Talo or Pole: who is the first choice goalkeeper of Hekari?

It was recently reported by Oceania Football Center that Solomon Islands goalkeeper Anthony Talo signed with Papua New Guinea giants Hekari United. The goalkeeper was followed by his countryman the defender Robert Laua for the club based in the Papua New Guinean capital city.

Many questions were raised since them and the major of them all is: who is going to be the first choice goalkeeper of Hekari United in the OFC Champions League 2020?

The club currently count with five goalkeepers in their squad and the most important of them is the Papua New Guinea international Ishmael Pole. The 175cm tall stopper played the last edition of the Pacific Games for his national team where they ended in the 4th position after losing the bronze medal contest for Fiji in the penalty shootout.

Despite the obvious contest between the two important goalkeepers, both of them are very friendly with each other with a real sportsmanship attitude. The quality of the goalkeepers is clear – any of them who is chosen by the coach Jerry Allen to stay between the sticks has all capabilities to display a good performance.

Anthony Talo recently won the OFC Futsal Nations Cup for Solomon Islands in a tournament held in New Caledonia after beating New Zealand in the penalty shootout. He was awarded the best goalkeeper of the tournament. He already played OFC Champions League for Western United, Marist and Solomon Warriors and most recently was playing in Telekom S-League for the powerhouse Henderson Eels.

Talo is primarly a Futsal goalkeeper – which is a total different game from the 11-a-side football – and despite his experience in the football pitch his success for the Kurukuru are the most important achievements of his career. It will be interesting to analyse how the Solomon Islander will perform in the pitch.

Another question raised by the fans and media is the situation of the foreign slots for the continental tournament: is it clever to use a foreign spot in a position you already have a very good local player as Pole? If Pole will be the starter, will the team use a foreign slot for a reserve player?

The next PNG National Soccer League matches may give us an important picture of what will happen in the most important tournament of the year for Hekari – that marks their comeback to the continental stage challenges.