The current OFC Champions League and Coupe de Calédonie winners Hienghène Sport is looking for a third title in their fantastic season. Mobil Super Ligue – the top tier of football in New Caledonia – is just one win away of the club created in 1997 and based in the Hienghène province in the north of New Caledonia.
After a heartbreaking loss in the last round of Mobil Super Ligue against their rivals of AS Magenta by a 2-1 margin, Hienghène lost the chance to seal the title – they needed just one draw against Magenta but were reduced to ten men in the second-half after the second yellow of their midfielder Cédric Sansot, suffering a very disappointing goal in the 92th minute to postpone their title aims. Hienghène is still very close to the national league glory, they only need a win in the following two matches of the competition and the rivals Magenta need to win their both games remaining to make Hyehen end the competition as runners-up.
All matches of the round will be played on Saturday, with Tiga Sport vs Hienghène Sport and AS Wetr vs AS Magenta being telecasted and livestreamed by Caledonia TV – you can watch both matches in their YouTube Channel.
Trio Kedeigne and AS Lössi will battle at Stade Hnassé in Lifou for all points; Trio desperate needs a win to help them fight against the relegation, they have lost a crucial match against ES Wacaele in the last round and now really need to fight back playing at their home ground. Trio hopes their top scorer in the league can help them in this duty – Jordan Wetria already scored seven this season. It is also important to remember Trio Kedeigne has one match in dispute against AS Mont-Dore that is still under review by FCF referee commission.
AS Lössi comes from a hard match against AS Wetr in their previous game, they could score early in the game but suffered a very disappointing goal after conceding a penalty in the injury time of the second-half. The team in orange really needs a good performance of their key man Ludwig Zeoula, Shaffy Mandaoue and Pierre Kauma if they want more points in the standings – what they really need because they still have mathematical chances to drop into the relegation positions.
ES Wacaele and SC Ne Drehu will face each other in Stade de La Roche this weekend. SC Ne Drehu does not have any more risks to be relegated for the New Caledonian Ligue 2 – what is not the case of the home side ES Wacaele. SC Ne Drehu confirmed their presence in the next edition of New Caledonia top tier last weekend when they draw against Horizon Patho. The club will hope to get more points in the table to reach the 3rd spot counting with some important players as Lionnel Thanaena and Willy Waheo.
Wacaele had a fantastic result against Trio Kedeigne last round, an instrumental 1-0 victory that kept them above the water and send them to the 9th place. A win at home against SC Ne Drehu can mean much for the team in their fight against relegation – they will hope their top goalscorer Nemia Nemia score more in this very important match for them.
Tiga Sport and Hienghène Sport will make the most important match of the round since Hienghène can seal their title with a win in this game. Away from home, the current Oceania champions will not count with the prolific goalkeeper Rocky Nyikeine and the international defensive midfielder Cédric Sansot. Both of them were sent off in the previous match against AS Magenta, where Hienghène lost their first match in the league season. Bertrand Kaï will need to be more than important ever to secure the goals for his side, defensively Émile Bearuné can help the team from the north, while the always important Roy Kayara and Brice Dahité can help the offensive players to create goalscoring opportunities.
Tiga still wants to get the 3rd place in the stadings at the end of the season, so a good result against the national powerhouses would mean a lot for them in this match. To disturb the possible chances to secure the national title for their opponents, Tiga Sports will hope to count with the goals of their top goalscorer in the league Lues Waya.
AS Wetr will face AS Magenta at Stade Numa Daly hoping to improve from their last match – the 1-1 draw against AS Lössi – to defend their 3rd place in the table. The team in blue and white could just level the match in the final minutes of the game with a spot kick. The striker Germain Haewegene and Eugene Sakilia are the main offensive players for AS Wetr while defensive their key man to stop AS Magenta firepower is Enrick Bouanaoue.
AS Magenta will already know when their match start the round if they already have title chances or not – it all depends if Hienghène win Tiga Sport or not. The club based in Nouméa already is qualified for the OFC Champions League since they can not be reached by any other teams in the table, so their 2nd place is guaranteed if they can not get the title again as they did in the previous season. With the injured Richard Sele and Jean-Christ Wajoka out of the game, Kevin Nemia, the scorer of the goals that saved the chances of title to the team in the decisive clash against Hienghène in the last weekend, might be the key man for his side. Leon Wahnawe can be another important player for the runners-up of the last edition of OFC Champions League.
AS Mont-Dore will play at home against Horizon Patho hoping to improve their record this season, of what is a sure very disappointing season for them. Mont-Dore have the likes of Cédric Decoire, Raphaël Oiremoin and Joseph Tchako in their squad, all of them international players for New Caledonia. Despite this good names in the team, they are sitting now only in the 7th place in the table with 34 points. The team also has one game in dispute at FCF Referee Commission that was against Trio Kedeigne, so they still have a chance to add more points to the table. Anyway, they can not count with it: they still have mathematical chances to drop into relegation zone positions and it would not really be well seem for a team with so many tallents.
Horizon Patho has a very slight chance to drop for the relegation playoff spot and to avoid they might be looking for important points playing this away game against AS Mont-Dore. The young central defender Jean-Baptiste Caroine and their number 10 Pierre Wawia will really to be in form to avoid a defeat in this clash against a Mont-Dore willing to improve their records in a season they are in debt with their fans.
The results of this round will mean a lot for the decisive moments of Mobil Super Ligue. Can AS Magenta still stun the title chances of Hienghène after their heroic win against them last weekend? We are going to need to wait for the matches to see the outcome of the exciting clashes!
Oceania Football Center 