SIFF Technical Director (TD) Moses Toata says the Solomon Islands U-15 development team participating at the Auckland OFC Boys U-15 development tournament is doing well considering their age difference from other participating teams, which was evident during the match with Tahiti U-15 yesterday.
Solomon Islands come from behind to tie the game 1-1 and had three clear chances to score but lacked the finishing touch in front of the goal against the much bigger Tahitians.
“Boys played well, but Tahiti outplayed our boys in every way. They are physically bigger and technically they are the best,” he said.
“They played like mature players. Age also contributed. Their players are over 15 against our 13 and 14-year-olds.
“The boys had opportunities to score but missed 3 opportunities with only keeper to beat”.
The tournament provides young players with experience in an international tournament format including travel, competitive matches, and associated training. It also showcases the OFC National Academies and Centre of Excellence programmes.
Toata stressed that at the end of the day, every team that participated in the tournament is a winner.
“In this competition, everyone is a winner because the most important thing is the experience they are getting from such a development-oriented tournament,” he added.
Solomon Islands will take on Liechtenstein on Monday to wrap up the tournament.
