Suri happy to lead ibis again
By Taromane Martin
LOCAL Football icon turned coach, Batram Suri says he is willing to coach the Renbel ibis provincial team again should his services be needed again.
Coach Suri tenure as ibis Head Coach came to an end yesterday after their 2-1 loss to Honiara Warriors in Day 10 of the 2020 Solomon Cup tournament.
His time as ibis coach has been a memorable one for the rugby dominated province, leading them to fourth position in Group B with four points.
Despite losing 5-0 to Makira Ulawa Kakamora in their opening fixture, ibis shocked Isabel Frigates with a 2-2 draw before defeating Central Shields 1-0 in their second group match, before suffering their second loss in the tournament yesterday.
Speaking after their loss yesterday Suri said he is proud of the vast improvement shown by the players and that this is good for the development of football in the country.
“Overall, the boy’s performance has improved a lot during our games and especially from the past competitions,” he said.
“I believe they have set the bench mark in this competition. Future competitions they will need to step up more.
“I’m happy because from our games they managed to play a more structure game which I’m proud of the boys.
Game today Honiara came to win and we knew they came to win easily however we said no, you have to work for the win.
“Their expectation was to score more goals however I believe in the boys and we wanted to make sure they (Honiara) work hard for the three points. We tried to equalize but it was difficult in the end.
“Despite the result, I’m proud of the boys and their performance because they did really well against the host side today.
“Advice for the boys is to make sure they stay disciplined. These players football does not come naturally for them so as a coach you have to do repetition on the basic of football for them.
“If they continue to do this, I believe they will greatly improve in their game for future competitions.
“Yes, I’m willing to take them again as Head Coach in future competitions because I want football to stay with them also so that when competitions such as this comes, it can be competitive. Not only that but it is also good for football development in the country,” Suri said.
Honiara Warriors Head Coach Henry Koto was also pleased with their campaign despite the short time they had to prepare as a team.
“Today’s game was a match win game in order to regain Honiara’s pride. Renbel played a good game today against us. Physically they had the advantage but the boys managed to hold on and had a strong determination to win today,” he said.
Warriors win yesterday meanwhile sees them finish the 2020 Solomon Cup tournament in third for Group B behind Isabel Frigates and Makira Ulawa Kakamora.
