Fiji Coach Rob Sherman says while a draw over Papua New Guinea would have been sufficient to book their spot in the OFC Olympic qualifier semifinals, they had aimed for nothing less than a win.
Speaking to FijiLive after their 2-0 win in Auckland on Saturday, Sherman said they needed to win to boost their confidence ahead of the knockout stages.
“The positive attitude was carried into the game, I know we were disciplined tactically and emotionally and we did not get drawn into any silly situations.”
“We had a plan which was to press a little bit higher in this game and that paid dividends.”
Sherman said good discipline and game management was one of the major keys to their progress.
“Unknown quality in terms of PNG since we hadn’t seen them so we were in a game in which we wanted to dictate which the boys did well.”
“We made sure that boys were very disciplined and maintained composure according to the game plan rather than going over the motive which the boys did very well.”
“PNG had their own attributes but we focused on our game in all essence in how we attacked and how we were going to press particularly which was executed well.”
He added the Junior Bula Boys will need to work on their composure ahead of the semifinal next Wednesday.
“Obviously, I’m very pleased with the results and performance.”
“We probably needed composure at times to keep possession but all in all I’m proud of the boys for their performance.”
“Generally, I’m happy with the progress and we’ll just keep working with what we have been doing in our trajectory and be more competitive in the next match.”`
