By Taromane Martin
MARIST futsal team had to crawl back in the second half on Thursday to upset Indo-Solo 5-4 in their SIPA National futsal league clash at the Multipurpose Hall yesterday.
Marist were forced to play without, Elliot Ragomo and Alvin Ray in the opening minutes of the first half and paid the price, Fred Max, Chris S and Dennis Ifunaoa finding the back of the net to lead Marist 3-0.
Trailing by three goals, Marist had to dig deep for a comeback in the second half and needed Ragomo and Ray to lead the comeback.
First it was Junior Morosini who found the back of the net for Marist followed by two Ragomo set piece to tie the scores 3-3.
Fred Max regained the lead for Indo-Solo momentarily before Mathias Saru forced an own goal off Ifunaoa before finding the winner for Marist in the final minute of play to steal the win.
“I’m pleased with the boy’s concentration and how they responded to going three goals down in the first half,” Head Coach Jerry Sam told SunSPORTS after their stunning comeback.
“Our game plan worked in the second half because we knew we could not get back into the game through keeping possession and attacking.
“We had to press high and force them to concede fouls which gave us set piece opportunities to get back into the game in the second half.
“Credit goes to Elliot being our first professional futsal player in the country coming back to join us.
“He is not only a big boost for us but also for the other team’s players to play against such a talent while learning from him,” Coach Sam said.
The win for Marist yesterday sees them lurking with nine points close behind Kooline FC who are with 10 points after they were held to a three-all draw by Guntimac FC on Thursday
