U-17s off to winning start at Panda Cup
The New Zealand U-17 men have got off to a winning start to the Panda Cup overnight (NZT) in China
The Jose Figueira-coached team, inspired by the heroics of their U-20 counterparts in Poland who yesterday recorded a 5-0 win over Honduras, defeated the China U-18 men’s team 2-0 at the Shuangliu Sports Centre in Chengdu.
Jesse Randall opened the scoring for New Zealand against the hosts just before half-time and Matthew Garbett converted a penalty midway through the second half to secure the win.
Following the U-20s World Cup win, it is the first time in history that two age-group teams from New Zealand have recorded wins over non-Oceania opposition within 24 hours.
Figueira was proud of his young team as they began the Panda Cup by upsetting the defending champions at their home tournament.
“It is important to mention that we are a team that is one year younger than the teams we are playing. The players showed massive effort and massive courage out there tonight,” said Figueira at the post-match press conference.
“For everybody watching the game, they probably didn’t notice that we have a younger team. I am very proud of this performance and this is a big step for us in our preparations for the World Cup later in the year.”
The victory sees New Zealand move to the top of the Panda Cup standings after day one. South Korea scored twice in the opening 10 minutes to defeat Thailand 2-1 in the earlier game.
The New Zealand U-17 men are playing in the Panda Cup for the second time and using the tournament to get ready for the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup in Brazil later in the year. The draw for the FIFA U-17 World Cup will be held on 22 June in Rio de Janeiro.
New Zealand will face Korea Republic in a top-of-the-table clash tomorrow night (NZT).
It is the second time that New Zealand has competed in the Panda Cup after they were invited to the inaugural event in 2014 where they played Brazil, Croatia and China.
Match Details
China PR 0
New Zealand 2 (Jesse Randall 43’, Matthew Garbett pen 72’)
HT: 0-1
New Zealand: 1. Alex Paulsen, 4. Nick Milicich, 5. Robi Sabo (Nathan Lobo), 6. Campbell Strong, 7. Marko Stamenic, 8.Jesse Randall, 10. Keegan Jelacic (Oskar Van Hattum), 11. Matthew Garbett (Finn O’Connor), 15. Brad Wilson (Kris Naicker), 16. Sean Bright (Henry Hamilton), 18. Jackson Simpkin
Coach: Jose Figueira
Panda Cup Table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
1 | New Zealand | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
2 | South Korea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 |
3 | Thailand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 |
4 | China PR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0 |
Article added: Sunday 26 May 2019
