Oceania Football Center

Fiji FACT: Nalaubu shines as Suva defeat Nadi in a muddy clash

Nadi and Suva clashed at Subrail Park in Labasa in the second round of 2020 Fiji FACT, one of the most important football tournaments in Fiji. Despite the rain and the mud, Suva managed to defeat their opponents in a hard-fought contest.

Shivneel Pillay took advantage of a defensive mistake to open the scoreboard for Nadi in the 11th minute. Suva had a big chance to equalize a few minutes later, but Christopher Wasasala‘s shot went wide. Despite this failed opportunity, Wasasala did not give in and he found the net in the 30th minute after a nice cross from the right wing by Shahil Dave to even the score. Wasasala almost scored his second goal of the day in the final minutes of the first half, but Nadi’s goalkeeper Vereti Dickson saved it.

After a good performance in the first half, Wasasala left the pitch in the beginning of the second half, and this gave room for Sairusi Nalaubu to shine. The 23-year-old forward showed his class by scoring two goals in a row to put Suva ahead: 3-1. With these goals, Nalaubu took the Golden Boot Race’s lead with four goals in two matches.

Nadi’s head coach Kamal Swamy made important changes after Suva’s third goal: Beniamino Lebatavatava and Joeli Severo came from the bench to replace Vuniuci Tikomaimereke and Shivneel Pillay, respectively. The Green Machine managed to find the net in the 89th minute when Afraz Ali scored a beautiful free kick, but it was too late for them to prevent Suva from winning. At the final whistle, the score was 3-2 in favour of the Capital City Boys.

Suva are leading the Group B with six points in two matches while Nadi and Lautoka are sharing the second position with three points each. You can check more information about 2020 Fiji FACT by clicking here.

Rewa’s late goal punishes Ba in Fiji FACT

Rewa players celebrating the late goal scored by Anish Khem – *Fiji FA Media*

After winning in the first matchweek of 2020 Fiji FACT, Ba and Rewa clashed at Subrail Park to fight for the first position in the Group A, and the rain and the bad condition of the pitch did not prevent them to fight for the victory until the final whistle.

Abbu Zahid opened the scoreboard for Ba in the 18th minute after a nice cross by Darold Kakasi from the left wing. Rewa created many opportunities to score in the first half, but goalkeeper Sanaila Waqanicakau made good saves to show that he is not only a good striker.

Savenaca Nakalevu left the pitch due to injury and he was replaced by Mitieli Naiviro in the beginning of the second half. A few minutes later, Darold Kakasi scored but the goal was disallowed because he was caught offside.

Rewa took the control of the match in the final twenty minutes, while Ba maintained their advantage until the 84th minute, when Tevita Waranaivalu crossed from the left wing and Anish Khem headed the ball into the net to equalize. At the final whistle, the score was an 1-1 draw – a fair result for both sides.

Ba and Rewa are sharing the first position of the Group A with four points each. You can check more details about 2020 Fiji FACT by clicking here.

Fiji FACT: Lautoka claim narrow victory against Navua

After being defeated in the opening round of 2020 Fiji FACT, Lautoka and Navua came to the pitch focused on grabbing their first three points in the tournament – and the Bluez fared better in this important clash.

Dave Radrigai opened the scoreboard for Lautoka after a nice pass by Edward Aaron in the 11th minute, while Sekove Finau headed the ball into the net after a corner kick taken by Malakai Rakula to double Lautoka’s lead. Navua managed to score in the final minute of the first half with a beautiful header by Jesoni Takala.

Navua came to the second half focused on equalizing the match and they managed to create chances and to put pressure on their opponents. However, the first goal of the second half was scored by Lautoka’s Avneel Nand who pushed the ball into the net after a great cross by Malakai Rakula from the left wing. The final goal of the match was scored by Suliano Doli, who headed the ball into the net after a free kick taken by his father Apisai Smith. At the final whistle, the score was 3-2 in favour of Lautoka.

Lautoka have three points in two matches while Navua lost their two matches in the tournament. You can check more details about 2020 Fiji FACT by clicking here.

Team Wellington’s star Jack-Henry Sinclair to miss three months due to shoulder injury

Team Wellington is one of the two teams that are still unbeaten in 2020-21 ISPS Handa Men’s Premiership, the national football league in New Zealand. The team coached by Scott Hales is sharing the lead with Hamilton Wanderers with six points each.

