Soccer-Micronesia coach hopes routs a stepping stone to success

MELBOURNE, July 9 (Reuters) - Micronesia's young players may need counselling after conceding 114 goals in three matches against humble Pacific Island opponents, but coach Stan Foster hopes the lopsided losses are a stepping stone to future success. Micronesia bowed out of the recent Pacific Games with a record 46-0 spanking by Vanuatu, ranked 200th of FIFA's 209 teams. That followed their 30-0 rout by 182nd-ranked Tahiti and 38-0 mauling by 195th-ranked Fiji. Though drawing from a tiny pool of players -- Micronesia has a population of about 100,000 scattered across some 600 islands in the Western Pacific -- Australian Foster conceded he had taken flak for bringing a team of teenagers to Papua New Guinea. "I picked a development squad made up of teenagers, for which I was criticised, but if the kids weren't so enthusiastic about the sport I probably would've packed up and gone back to Australia," Foster said in quotes published by Australian state broadcaster ABC. "Possibly (they'll need counselling)," he said, "but they're young, they're resilient. Most of them had never been out of their village until we went to Guam as part of our build-up to the Games. "Most of them had never been on an escalator and I had to show them how to use one. "But this fantastic experience -- the opening ceremony, meeting so many fantastic people -- I think it's taken some of the disappointment around what happened on the pitch away, taken the hurt away. "When I go back I expect more criticism from those people who say the team has embarrassed the country, but I hope we've taken the first steps towards one day becoming a force in the region." While Micronesia's opponents plundered goal after goal, racking up some impressive individual statistics, Foster told his players he would be proud of them no matter what. "They know (you) haven't got the skills and the technical know-how, but in 12, 16 years' time, after a few more Pacific Games, history will look kindly on you," he said. Foster hoped a visit by FIFA officials to the island nation might pave the way for recognition and ranking by the global governing body, as well as financial assistance. "I can't do it on my own," he said. "As far as I know I'm the only certified coach in the country and I really need help to raise the technical standards on the other islands because we're hundreds of kilometres apart." (Writing by Ian Ransom; Editing by Peter Rutherford)