While the Bonitos showed good control and displayed the flare expected of them, it was the Warriors who appeard to have more determination. They exercised greater fluidity and gave the Bonitos only a limited supply of the ball throughout the game.
Bonitos coach Jacob Moli expressed disappointment but said that his team is only taking form and will build up as each day passes.
“This is the first competitive match we’ve played since we re-commenced training and it shows that we are still wide of the mark. However, we have time to improve and this match certainly gave us a lot to work with,” Moli says.
“I commend Solomon Warriors for a strong performance. They wanted this game more than us and placed the right amount of effort in to get the win.”
Playmaker Judd Molea gave the Warriors an early lead after converting from the penalty spot. But Molea’s contribution was cancelled out by a Tinoni Ratu effort that leveled the scores at 1-1 just past the quarter-hour mark.
Solomon Warriors went further in front when Kidston Billy added their second and when Sam Ayers made it 3-1 the Bonitos were asking questions of their backline. The transition from back to front worked well for Warriors while for the Bonitos the tough defending of their opponents was stifling their game.
Matters went further south for the Bonitos when Ayers set up Jeffery Bule for Solomon Warriors’ fourth goal with a perfectly-timed pass into the box. However, some life came back into the national side when Tutizama Tanito crossed for Joe Luwi to hammer home to draw the score line to 4-2 but the Bonitos were far from safety as Solomon Warriors continued the onslaught.
With 25 minutes left on the clock Solomon Warriors struck again to take the match out of reach of the Bonitos. This time it was futsal international Micah Lea’alafa who capitalised on a defensive error to take the scores to 5-2 with a neat effort.
The two sides are expected to meet again this weekend for another match.
For more on Solomon Islands football go to www.siff.com.sb

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