Tough battle for Pacific neighbours

Solomon Islands player Micah Lea’alafa tries to drive the ball past a Fiji defender during the International Friendly Match between Fiji and Solomon Islands at the ANZ Stadium in Suva last week. Picture: JARED KOLI/WANSOLWARA

By CHRIS HA’ARABE

It was a tightly contested battle between the Vodafone Fiji football side and Solomon Islands as they played to a one-all draw during their International Friendly Match at the ANZ Stadium in Suva last week.

The match kept both sides on their toes with a goal from Micah Lea’alafa to put the Solomon Islands ahead midway through the first half. The second goal came from a penalty shot by Fiji’s Roy Krishna.

Solomon Islands national soccer coach Moses Toata said their game plan was to win the ball and use their strength in terms of speed.

“In terms of speed, I believe we are good at it so our game plan was to win the ball and do a fast counter in order to put on our opponent,” he said.

“To win over team like Fiji on their home ground is not an easy task but I am really proud to see that my boys were determined to put up a good fight against the Fiji team.”

Toata thanked the players who managed to join the team from abroad for the international match.

Meanwhile, lone scorer Lea’alafa said representing his country in soccer was a dream come true.

“To score against team like Fiji is an honour for me and I want to thank my fellow teammates and supporters,” Micah said.

Fijian supporter Vinal Prasad said the national side played good football.

“Our side had some good chances but they missed the opportunity to score goals,” he said.

“But I was happy to see the Fiji team come back strong in the second half when they managed to equalise the points through a penalty shot.”

The Christophe Gamel coached side is expected to take on Singapore at 11.30pm today.

* Chris Ha’arabe (Solomon Islands) is a final-year journalism student at The University of the South Pacific.