The Vodafone Fijian Under-17 team will need to work on their defence against Auckland City Youth team today.

The team is in New Zealand where they will play four build up matches in preparation for the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) qualifiers in Tahiti on February 12-18.

Coach Shalen Lal was happy with the performance in their first match against the New Zealand Maori on Monday where they drew 1-1.

“They played quite well but there is still a few areas they need to improve on,” Lal said.

“They kept up the pace but we conceded a goal so that means our defence needs to be tightened and we need to create more chances.

“Our first game has given us an insight into what needs to be done in our next game which is no doubt going to be tough.”

Lal said they have a good team and their game against Auckland City will be the boys chance to show how they have improved from their first game.

“We are obviously playing top quality teams in this build up and that is an advantage for us,” he said.

“The boys need as much game time with overseas teams as they can get because that is the only way they can get better.

“After playing their second game, they know what to expect and what to do in their next game.

Fiji plays Auckland City Youth at 1pm today.

Edited by Osea Bola

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