Tahiti draw with New Caledonia to reach semi-finals of the OFC Futsal Championship
Tahiti proceeded to the semi-finals of the Oceania Football Confederation Futsal Championship after they drew 2-2 with traditional rivals New Caledonia on May 18, 2011 at the Vodafone Arena in Suva, Fiji.
Both the sides were equally hopeful to reach the semi-finals but Tahiti went through because of a better goal difference.
The Tahitian squad took the lead at the start of the match and went a step ahead when Chocolat Maperi scored the first goal for Tahiti in the sixth minute of the match. New Caledonia responded and Caryl Thepinier scored the first goal for them in the 14th
minute of the first half. Both the teams remained unsuccessful in scoring any further goal during the first half of the match.
The Tahitians took the lead by scoring in the second half of the match. Capo Turihono from Tahiti scored a goal in the 35th minute. However, New Caledonia refused to give up and Julien Drudri struck a goal in the 37th minute of the
match.
Then came a turning point in the 38th minute of the match when Vateae Barff from Tahiti was dismissed and Cedrick Humuni from New Caledonia received a free kick. The efforts of New Caledonia went in vain as the Tahiti goalkeeper Atanui Tetihia
prevented the ball from reaching the net.
The coach of the Tahitian squad Eric Michalak while speaking to the reporters after the victory said, “I don’t know what happened. We were playing five against four for two minutes but somehow we couldn’t win. It’s very hard for us to take. We played against
a good team and had plenty of opportunities to win but couldn’t take them. If you don’t then you will not win – that is the reality of this sport. It’s a shame because I know we can do better.”
New Caledonia coach Tapu Hunter on the losing the match said, “We are very pleased with the result but not so much with the game because I don’t think we played very well. I think the players didn’t perform like they usually do because of the pressure
of this game.”
New Caledonia will be joining Solomon Islands from Group B in the semi-finals going to be held on May 19, 2011.
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