New Caledonia upsets NZ,Fiji finishes second August 14, 2010
By Reginald Chandar
New Caledonia created the biggest upset of the 2010 OFC Futsal Championship by beating New Zealand 6-4 in the last match tonight at the Vodafone Arena in Suva.
The Kiwis needed a win in the fixture to finish second overall in the competition but New Caledonia played their hearts out and favored the host nation Fiji which finished second instead due to superior goal difference.
New Zealand started off well with Micky Malivuk scoring in the 4th minute but some misunderstanding led to their downfall.
Anderson Paulin leveled scores four minutes later but Said Soleimanpour scored the second for the Kiwis against the run of play. While the New Zealand bench and fans were celebrating their second goal Loic Caunes put New Caledonia level and Caryl Thepinier sneaked in with the third five minutes before halftime for the 3-2 lead at the break.
Miro Major leveled scores a minute after restart but New Caledonia took the lead again in the 23rd minute through Cedrick Humuni and Mainon Kaouwi made it 5-3 with another brilliant strike.
Malivuk pulled one back in the 33rd minute and just when New Zealand was searching for the equalizer, Humuni raced through to score New Caledonia’s sixth and final goal much to the dismay of the Kiwis bench and supporters.
New Caledonia coach Eric Michalak fisted the air with joy after the final whistle and saluted his players for the superb job.
“Oh I am very happy and just want to thank the players for playing their hearts out,” he said.
“They played as if they were playing in the final and I am very happy with the overall progress of my team.”
“Futsal was introduced in New Caledonia some five years ago and we are happy to return from Fiji with the mixed results.”
“We lost very narrowly to Vanuatu (5-4) and Tahiti (3-2) while in the other matches we gave our best.”
“The results against Fiji and Solomon Islands did not matter much to me as these two nations are way ahead of us in terms of development and experience.”
“We were here to gain exposure and buildup for the World Cup qualifiers and the win against Tuvalu and this big one against New Zealand has certainly boosted our morale and given the team a lot of motivation” he added.
New Zealand coach Matt Chandler was gracious in defeat and said some mistakes in the second spell cost they dearly.
“We played well but the boys seemed to have been focusing more on winning the match on the court that’s why they were taking a lot of pressure.”
“We often lost patience and there were many occasions when the boys did not play as a team and tried to play individually. This allowed New Caledonia to counter attack.”
“New Zealand Futsal has come a long way in this championship and I am not at all disappointed to finish third because we have learnt a lot from here and will try to iron out our mistakes and prepare thoroughly for the World Cup qualifiers.”
“We had a great week of Futsal here in Fiji and the team has surely enjoyed participating in this championship and playing the various Pacific Island countries.”
New Caledonia walked away with the Fair Play award from the championship while New Zealand received bronze medals for finishing third.
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