SOLOMON Islands very own futsal legendary coach Jerry Sam, who is currently the Fiji Futsal Head Coach and Beach Soccer Head Coach, has proved his worth in beach soccer to his Fiji Club contractors.
This came after the guided the Fijians through their historic upset of the OFC beach soccer powerhouse Solomon Islands last Thursday.
Fiji after suffering 2 straight defeats to PNG and Tahiti in their first two matches, rebounded and held the four times OFC beach soccer title holders Solomon Islands in a two all draw after the three quarters of the match, forcing it into extra time.
But with no goal separating them at the end of the extra time, they went straight for a penalty shootout and Fiji emerged victorious 6-5.
A very emotional Jerry Sam told the local media after the match that he was very happy with the boys for well executing his game plan.
“This match shows that I have potentials in this sport. Knowing that this is just a development squad for the future, Fiji performed very well according to the game plan that I gave them despite our first two defeats,” Sam said.
“You know some of us who work overseas when guiding our coached team when they are facing our home country, they may not trust you. Coming into the tournament, we also received negatives comments from football fans back in Fiji after our first two defeats but we proved them wrong in the final group match.
“I know some people may not trust me in this sport but I have proved to them that I know this sport. This is for them to know, as well as the inputs that we put into the game, especially the tactical aspects of the game.
“In the match against Solomon Islands, our defensive work was really well as we tried to cut some lines from the Solomon Islands side, especially individuals, because they are very good in individual play. So, we worked in way that their defense cannot beat us in one-on-one,” Sam added.
Meanwhile, social media commenters from Fiji after the match praised Sam for his huge achievement with the team for upsetting Solomon Islands.
One commenter said Sam’s tears during the interview meant a lot to the Fiji Beach Soccer Team.
