The 2019-20 PVFA Premier League season reached its end as the final matchday was contested this Saturday in Port Vila – the capital of Vanuatu. Ifira Black Bird were crowned champions of the season while Galaxy finished in the second position.
Galaxy’s Kensi Tangis was the top scorer of the tournament with thirteen goals. The 30-year-old striker scored two goals against Tupuji Imere this weekend after spending some matches without scoring. It is important to remember that Tangis missed part of the season after getting injured in the 1-0 loss to Sia-Raga in November.
Kensi Tangis – Vanautu Sports News
That is his second season performing in a very good level. He was also the top scorer of Telekom S-League – the national football league from the Solomon Islands – in 2018 with 23 goals in thirteen matches. Tangis is a regular starter in Vanuatu National Team. He represented his country in 28 matches and scored eight goals.
Galaxy FC will play PVFA Top Four that will be contested later this month. The winner of the Top Four will advance to the National Super League. You can check 2019-20 PVFA Premier League standings, results and top scorers by clicking here.
The 2020 Inter-District Championship is reaching its end as the champions of both tournaments are going to be known in a few hours. While Labasa and Lautoka will clash at Premier Division’s Final, Bua and Nadroga are ready for a huge battle at Senior Division’s Final.
Both teams have already faced each other in the group stage and Nadroga have beaten Bua by 2-0 with goals scored by Jonas Naceva and Tomasi Tuicakau. However, it is important to remember that both teams were already qualified for the semifinals at that time, so Bua and Nadroga did not play their very best in this match.
Nadroga is having a wonderful campaign at Inter-District Championship as they won all their matches so far in the tournament. On the other hand, Bua had to work the extra mile to reach the final by beating Tailevu Naitasiri in the shootout.
Nadroga (left) and Bua (right) will clash at 2020 Senior Division’s IDC final – Fiji FA Media
Nadroga’s head coach Johnny Williams relies on a powerful attack that counts on great players like Taniela Raubula, Osea Vakatalesau and Jonas Naceva while Bua’s striker Mohammed Zaid has the tough mission to lead his side in the final.
The final clash between both sides will take place at ANZ Stadium in Suva. The match is scheduled to kick-off at 1pm (local time). You can check more information about 2020 Senior Division’s Inter-District Championship by clicking here.
The 2019-20 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League reached its end on this Saturday when Lae City and Vitiaz United clashed at PNG Football Stadium in Port Moresby. Lae City confirmed their favouritism as they have beaten their opponents by 1-0.
Obert Bika scored the winning goal in the 51st minute. Vitiaz’s goalkeeper Russell Chris saved a shot from Ecuadorian star Abdias Aguirre but Bika was there to push the ball into the net to put a smile on the face of Lae City supporters.
Abdias Aguirre from Ecuador celebrating Lae City’s title
In the third place play-off match, Michael Foster and Raymond Gunemba scored twice each as Hekari United smashed Gulf Komara by 5-0. You can check all details of this National Soccer League’s season by clicking here.
The 2020 winter football season is over for many clubs from New Zealand as the Ultra Football Central League finished this weekend and Miramar Rangers were crowned league champions by beating Western Suburbs 1-0. Besides that, four other matches were contested this weekend in the final matchday of Central League’s season.
Wairarapa United hammered Waterside Karori by 6-0 at Masterton Memorial Turf Park. They were led by Seule Soromon and Josh Rudland who scored two goals each. Jonty Roubos and legendary Paul Ifill also scored in this match.
Seule Soromon scored a brace for Wairarapa United against Waterside Karori in 2020 Ultra Football Central League
Soromon finished the season in style as he scored four goals in his last two matches of the season. He scored another brace in the 2-2 draw against Napier City Rovers two weeks ago. The 36-year-old striker from Vanuatu finished 2020 Ultra Football Central League season with five goals in eight matches. He has a long career in New Zealand as he is playing in the country since 2008. He was part of Vanuatu National Team squad that played 2007 Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa.
Wairarapa United finished the season in the eighth position with sixteen points in eighteen matches. You can check 2020 Ultra Football Centra League standings, results and top scorers by clicking here.
Miramar Rangers and Western Suburbs clashed at David Farrington Park in the last matchday of 2020 Ultra Football Central League – one of the most important regional leagues from New Zealand – in a thrilling match.
Western Suburbs suffered a major blow in the first half when Ryan Feutz left the pitch due to an injury. Ihaia Delaney came from the bench to replace him. At the halftime, the score was a nil-nil draw and this result was enough for Miramar Rangers to clinch the Central League’s title.
