PNG U17 coach strengthens defence

Papua New Guinea U17 women’s team is focused on sorting its defensive issues ahead of the semi-final of the 2016 OFC Championship in Cook Islands this afternoon.

Coach Margaret Aka says it was frustrating that they couldn’t get the win against Fiji because they led the game twice and really should have been able to hold them out.

“Our defence has been a bit of a problem the last two games so that is something we worked on ahead of the game with New Caledonia.

“New Caledonia brings plenty in attack, so limiting that will be vital,” Aka said.

New Caledonia coach Matthieu Delcroix says defense is also their main focus against a fast and efficient Papua New Guinea attacking unit.

“Their forward players are fast and the entire team transitions very well. We will need to watch out for their long ball,” said Delcroix.

Delcroix added that PNG is an aggressive team with good technical players.

“We have worked on our combination play, so we will see if that works against PNG,” Delcroix said.

New Zealand plays Fiji in the first semifinal match today. 

Author: 
Quintina Naime