South Islanders take special pride from OFC U-17 Championship success

posted in: News |

By Daniel Meyn

Canterbury football has received a boost with the contribution of South Islanders to New Zealand’s success at the OFC U-17 Championship.

Four Christchurch footballers helped New Zealand qualify for the U-17 FIFA World Cup in Peru in November, by reaching the final of the championship tournament in Fiji.

Nicholas Murphy, Jackson Cole, Eric Sugahara and Matt Foord all played an integral part in the New Zealand U-17 team which won the Oceania U17 championships on Saturday after a nail-biting 1-0 win against New Caledonia, who also qualified for the World Cup.

Murphy and Cole currently play for Christchurch United, while Cashmere Technical players Sugahara and Foord are also products of the Christchurch United Academy, coming through the youth grades for many years.

*Jackson Cole (13) and Luka Coveny (left) close down a Fiji attack. Photo: Kirk Corrie / www.phototek.nz*

The presence of the four South Island-based players, along with former Canterbury lad Luke Supyk is a big shift in national team selections. In recent decades most national squads would only have one or two, or on most occasions, no South Island players at all.

This change is a reward and reflection of the hard work by many clubs in Christchurch in recent years to improve their youth development.

The fact that Christchurch-based former All White Aaron Clapham is the current assistant of the U-17 side has helped to identify the talent coming through in the South.

Main photo: The Christchurch contingent with the Oceania U17 trophy, from left, Assistant coach Aaron Clapham, Jackson Cole, Nick Murphy, Matt Foord, Goalkeeping coach Danny Knight and Eric Sugahara. Photo: Kirk Corrie / Phototek.

*Matt Foord … won the Golden Glove. Photo: Kirk Corrie / Phototek.*

All four South Island-based players featured in the final, with goalkeeper Matt Foord claiming Man of the Match after pulling off several stunning saves for his team which had been reduced to 10 men for the final 20 minutes.

Foord also won the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper of the tournament and was picked for the team of the tournament.

Murphy was part of the epic defensive effort in the final minutes and could not stop smiling after the final whistle.

“My immediate reaction was just run and hug my nearest teammate. I was just filled with joy and to celebrate something as big as the win, with my new brothers was a very special and heartfelt moment for me.”

After narrowly beating New Caledonia in their opening game, 3-2, thanks to a hat-trick from former Waimak United and Nomads United player Luke Supyk, New Zealand then thrashed American Samoa 11-0 with Murphy captaining the side to top the group and move into the knockout stages of the tournament.

“Playing with the fern on my chest was one hell of an achievement, but that feeling of walking my team out and captaining my side, my country, is a feeling that will never leave me. I was unbelievably honoured and proud to do so,” said Murphy after captaining his country for the first time.

*Nicholas Murphy (centre) … ‘honoured and proud’. Photo: Kirk Corrie / www.phototek.nz*

The team then faced a well-organised Vanuatu side in the quarter-finals, only winning the game in the 90th minute when Luke Supyk converted a penalty.

In the semi-finals, New Zealand comfortably beat the host nation Fiji with a dominant 4-1 victory to qualify for the U-17 FIFA World Cup, before finishing the job with a 1-0 win over New Caledonia to claim the trophy for the eighth consecutive time.

Foord also won the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper of the tournament and was picked for the team of the tournament.

Murphy said that the team had to dig deep to hang on in the final.

“The boys worked super hard and put in shifts day in day out on and off the pitch, so for me it was well deserved. Now onto our next job: Peru!”