group A match at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva on Thursday evening.

But it was not all rosy for Kumar’s boys as Samoa showed glimpses of what they are capable of.

“Samoa is a really good side. As the tournament goes on, they will be stronger. They played their hearts out,” the Ba schoolteacher said.

“For us, there’s a few areas we need to work on so we’ll go back to the drawing board and plan for the next match. We’ll (coaching panel) sit down and discuss some of the core areas of improvement that we can work on.

“In the end it was a positive result and that’s what we came for. So hats off to the boys.”

The home side poured on the pressure early, good running by Prahsant Kumar led to a couple of corners that really put the Samoan defence under pressure.

Great defensive work by Samoan defender Kingston Vaitusi spurred his side on to get into the game, when he made a textbook tackle inside his box to dispossess Vinayak Rao. The Samoan midfield started to provide skipper Pharell Trainor with some ball to work with, and the big striker was a constant threat.

The first portion of the match was therefore quite even, with the Samoans growing in confidence. However, the breakthrough came just before the half hour mark, off a Fijian corner. Rao’s kick found Khan unmarked at the far post, with the Fijian forward neatly heading home to open the scoring.

Ibraheem Afazal then continued to cause headaches for the Samoans, putting in a mesmerising run around the edge of the box and getting a shot off that drew a fine save by goalkeeper Kirk Auvele.

Samoa’s best chance to equalise in the first half came just before the break, when a searching free kick found Trainor open near the goal, but his shot went wide.

The crucial play came just after the halftime break. Afazel made a good run in after being unmarked on the sideline, then tried to curl a shot past Auvele. Prashant Kumar was on hand to finish off and double the lead, the goal seemed very much a turning point as the Fijians started playing with a lot more authority in midfield.

They got the game’s sealing score, after referee Calvin Berg awarded them a penalty after Kumar was cut down very close to the edge of the box. Rao stepped up and slammed home the spot kick to make it a bridge too far for the Samoans.

The win puts Fiji top of Group A, both they and Samoa face Tonga in their next games. It will be a big fixture for the Samoans, despite the loss they showed a lot of promise.

Fiji gets a six day break before the next match.