Bay of Plenty's Andrew Cooper (left) plays a pass. Photo / George Novak
Bay of Plenty's Andrew Cooper (left) plays a pass. Photo / George Novak
What a difference a night can make.
The Bay of Plenty Surge played a double header against close rivals the Waikato Rapids at the Trustpower Arena in Tauranga at the weekend - a valuable opportunity to showcase the sport as they got their National Men's Futsal SuperLeague campaign under way.
On Saturday night, Bay of Plenty held on into the dying minutes to score an equaliser and draw 3-all in a great show of perseverance.
However, on Sunday morning it was a different story, Waikato were at their attacking best and the young Bay of Plenty side could not keep up as they went down 8-1.
Bay of Plenty Surge player Jay Silcock makes a break during his side's 8-1 loss to Waikato Rapids in Tauranga. Photo / George Novak
Bay of Plenty coach Joe Dixon said the draw on Saturday, in the way that it came in the dying moments, felt like a win.
"We went down quite early so we were behind for the majority of the game - getting that last minute equalising goal felt like a winner.
"We defended really well, Waikato are a quality opposition so we had to kind of sit and be well structured. We always set out with the plan of keeping the game as close as possible for as long as possible and seeing if we could pinch a result."
Dixon was justifiably disappointed with the loss on Sunday but was confident his side would learn from it.
"I think we exhausted a lot of energy [in the first game] firstly but secondly Waikato came out firing and we just didn't match up. There were lots of individual errors.
"We have to have the mentality to keep ourselves in games for longer. We were 6-0 down after eight minutes so that shows we did pick ourselves up after that but you can't play that poorly for the start of the game.
Bay of Plenty's Diogo Ramos beats his man. Photo / George Novak
"We've got a lot more depth in the squad this year, the quality of the personnel we have is good and we're still improving as a team so I think we'll only get better as it goes along. Only six of the players were in the squad last year so that's a lot of new players we've integrated this year. It was their first experience of the SuperLeague so you'd hope they only get better as well."
He said there was a good crowd at the Saturday night game and it was good for the sport to be able to show case what they do.
"It was cool to show the region what futsal is and show there is that pathway there for players. We had a 15-year-old Xavier Maddox (of Tauranga) play his first game so it was good for him to get some experience as well.
Bay of Plenty Surge goalkeeper Harris Edlin makes a save against the Waikato Rapids. Photo / George Novak
"He's the youngest in our squad and probably one of the youngest in the league. Xavier has been in the futsal programme for the last four or five years so he's really our first player who has come through the full pathway. It's good to see."
Bay of Plenty's squad depth will be tested this weekend as they travel to Hamilton for the Northern Travel Series in which they will play four games in two days, against Auckland and Northern.
Home Series: Trustpower Arena, Tauranga: September 28: vs Waikato Rapids (drew 3-all). September 29: vs Waikato Rapids (lost 8-1). Northern Travel Series: The Peak, Rototuna, Hamilton: October 5: vs Auckland, 12.30pm. October 5: vs Northern Comets, 5pm. October 6: vs Northern Comets, 10.30am. October 6: vs Auckland, 3pm. National Series 1: Bruce Pulman Arena, Auckland: November 9: vs Central, 12pm. November 9, vs Capital, 7.30pm. November 10: vs Southern United, 8am. November 10: vs Canterbury United, 2pm. National Series 2: ASB Sports Centre, Wellington: November 22: vs Central, 12.30pm. November 22: vs Southern United, 5pm. November 23: vs Capital, 10am. November 23: vs Canterbury United, 4pm. November 24: Semifinals and Final.
