Solomon Islands defeat Tahiti in the finals: 2011 OFC Futsal Championship
Solomon Islands succeeded in earning a place at the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup by defeating Tahiti by 6-4 in the finals of the 2011 Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Futsal Championship. Earlier in 2008 Kurukuru qualified for the World Cup by winning
the 2011 OFC Championship.
Kurukuru will be representing OFC at the FIFA Futsal, which will be held in Thailand next year. The Kurukuru were hot favourites for the title as they have won the last three OFC championships in a row. This will be the fourth straight win for the Solomon
Island in the Championship.
Kurukuru's Captain Elliot Ragomo, “It feels amazing, this is our dream. We have worked hard for this and we really deserve it. We will make both the Solomon Islands and Oceania proud. Last time, we didn't do very well but I promise Oceania that we will fight
for every single minute at this World Cup.”
The match was played at the Vodafone Arena and Tahiti outfit took the lead in opening the score-card. Gaby Kavera was the player who scored the first goal from the Tahiti side in the fourth minute of the match. Solomon Islands' players did not let the Tahiti’s
players to cherish the first goal for long and Elliot Ragomo scored the first goal from his side in the tenth minute of the match and equalised the score.
The Tahitian players took the lead once again and Areti Williams scored the second goal from the Tahiti in the twelfth minute of the match. His team-mate Teva Durot scored the third goal from his side in the 15th minute of the first half of the
match.
The Tahitians were leading by 3-1 until the first half whistle blew. The Tahitians again took the lead in the second half and Mana Faarahia scored a goal from his side in the 22nd minute of the match. The Solomon Islands took control over the
game and Elliot Ragomo turned the tables for the Kurukuru side he scored three more goals in the second half of the match.
Jack Wetney also contributed to add further two goals to the Kurukuru's score-board. The match was sealed by the goal scored by Ragomo in the 37th minute of the match.
The Tahiti Coach, Heitapu Hunter, said, “We need to go home and start getting ready for 2015 because we think we can beat them. But we need to get more experience. If you are winning 4-1 you need to holds onto that lead and we weren't able to do so”.
Solomon Islands have to work really hard as they will be competing the strongest teams from all over the world at the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup.
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