Suburbs worked hard to open the scoreboard but they did not manage to find the net. On the other hand, Miramar Rangers’ forward Samuel Mason-Smith scored in the 67th minute to put his side ahead by 1-0. You can watch the goal by clicking here.
This goal put a lot of pressure on Suburbs as they would need to score two goals to win the match. Despite all efforts, the team coached by Ben Sippola did not score and Rangers lifted the Central League’s trophy with this result.
Miramar Rangers have beaten Western Suburbs by 1-0 to clinch 2020 Ultra Football Central League title – Central League Media
Mason-Smith was the top scorer of the season as the 28-year-old forward from England scored twenty goals in the season. Miramar Rangers now have seven Central League titles. They are the biggest champions in league history along with Western Suburbs. You can check 2020 Ultra Football Central League full standings by clicking here.
After finishing the group stage unbeaten, Lautoka had a tough clash against their biggest rivals Ba in the semi-finals. It was surely the most expected match by the fans and this clash have met the expectations as it was a breathtaking one.
Solomon Islands’ forward Darold Kakasi opened the scoreboard for Ba in the 33rd minute to put a smile on the supporters of the Men in Black. However, their happiness did not last long as Samuela Gavo equalized four minutes later. Lautoka’s veteran Dave Radrigai was fouled inside the box and team captain Zibraaz Sahib scored from the penalty spot to put the Bluez ahead in the final minutes of the first half.
Lautoka’s starting eleven against Ba – Fiji FA Media
Ba tried to equalize in the second half but Lautoka’s defense was stronger. At the final whistle, the score was 2-1 in favour of Lautoka – “Playing against Ba is always tough as they have many quality. We were one goal down and we came back and scored two goals,” said Zibraaz Sahib to FBC Sports after the match. You can check the highlights of this match by clicking here.
The Bluez will face Labasa tomorrow in the final to decide which team will lift Inter-District Championship’s trophy this year. Lautoka has already won the IDC 18 times, the first in 1941 and the last in 2018.
After a bad start in the tournament, Labasa reached 2020 Inter-District Championship semi-finals. The Babasiga Lions arose from the ashes and the semi-final clash against current Vodafone Premier League leaders Rewa at ANZ Stadium was very exciting.
Rewa had many opportunities to open the scoreboard in the first half but they were not very luck on finishing. Forward Setareki Hughes was performing in a very good level at the right wing and Labasa had difficulties to deal with him.
Ratu Anare opened the scoreboard for Labasa in the 43rd minute after a free kick taken by a teammate. Anare’s shot bounced on a defender and Rewa’s goalkeeper Simione Tamanisau could not save it as the Babasiga Lions took the lead.
Anare (number 13) opened the scoreboard for Labasa
Rewa fought hard to equalize but they did not manage to find the net. At the final whistle, the score was 1-0 in favour of Labasa. You can check the highlights of this match by clicking here. The Babasiga Lions are the current Inter-District Championship champions and they will have the opportunity to defend their title in tomorrow’s clash against Lautoka.
The 2019-20 PVFA Premier League season reached its end as the final matchday was contested on this Saturday in Vanuatu. Although Ifira Black Bird clinched the league title with one round in advance, it was a very exciting day, especially in the fight against relegation.
Galaxy and Tafea have beaten their opponents to finish the league in second and third positions respectively. Tafea’s forward Allista Kalip scored the fastest goal of the season as he just needed two seconds to open the scoreboard for his side against Ifira Black Bird.
The most exciting match was surely the clash between Mauwia and Sia-Raga as it was a must-win clash for both sides in order to avoid relegation. Mauwia kept their good moment in the season to beat their opponents by 2-0 which means that Sia-Raga will play PVFA First Divsion – the second-tier of Port Vila football league system – next season.
Sia-Raga were relegated to 2020-21 PVFA First Division – Vanuatu Sport
Mauwia finished the season in sixth so they will not need to play a relegation play-off. On the other hand, Yatel have beaten Erakor Golden Star by 1-0 but it was not enough for the team coached by Kiki Hinge as they finished the season in the seventh position.
Yatel will have to face Seveners United in the relegation play-off while Erako Golden Star, Galaxy FC, Ifira Black Bird and Tafea will contest PVFA Top Four to fight for a spot in the National Super League. You can check 2019-20 PVFA Premier League standings, results and top scorers by clicking here.
