Photo Caption: Celebrating captain Billy Afi’s opening goal. Photo: OFC Media via Phototek NZ
The Solomon Islands national U19 team celebrated a double triumph as they dedicated their 3-0 victory over Fiji in the OFC Men’s U19 Championship to the nation’s 46th Independence Day Anniversary.
In a post-match interview, Head Coach Batram Suri expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance, marking their second win in Group A and securing the top position.
“I’m so proud of the boys’ performance today, especially since today is the Independence Day celebration for the country. This victory is dedicated to the 46th Anniversary of the country for always supporting us,” Suri told OFC Media.
“The boys did very well; credit to them for the performance. We stuck to our plan, and it worked well.”
The action started early, with a great through ball putting James Laena one-on-one with Fiji’s goalkeeper. However, the ball bobbled as Laena went to shoot, sending it over the crossbar.
Minutes later, Jayroll Patty’s shot from the 18-yard box took a deflection, forcing a save by the Fijian custodian. He parried the shot to Laena, who once again failed to find the target due to an unkind bounce.
With Laena repeatedly finding himself in promising positions. He beat the offside trap but sent his shot straight at the goalkeeper.
The Solomon Islands’ dominance eventually paid off as they approached half-time. A free kick on the edge of the box was beautifully placed into the bottom corner by captain Billy Afi, just before the first half ended, the Solomon Islands scored a well-deserved second goal. A cross from the right saw Jimson Abana rise above two Fiji defenders, his header floating into the back of the net.
the Solomon Islands sealed their victory in the 83rd minute with a stunning scissor kick from Abana to record from the towering forward.
With this emphatic victory, the Solomon Islands look forward to Thursday’s final group stage match against Tahiti.
-SIFF/OFC Media