Despite the good start in the season, Hales will have to deal with the absence of Jack-Henry Sinclair, who got injured in the match against Hawke’s Bay United last weekend. According to Team Wellington’s media, Sinclair has suffered a dislocated Acromioclavicular joint in his shoulder with torn ligaments meaning he will be out for 12-16 weeks.

Sinclair is one of the most talented players in New Zealand. The 22-year-old right winger scored Team Wellington’s winning goal against Wellington Phoenix Reserves in the opening matchweek of the current season. He was also one of the top scorers of Team Wellington in the last ISPS Handa Men’s Premiership with seven goals. We wish him a good recovery.

Henderson Eels unable to beat Central Coast at Telekom S-League

The current top-tabled team of Solomon Islands’ S-League could not surpass the young squad of Central Coast FC. Led by important players such as Boni Pride and Anthony Talo, Henderson Eels scored first through the youngster Raphael Le’ai, but could not defend their lead until the final whistle.

The newcomers in the national league Central Coast counted on the pace of Charles Mani and Philip Ropa upfront, but Eels scored first at the 34th minute of play. But it did not take long as the former U17 Solomon Islands international Javin Wae equalised for Central Coast six minutes later of Le’ai’s opener.

Central Coast and Henderson Eels draw at Lawson Tama Stadium – *TSL Media*

Eels battled hard in the second half to find a winner, but their best efforts were denied by Central Coast defense. This was only the second game of the Telekom S-League season that Eels did not win – they were beaten by Honiara City in the first round of the league and now draw against Central Coast.

Despite not collecting all points from this clash, Eels continue with a solid margin above Solomon Warriors, the second in the run – nine points separate the first and second places in the standings. Central Coast is doing an impressive first season as they are currently ranked fourth, just behind the giants Henderson Eels and Solomon Warriors and good team of Laugu United.

You can check the updated table, results and top-goalscorers of the season so far by visiting our session of the 2020/21 Telekom S-League!

New Zealand: Hamilton Wanderers make history at ISPS Handa Premiership

This weekend one of the most traditional football clubs from New Zealand celebrated a very important at ISPS Handa Premiership, New Zealand’s top-tier of football; the Hamilton Wanderers coached by Kale Herbert, son of the legend Ricki Herbert, played at Porrit Stadium against Auckland City, the eight-time champions of the national league.

Since the introduction of the Hamilton-based team in the national league in 2016, they never won Auckland City – this time the history was made thanks to a brace of the current MVP of the ISPS Handa Premiership Derek Tieku, Hamilton collected very important three points in the run and also created history for them and their city.

Derek Tieku scored twice to give Hamilton a historic win – *Phototek*

After a Joe Harris’ well-taken free-kick hit the crossbar, the striker was there to put the ball in the back of the net with header past the goalkeeper Cameron Brown. Still in the first 45 minutes, a brilliant solo effort by Mark Jones allowed Tieku to score again in the middle of the box to double the lead of the home side.

Auckland missed a lot the likes of Emiliado Tade and Logan Rogerson and was unable to create much trouble to the well organised Wanderers’ defense in the second half. With the points collected from this clash, Wanderers are currently at the top of the table of ISPS Handa Premiership.

Also on the weekend Waitakere United allowed Wellington Phoenix Reservers to comeback at Seddon Fields giving to the WeeNix their first three points of the season – the final result was 4-1 with a brace of Benjamin Old. Team Wellington bounced back of an early scare of Hawke’s Bay United at David Farrington Park and confirmed their second win thanks to goal of the Portuguese João Moreira – 2-1 for Team Wellington. To complete the round, Eastern Suburbs beaten Canterbury Dragons by 3-1 in Auckland. You can see the top-goalscorers, updated table and latest results of the competition by visiting our sessions of the ISPS Handa Premiership.

PNG Women’s National Soccer League to start this weekend

Finally the women of Papua New Guinea got their deserved recognition from its football governing body; the Papua New Guinea National Women’s Soccer League is set to start this weekend. After so many years, one of the most important football nations of Oceania develops its own women’s soccer league. The current Pacific Games medalists, Papua New Guinea already hosted a U20 FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2016 – finally now, four years later, a revamped women’s league is set to thrill the fans all over the country.

Hekari United women’s team during trainings – *PNGFA Media*

“The Northern Conference has Sepik FC, Pacific Gardens FC, Markham Raings FC, Morobe Tulips FC, Bara FC, Rainy Lae FC, Poro FC and Tusbab Laidamon FC while Southern Conference has Port Moresby City FC, Port Moresby City Academy, National Capital District Public Servant Soccer Association, Hekari United FC, Genesis FC and Amoana FC“, said the PNGFA website in a press release.

