With less than two weeks notice, the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation was able to successfully host the inaugural Outrigger Challenge Cup Futsal Tournament in Majuro, with included visiting teams from Federated States of Micronesia and Kiribati.
The final, played at the Marshall Islands High School gym, was won by Kiribati who fought off a determined Marshall Islands team who ultimately came up short whilst chasing a comeback. The Marshall Islands team, which had lost the corresponding pool stage victory on Day One to Kiribati 8-0, were looking to be more competitive, and harness the support given to them by the fans in attendance.
Then Marshall Islands shocked the visitors by taking the lead after seven minutes through break-out star Gabino Peter, when he tucked away a pass inside by the impressive Ming-Che Tsai following a determined drive up the court by Oscar Belamana.
After 11 minutes, Kiribati equalized, with their target man Kaibu Tetabo bundling the ball home. Parity was short-lived as straight from the restart Matt Webb blasted a shot into the top-corner to give the Marshall Islands a 2-1 lead.
Unfortunately, this was as good as it got for the home side, as Tetabo got his second goal of the match with a wonderful finish on 15 minutes and then completed his hat-trick a minute later by taking advantage of some loose footwork from goalkeeper Jonathan Koehler, who up to that point had been fantastic in protecting the RMI goal.
There was a controversial incident when the Kiribati defender appeared to tip Foliet Schutz’s goalbound lob over his own goal using his hand, but neither referee spotted this in real time.
Kiribati took a 3-2 lead into the interval, a huge improvement given they had been 6-0 down the first time the two teams had met.
Momentum stayed with Kiribati from the restart, golden boot winner Bangao Bakabane adding to his haul with a relatively simple tap-in from a corner. Minutes later, they increased their lead through a scrappy finish by Bangao. The Marshall Islands battled well, creating a few opportunities thanks to the skillful feet of Schutz and Tsai but they couldn’t find the back of the net.
Up until the last five minutes, team RMI had found joy with a resolute formation that Kiribati had found hard to breakdown, but in search for an equalizer they changed game plan and replaced Koehler with outfielder Webb and substituted in brothers Reggie and David Waiti in the hope they’d find a goal. This created more space for Kiribati who exploited the move by tucking home a sixth and final goal through the prolific Kiteon.
Overall, Kiribati were deserved winners: between both of their teams they scored 61 goals against the other two nations and had put on a display of total football since the minute the first whistle was blown.
Their goalkeeper Matakite Taea was voted Player of the Tournament by his opposing competitors. Bangao Bakabane won the Golden Boot for most goals scored thanks to his impressive haul of 18 goals. The Young Player of the Tournament was awarded to Yopi Laurdin of team FSM.
Technical Director Lloyd Owers had this to say, “Overall we’re so proud of what the team produced throughout the week. They’ve made huge improvements over the course of the tournament and it’s testament to their character and skill to provide Kiribati such a close-fought game in the final.”
Coach Tony Theomae believes that the team can continue to improve: “We hope that the boys will continue to work hard and when this event returns next year we can challenge for the title. Our team is very young with mostly high school students, so the future can be bright for the national team.”
Commercial Director Matt Webb hopes that this event can become a regular fixture in the sporting calendar. “There’s a desire from all three of the teams who competed to do this on an annual basis. Obviously, this is dependent on budget, but we’re already thinking about how we can improve this event for next year. We want all nations in the Micronesia region and the North Pacific to improve, and together we can be stronger, we want to put this region on the map through soccer.”
The Soccer Federation has a worldwide recruitment drive in an effort to strengthen the player pool available to them. So far they’ve found players from Europe and the US, and hope to integrate them with the local players to ensure the team is as competitive as it can be. The Soccer Federation would also like to place on record its thanks to SEP Coordinator Pranson Eliou who assisted them with the hosting of the tournament finals day at Marshall Islands High School.
Soccer Federation president and vice-president Shem Livai and Divine Waiti gave speeches at the opening and closing ceremonies emphasizing how proud they were to finally see a RMI soccer team competing internationally. The Federation has received worldwide infamy for being the ‘Last Nation on Earth without a Soccer Team’ … which is not strictly the case after this week’s tournament (although an 11-a-side match is the next step).
Next up for the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation is trying to formalize a national league including all the villages in Majuro to ensure regular futsal is available for all communities.