Solomon Islands senior men’s team will meet New Caledonia for the MSG Prime Minister’s Cup 2023 decider this Saturday 14th October 17:00 (SI Time) at Numa Dally Stadium in Noumea, New Caledonia.
The Felipe Vega-Arango-led men are on to a perfect campaign with two wins from two matches against defending Champions Papua New Guinea (PNG) 3-1 and Vanuatu 1-0.
In a round-robin format, the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia are tied on six (6) points each with the host nation having the advantage on goal difference, which left nothing more than a win for the Solomon Islands.
Ahead of the crucial decider, the Spaniard spells out the team’s focus and the load of important work on tactical areas to address in each department in the build-up.
“We have to recover well. International football is not easy,” Felipe stated.
“It was a hard game against Vanuatu and we obviously knew it was going to be harder against New Caledonia.
“After our two (2) matches there are things we need to improve, specifically our overall ball possession. The control and the passes, we have to do better in the middle with the distribution and work rate.
He continued that going up against the home side will be a challenging task.
“We play the host nation and it will be tough. They are impressive, especially with their ball movement and their ability to create scoring opportunities. But we had to be aggressive and put up a strong defensive structure because we wouldn’t allow them to feel comfortable on the pitch.
A final test match prior to the Sol2023 Pacific Games and the head coach already is satisfied with the competitiveness displayed by the players.
“The boys are competing really well and I want them to keep pushing and work hard throughout the whole ninety (90) minutes on Saturday,” Felipe concludes.
-SIFF Media
