The Fiji under-16 football team faced a tough 1-7 defeat against New Zealand at the OFC Men’s Championship in Tahiti yesterday.
Although Fiji initially took the lead in the 21st minute through Veleni Rasorewa, they couldn’t maintain their advantage as New Zealand dominated the match.
New Zealand’s Luke Brooke-Smith scored a hat-trick, Aaron Cartwright netted twice, and Justin Cardozo and Benjamin Perez Balsoni each added a goal.
Fiji’s head coach, Sunil Kumar, admitted that the game did not go as planned and praised New Zealand’s exceptional performance.
He noted the team’s early lead and expressed disappointment over conceding “silly goals.”
“We wanted to give our all and put up a fight against a strong New Zealand side,” Kumar said.
“We had a dream start, leading in the first 25 minutes, but then we conceded silly goals.”
“I tried to motivate the team in the second half, but going down 4-1 made it difficult.”
“Mentally, the boys struggled to handle the pressure, and New Zealand, as a champion side, really challenged us.”
Kumar emphasized the need for the team to regroup and focus on their upcoming match against Vanuatu.
“The dream is still alive. We will work on our mistakes before facing Vanuatu.”
Fiji will take on Vanuatu on Sunday at 1pm.