An exceptional performance by the visiting Australian U-17 Subway Joey’s
The visiting Australian Under-17 team, the Subway Joeys has bounced back in a sweet revenge to defeat the Solomon Islands Under 19 team 4-1 in the final leg of the two international friendlies at the National Stadium last night.
Joeys’ win against the host in the second and the final leg playoff last night in afront of a packed stadium was dubbed a sweet revenge for the visitors after suffering their first defeat 2-1 to the Batram Suri coach side on Thursday.
After their first defeat, they recovered and regrouped for the final leg where they handed the Solomon Islands U19 a four star performance in front of the home crowd.
It was revealed the Joeys made ten changes for match two, as head coach Brad Maloney continued to test his U-17 players against the older opposition during the PacificAusSports Football Tour.
Alex Bolton retained his spot in midfield, while Nicko Alfaro wore the armband.
The Subway Joeys with their style of play featuring short touches and passes totally controlled the entire match which got the opposition players running around.
The first half ended with a 3-0 scoreline before both teams went for a break..
Solomon Islands has few golden scoring opportunities in the first half in front of the Joey’s goal mouth but was unable to convert them well which later cost them to suffer the 4-1 defeat against the Australia’s younger side.
Solomon Islands regrouped with renewed strength for the second spell trying to close the gap but their scoring chances were denied due to selfish play from the attacking players.
Australia however continued to dominate the second spell with its ball control and short passes until they hit the back of the net to make it 4-0 against the hosts.
Minutes later Solomon Islands head coach Suri made a superb substitution, putting in Abraham who slotted home the only goal for the Solomon Islands.
The Australian side held on until the final whistle to claim the much needed victory.
The subway Joey’s head coach Marlon told local media in an interview after the match that, he was happy with his boys for making an exceptional performance against the host after going down to the host during Thursday’s first leg.
He continued to say that the win against Solomon Islands in the final leg of the international friendly has mean a lot to them in terms of their preparation towards the Asia qualifiers.
“Our win today against the hosts has meant a lot to the team in terms of our preparation for the Asia qualifiers.
“It also helps my players to get the challenge needed to be competitive in all our match as we continue to prepares for the Asia qualifiers.”
Coach Marlon further acknowledged the Partnership between Solomon Islands and Australia through AusSport for making the friendlies with the Solomon Islands possible as it was part of their ongoing preparations.
Coach Suri told local media said, the defeat in the final leg was due to his players misusing their scoring opportunities.
Nevertheless, he was happy that the friendly which will help a lot with the player’s development.
He added that playing against a country with good football development is a good taste for his boys and it helps them learn the pressure in facing a tough opponent like Australia.
“The friendlies will surely boost the players development and bring a good learning experience for the upcoming stars,” Suri said.
On that note coach Suri thanked Australia for the partnership through the Ausport and hopes that partnership in bring Australia for international friendlies will continues in the future for the Football development of Solomon Islands.
Star Sports understands that in every tournament the home crowd also contributed to the team’s overall performance, but during last night’s final friendly, almost the entire stadium cheered for the visitors giving them the advantage to beat the home side at their home ground.
The crowd also shouted to the local players even if they made a mistake.
In overall, the Subway Joey’s has won the two-leg friendly against Solomon Islands 3:0 on aggregate after the host beat Joey’s 2-1 in the first leg while the Joeys thumped the home side 4-1 in the second leg.
Meanwhile, the Subway Joey’s will travel to Port Vila, Vanuatu to face their U19 for a one match friendly on Wednesday before returning to Australia as part of their Oceania tour.
By FLOYD TERRY JNR
Solomon Star, Honiara
