Tough southern road trip for Marist
It was a tough weekend for the Palmerston North Marist men’s and women’s Superleague futsal teams in Christchurch.
Both sides headed south at the weekend for a two-day southern series against Southern United and Canterbury United.
This was the first series for the Marist women’s team in the Superleague, whereas the men began their campaign in the home series two weeks ago.
The men and women only took one point home each.
Marist women’s coach Nick Chong said it was a positive weekend despite the results.
“For many, it was their first time at the NZ Futsal Superleague.
‘‘The players have really worked well together and have done everything that us as coaches have asked for.
“We created a lot of great opportunities, and now we will look to capitalise on them as we move forward.”
The women lost 10-0 and 9-0 to Canterbury, while against Southern they drew 2-all and lost 6-3.
The men had some close games, and coach Adam Cowan said the team deserved more from the weekend.
“The group have worked extremely hard, and have now started to express themselves more on the court.
“There were some real positives over four games, and players will look to take those learnings into the Wellington series.”
The men lost 3-2 and 9-3 against Canterbury, then against Southern they drew 2-all and lost 4-3.
Sarah Cowan from Marist’s football and futsal academy said it was early days for both teams.
“Over the past few years there hasn’t been a strong futsal base in the Manawatū region. Along with Central Football, we are working hard to change this, and our thriving youth futsal academy has been a good starting place.
“Having our own men’s and women’s futsal teams in the Superleague is a huge opportunity for the region and a big part of the pathway for our players to be able to play at the highest level in New Zealand.
“Both teams are showing a lot of potential, which is exciting for the future.”
Both teams head to Wellington on March 16-17 for the first national series, and then the final series will be in Auckland on March 23-25 to decide the national champion.