After the dramatic Final series of the Futsal National League over the weekend, we caught up with Northern's Coach Ouadhah Ragued to reflect not only on the weekends results, but the whole 2017 campaign.

NFF: Firstly, congrats on your teams performance, how proud are you of the display your charges have put forward this season?
OR: Thank you. Its been a fantastic season for our team. Right from the first game against AFF, our first win against them for a number of season right to the last game of the round robin, the team showed skill, character and a winning attitude.

NFF: What was the feeling like amongst the team when that final whistle blew?
OR: Emotions were very high after the final whistle. A sense of disappointment certainly but there was plenty of to be proud of during the game. It was a highly competitive and entertaining final so Futsal was definitely a winner at the end of the day.

NFF: Besides reaching the final, the highlight has to be coming back from 5-0 down to draw 5-5. Talk us through the emotional rollercoaster of that match?
OR: As a coach, there were a couple of other games that ranked higher (the 5-1 win against Capital in Wellington). However the 5-5 draw with Southern United was definitely a rollercoaster ride both for NFF and WaiBOP. We played very well for most of that game but Southern United were clinical on the counter and punished our errors. However the belief in our abilities and that winning attitude really got us through.  

NFF: Were there any outstanding performers for the team across the whole campaign?
OR: It certainly was a team effort right across the season. Mohamed Sabri was outstanding in goal and played a full 14 out of the 16 games we played this season and was absolutely deserving of the golden gloves award he received. Denny, Oban and Pheerawit have been consistently very good throughout the whole campaign.

NFF: This has been a three year development process for the Northern team, what’s the next step and how will you and the team go about getting there?
OR: The first step is to take a break and enjoy the upcoming holiday season and reflect on the campaign without the emotions of the weekend. There’s certainly a great future ahead for this young squad and the challenge will be to ensure they continue their individual growth throughout the Futsal off-season (which is way too long in the current format). It would be great to re-assemble the squad for another campaign and to better this year’s performances.

NFF: Any final words for the team & supporters?
OR: Its been a pleasure coaching the team and I would like this opportunity to thank Nikola Velkovski and Rod Caudwell (and Eden) for their efforts and support in guiding this team. Thank you to the NFF team (Korouch, Jamie, Mike) for their constant support. Also a big thank you to CLL Service and Solutions for sponsoring our Finals’ series. To the supporters, I hope you’ve enjoyed the show these young men put on and we look forward to doing it all again next year.

Futsal National League National Series 2 Results:

Northern 0 - 2 Capital
Northern 2 - 5 Canterbury United - Goals: JC Taharive, Eden Caudwell

Northern 4 - 3 Central Manawatu - Goals: Julian Stevenson, Dan Culpan, Sam Twigg, JC Taharive
Northern 5 - 5 Southern - Goals: Naji Ghamri 2, Nikola Velkovski, Art Twigg, Eden Caudwell

Futsal National League Semi Final

Capital 1 - 2 Northern - Goals: Denny Twigg, Dan Culpan

Futsal National League Final

Southern 4 - 3 Northern - Goals: Denny Twigg, Art Twigg, Oban Hawkins