New Caledonia made an impressive start to their campaign as the side saw off Samoa 1-0 in a heated exchange in the OFC U-19 Women’s Championship at Ngahue Reserve in Auckland, New Zealand.
While Samoa seemed to continually be launching attacks from all over the field in the first half, New Caledonia made the most of what they had and put a high pressure attacking mentality to good use.
Clinical tackling and pressing high on the ball in packs, New Caledonia were able to disrupt the Samoan passing game.
In the 52nd minute, Alice Wenessia slotted the ball into the top right corner of the net after a well-placed corner ball was delivered by Oceane Forest. The final ten minutes saw Samoa up the pressure with a bombardment of the New Caledonian defence but the central defenders held them off to retain the 1-0 lead at the final whistle.
New Caledonia coach Kamali Fitialeata said an opening win in the competition yesterday was nice, especially after the results of his side’s previous outing in this age group which included a 6-2 loss to Samoa in 2015.
“We’re happy to get a win here because the Samoan team posed a lot of problems for us, not just physically but tactically too.
“I think the girls were a bit nervous going into this first match. A bit of tension, a bit of pressure and playing in front of a crowd which they’re not used to. I also got the impression they were a bit heavy-legged today, but mentally they managed to get out of their own heads and played well.”
Martin Tamasese said his charges should be disappointed they weren’t able to get something from the match after an impressive display.
“It was disappointing, but I thank the girls for the game today as they played well,” he said.
“Our central defenders in particular were playing well today. We’ve just put this team together and I think they did well.”
The OFC U-19 Women’s Championship will pick up again on Friday 14 July with another three enticing encounters scheduled at Ngahue Reserve in Auckland.
Photo by OFC