SOLOMON Islands Under-17 head coach Stanley Puairana says his young guns have gained a lot of experience participating in the 2018 Australian National Futsal Championships.
The Junior Kurukuru reached the semi-finals but were unfortunate to went down 6-1 at the hands of Australia futsal state, New South Wales on Thursday.
Star player Raphael Lea’i continues his scoring form in the U-19 tournament with the Solomon Islands lone goal against the NSW Lightning.
Puairana insisted that it’s challenging playing against opponents two years older than his boys but he believes that the lessons learned will prove vital in the long run.
“We’ve really come here for our preparation for the Youth Olympics,” he said.
“We’ve come to learn, to gain experience. We’ve already qualified [for the Olympics] so most of the guys here at 15-17 years old and we took them out of the Under 16s league back home. It’s good for them to play in a hard group like the under 19s,” the young futsal coach stated.
He stressed that the Australian National Futsal Championships give his players a valuable experience as they are preparing for the 2018 Youth Olympics in November.
“I think for me it is a good test for the boys to build their confidence, physical and mental strength.
“They are competing against much bigger boys as this is what we’re expecting at the international level come November in Argentina.
“Overall, it’s a good build up for the young boys as I believe will help them prepared for the Youth Olympics,” the national U-17 futsal coach explained.
By SIMON ABANA
