Tonga’s U20 Soccer Girls lose to New Zealand 1 – 3 [1]
Friday, February 21, 2014 - 18:15. Updated on Monday, April 14, 2014 - 10:19.
Tonga’s under-20 women’s soccer team was defeated by New Zealand’s under-20 women’s soccer team 1 – 3 at the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Under-20’s Women’s tournament in Auckland, New Zealand yesterday February 21.
The defeat is Tonga’s second after a 0 – 4 loss to Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, 18 February, and means Tonga has no chance of winning the tournament.
But despite the loss, the Tongan girls have been praised for putting on an impressive performance against a highly ranked and experienced New Zealand team.
The Tongan girls were severe under-dogs going into a game, which many would have considered to be a big miss-match. But 24 minutes into the match, Tonga had drawn level with New Zealand 1 – 1 after a Kiwi girl accidently kicked the soccer ball into her team’s own goal. At half-time the score was 1 – 2. The second-half was almost scoreless, New Zealand scoring their third goal only two minutes before the final whistle.
Tongan Coach Penateti Feke was happy with her team’s performance, stating “Even though we lost the game today, that for us is a victory.
"We're the first Tongan side to have just a 3-1 victory against us, so it is a victory for Tonga. I'm very happy with the performance."
New Zealand Coach Aaron McFarland praised the Tongan Defence. "Their tactics were spot on and from our perspective it was a great learning opportunity to try and break down a deep block. Ten players behind the ball is a good test and thankfully we've come through on the score line,"
Tonga will play Vanuatu tomorrow Saturday, 22 February at 1:00am at Centre Park in Mangere, Auckland. New Zealand will face Papua New Guinea’s Under-21 girls in a match to decide the winner of the OFC Under-20 Women’s Tournament. The winner will qualify for the FIFA Under-20 Women’s Football World Cup this year.