“There is a huge interest in women’s football and it has grown massively over the years. We have seen young women and girls coming out from different settlements, communities, tribes, clans and provinces in Papua New Guinea and excelling in the sport,” said Pius Letenge, Papua New Guinea Football Association General Secretary – “our women’s national team is the only team in the country which has won five consecutive gold medals in the Pacific Games. We are currently ranked 48 in the world and second in Oceania behind New Zealand which is something very good… Our aim now for 2020 is to identify talented women and girls in football for development“, completed Letenge.

During the week, the PNGFA will unveil the final draw for the national league that is going to start November, 28th and it is scheduled to finish on February 2021.

Lea’alafa scores his first goal after returning to Solomon Warriors

One of the most highlighted players of Solomon Islands and Oceania made recently his return to senior football for Solomon Islands’ current national champions Solomon Warriors. Micah Lea’alafa had changed his mind – the player stated he would take a break from the game to Oceania Football Center – but the attacker decided to return to action for the second round of Telekom S-League. The player was also part of the newly formed Southern United for a period before rejoining his former club Warriors in order to improve the already very good squad of the team.

This past weekened marked the second game of Lea’alafa for Warriors and also the first goal of the Solomon Islands dual international for his new team. The player scored one of the seven goals of Warriors victory against Kossa at Lawson Tama Stadium – 7-0 result in favour of Warriors.

Lea’alafa last played for South African professional outfit Maritzburg United in 2019, before achieving success for New Zealand giants Auckland City FC. Lea’alafa is a very important adition to Warriors – the team already counts on top-players such as Dennis Ifunaoa and their also recent signing Gagame Feni.

In the weekend we also had more four games at Lawson Tama Stadium for Telekom S-League; Laugu United draw against Isabel United (2-2), Honiara City smashed Malaita Kingz by 4-1, Southern United surpassed Real Kakamora by 2-1 and the current top-tabled side Henderson Eels was unable to win the debutants in the league Central Coast as they draw – 1-1 was the final result of the match. You can the see full results, table and top-goalscorers of the season so far by visiting our session of Telekom S-League 2020 /21.

Solomon Cup ready to kick-off in Solomon Islands

Ten teams will fight for 2020 Solomon Cup’s title – *SIFF Media*

One of the most important football tournaments in Solomon Islands is about to start. The 2020 Solomon Cup is scheduled to kick-off this Saturday at Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara – the capital of the country – with ten teams fighting for the trophy.

Ten Provincial Football Associations from Solomon Islands are represented in the tournament: each one with a team. The participants were split in two groups of five teams each for the group stage of the tournament. The top two teams of each group will advance to the semifinals. All matches are going to be livstreamed by Solomon Islands Football Federation on Facebook.

Guadalcanal Hornets, Lauru Kuvojo, Malaita Eagles, Temotu Arrows, Western Tomoko are drawn in the Group A while Central Shield, Honiara Warriors, Isabel Frigates, Makira Ulawa Kakamora and Renbel Chiefs are in the Group B. You can check the full schedule of the tournament by clicking here.

Shivam Naidu: supporting Lautoka from the sideline in Fiji FACT

Shivam Naidu at 2019 OFC Olympic Qualifiers – *OFC Media*

Lautoka did not have a good start in 2020 Fiji FACT, as the team coached by Anginesh Prasad was defeated by Nadi in the opening round of the tournament by 1-0. Now, the Bluez have just two games to bounce back in order to advance to the semifinals.

One of the team’s major problems is the absence of the talented Shivam Naidu. Despite being on Lautoka’s 22-men list, the 20-year-old player is not going to play this tournament due to an injury: “I am in the squadlist but I am not recovered from injury yet,” explained the young player.

Despite the injury, Shivam continues to support his teammates, and he believes they can reach the finals of the tournament: “Lautoka played well against Nadi. There are two more games in the group stage and I am sure that my teammates will give their best to qualify,” he stated.

Led by Anginesh Prasad – who took over as head coach a month ago to replace Ravinesh Kumar – the Bluez want to lift Fiji FACT’s trophy so that fans can forget the team’s bad season, which includes a disappointing sixth place in Vodafone Premier League: “Anginesh Prasad knows the team very well […] We are comfortable with him,” said Shivam Naidu.

Lautoka’s next match in the tournament will be against Navua at Subrail Park in Labasa. You can check more information about 2020 Fiji FACT standings, results and top scorers by clicking here.