A resolute effort by Solomon Islands women’s national team despite a 2-1 defeat to hosts Young Matildas U20 in the first game at the Pacific Women’s Nations Cup 2022 in Canberra.
Coach Batram Suri was pleased with the team’s performance against a dominant young Matlidas and he believed that his players take positives from the game heading into the next fixture against Papua New Guinea.
While Australia dominated possession and territory, the Solomon Islands stayed in touch the entire match through their strong mentality and impressive defensive play – they could even have equalised in additional time on when David had a 93rd minute chance to make the game 2-2 but dragged her shot wide.
Prakash and Shay Hollman were very impressive for Australia while David and Ileen Pegi were instrumental in Solomon Islands’ strong performance.
Training and recovery sessions continue tomorrow, Wednesday 9 November, before all four teams head to Parliament House, Canberra, where they will be guests of honour at a formal dinner
The Pacific Four Nations Tournament is played in the nation’s capital city, Canberra, where the women’s national teams of Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Solomon Islands, as well as the U20 Australian team are playing a round robin tournament format over three match days.
The Pacific Four Nations tournament has been made possible through a partnership with the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade’s ‘PacificAus Sports’ program.
Australia and the Pacific share a rich history and deep love of sport and, through PacificAus Sports, Australia works with Pacific partners to unlock this this potential further and create new opportunities for our athletes to train and compete together.
You can find out more about PacificAus Sports here: https://www.pacificaussports.gov.au
Standings after Match Day #1 | Pacific Four Nations Tournament
| Position | Nation | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1. | Fiji | +2 | 3 |
| 2. | Australia U20 | +1 | 3 |
| 3. | Solomon Islands | -1 | 0 |
| 4. | Papua New Guinea | -2 | 0 |
Match Schedule for Pacific Four Nations Tournament (all times in AEDT)
| TIME/DATE | MATCH | VENUE |
| 10:00am, 11 Nov 2022 | Solomon Islands vs Papua New Guinea | Australian Institute of Sport |
| 5pm, 11 Nov 2022 | Fiji vs U20 Australia | Australian Institute of Sport |
| 10am, 13 Nov 2022 | Solomon Islands vs Fiji | Seiffert Oval, Queanbeyan |
| 4pm, 13 Nov 2022 | U20 Australia vs Papua New Guinea | Seiffert Oval, Queanbeyan |
How to watch
All matches in the Pacific Four Nations Tournament will be streamed LIVE via the Football Australia YouTube account, with fans encouraged to attend the final matchday free-of-charge at Seiffert Oval on 13 November 2022.
Tickets
FREE entry to the public is available at the gate for both matches on Sunday 13 November. The matches being played at the Australia Institute of Sport are open to the media but with no access for the public (behind closed doors).
