Meli Laddpeter 
Despite going down 2-0 to New Zealand in their second pool match of the OFC Men’s Under-19 Championship yesterday, the Junior Bula Boys have still have a chance in securing a place in the semi-finals.
The side made a strong start, holding the tournament favorites scoreless at half-time.
However, they were unable to keep New Zealand at bay in the second half, conceding twice as the match slipped away.
Fresh off a 7-2 win over Vanuatu in their first group stage match, the Junior Bula Boys created a few moments of their own across the course of the contest too, captain Delon Shankar firing a direct free kick inches over the bar in the first half, and Abdullah Khairati narrowly missing the bottom-left corner in the second.
Midfielder Maikah Dau says going up against the defending champions has never been easy, and they expected nothing short of a physical encounter against the side.
“All we can do now is work on our mistakes and come back stronger. Our next game is a very important one so we really need to pull up our socks if we want to move onto the next stage.”
They play their final pool game against Tahiti on Tuesday.
