Eagles clinches U-19 crown

This is for all Malaita people: Wanedala

By Taromane Martin

 

MALAITA Eagles provincial U-19 football team are the champions of the 2018 Youth Solomon Cup after defeating Central Shields 5-2 in their final round robin match yesterday at the Lawson Tama stadium.

Eagles claimed the title after an undefeated run in the competition, winning all five of their matches to finish with 15 points on the competition table.

Honiara Warriors claimed second position followed by the Western Tomokos U-19 squad. Guadalcanal Hornets claimed fourth position followed by Renbel Chiefs, the Central Shields and Makira Ulawa Province who picked up only one win in from five matches.

Eagles Head Coach Philip Wanedala said he was speechless with the result, dedicating the win to God saying he hopes their victory will instil a new mindset in their province for sports authorities to seriously look at developing sports in the province.

“I’m speechless with the result. I want to give all the glory back to God. We dedicate it to God because he is the one who gave us the victory today,” he said.

“The boys performed for everyone to see on the pitch. They really wanted to win the competition because of the achievements of the senior boys at the Solomon Cup last year.

“However, this win does not show that we are the best in the country but indicates the output we have been doing in our province is working.

“Despite winning the cup,I believe there are still a lot of areas we need to work on and improve,” Wanedala adds.

The coach said such competitions as the Youth Solomon Cup are important for the country’s’ sports development because of the provinces isolation from Honiara.

“Most of the developments are centralized in Honiara and if we want to develop sports in the country hosting such competitions is very important.

“Such competitions for those of us coming from the province is important because it indicates to our younger generations that there is something happening and planned for them which they will look forward to competing at.

“And if SIFF continues to host these competitions I believe it will greatly improve the standard of soccer in the country,” he adds.

Wanedala also dedicated the win for the people of Malaita Province saying sports can truly unite people.

“Sports creates unity and our win today I believe will create unity amongst our people back home.

“The win is not only for one group of people but it is for all the people of Malaita Province.

“However I believe there are still a lot of areas we need to develop heading into the future because football is an unpredictable game you cannot win the title all the time. You need to work hard and improve,” Coach Wanedala said.

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