New Zealand Men’s Floorball secured first-time win in AOFC Cup debut
He pānui pāpāho | News release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, 10 October 2023
Our NZ Men’s team secured its first victory in the 2023 AOFC Cup against Malaysia.
Our Men’s development team secured its first-ever victory in the esteemed 2023 Asia-Oceania Floorball Confederation (AOFC) Cup against Malaysia with a 4-2 win.
The win comes as New Zealand makes its debut appearance in this tournament.
The team of seventeen players, led by veteran Jonathan To and guided by Head Coach Andre Ballantyne, demonstrated teamwork and determination on the field against their Malaysian opponents.
23-year-old Connor Weston took the first point in the first three minutes of the game and 20-year-old Alec Stewart, with an assist from veteran Angus Stallmann, gave New Zealand a one-point lead at the end of the first period.
Malaysia drew 2-2 in the second period but New Zealand continued to play a steady game and 17-year-old Aston Ash, assisted by veteran Jordan Boyle, scored his first NZ Men’s international goal in the third period, putting us 3-2 ahead of the Malaysians forty-three minutes into the game.
Alec sealed the final victory at 4-2, with a well-executed penalty shot taken one second before the final whistle blew.
Samuel Elkin, our 18-year-old national goalie from Wellington College, had a world-class performance saving 49 out of the 51 shots that were on target from the Malaysian team.
Head Coach Andre Ballantyne shared that it was a proud moment for New Zealand and that this victory was a much-needed win to boost the confidence of our national players.
“We stuck to our game plan, and executed on the field despite the continuous pressure from Malaysia,” says Head Coach Andre.
“This tournament is a big learning curve for us, especially for our young players, and our primary objective is to build up momentum for the Men’s World Floorball Champion Qualifiers in May 2024.
“Playing in the 2023 AOFC Cup is really about bringing up our younger players, getting them into the international playing field, putting them under a little pressure and learning from this experience.”
With more matches between 9 and 14 October, we call upon all our supporters to follow our Men’s team as they battle it out against eight of the strongest teams in the Asia-Oceania region.
You can catch all the action live online using our official social media channels for match schedules, live streaming links, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
The 2023 AOFC Cup is played in Singapore between 9 and 14 October.
Contact
For further information, please email contact@floorball.org.nz
To catch the action online, follow us on Facebook or Instagram
For more information about Floorball New Zealand, go to www.floorball.org.nz
For more information about AOFC 2023, visit International Floorball Federation