The tenth matchweek of Telekom S-League – the major football league from the Solomon Islands – started with a huge surprise as Southern United have beaten current league champions Solomon Warriors at Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara.
Southern’s goalkeeper Ishmael Suraau had an outstanding performance by making many saves. The biggest moment of the day happened in the 53rd minute. Youngster Alford Kanahanimae took a free kick and tem captain Joachim Waroi pushed the ball into the net to open the scoreboard. Despite all efforts, Warriors did not manage to equalize as the final score was an 1-0 victory for Southern.
Southern United (in green) have beaten Solomon Warriors by 1-0 – Telekom S-League Media
The second match of the day was contested between Marist FC and Central Coast. Despite being the favourites to win the game, Central had to work the extra mile to take three points home. The winning goal was scored in the 86th minute by Danny Tolinao who came from the bench a few minutes before.
Central Coast are know in the fourth position with fifteen points in nine matches while Solomon Warriors are in third eight points behind league leaders Henderson Eels that will face Real Kakamora on Wednesday. You can check the current Telekom S-League standings, results and top scorers by clicking here.
This weekend sees the culmination of the 2019–20 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, a season that, thanks to the COVID-19 induced lockdown, has taken almost ten months to complete. It comes down to the Grand Final between five-time champions Lae City and newcomers Vitiaz United. Before that, the third-place playoff will take place between Hekari United and Gulf Komara.
Last week’s dramatic semi-finals saw Lae City squeeze past an impressive Gulf Komara, who refused to sit back and invite Lae City onto them but rather played some swift, fast-flowing attacking football and almost embarrassed the reigning champions, while Vitiaz United and Hekari United played out a tense 2-2 draw, with both sides going down to ten men, before a back-and-forth penalty shoot-out eventually saw Vitiaz triumph over the experienced Red Army.
Abdias Aguirre scored Lae’s opening goal in the semi-final against Gulf Komara. Photo: PNGFA
A quick note on the third-placed playoff before we begin: it will be interesting to see how Hekari line up, with several squad players having not seen so much game time this season. The likes of Frank Taboroyan, Freddy Kepo, Joseph Joe, and Vito Laloata will be itching to get some competitive match experience and to prove themselves ahead of next season, which may be happening sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, Gulf Komara will be full of confidence following their close call against Lae City last week, and may fancy their chances against a potentially rotated Hekari.
To the main event: predicting the winner of Lae City versus Vitiaz United is impossible to call. Vitiaz must be highly credited for an incredible debut season in the National Soccer League, but prior to the semi-final against Hekari, it looked like they might be running out of steam, having failed to score in their final three regular season matches. Their bounce-back against Hekari, which consisted of two long-range efforts from the excellent Yagi Yasasa, hasn’t quelled fears that Jonathan Allen – who was absent from the semi-final – and Mathew David have fallen out of form. Those two need to be on fire against a fine Lae City defence, who have looked extremely solid since the arrival of the Komolong brothers.
Mathew David (right) needs to find his shooting boots again in the Grand Final. Photo: PNGFA
Lae City have come out of the other side of their mid-season managerial turmoil and seem to be stronger as a result. They retained the services of the two Ecuadorians, Abdias Aguirre and Gustine Icaza, both of whom featured against Gulf Komara last weekend, and recruited admirably in the transfer windows. However, they too have problems in front of goal: Stahl Gubag has only scored two goals since his arrival from Tusbab Stallions – compared to nine in the same number of games for his previous club – and last week’s goals came from a penalty and a long-range effort from Emmanuel Simon. Lae haven’t been able to fully replace Raymond Gunemba, and while other members of the squad chipped in with important goals in the season run-in, that lack of cutting edge up front is a definite weakness.
Midfield battles will be key to this affair: Eliud Fugre has been hugely influential in the Vitiaz midfield all season, but will have his work cut out against Simon, Aguirre and Joshua Oscar, all of whom offer composure on the ball and attacking prowess going forward. Fugre will need plenty of help from teammates Junior Sigit, Max Efale, and Elliot Foni if he’s to dictate the midfield battle in the Grand Final.
Eliud Fugre (left) has been a key man in the Vitiaz United midfield all season. Photo: PNGFA
It has been an excellent season of football in Papua New Guinea, and credit to the tournament organisers who have been able to get things going again in difficult circumstances since the lockdown. The standard of football has certainly been high in the playoffs so far, and we hope to see an excellent, fair, and entertaining clash on Saturday afternoon. May the best team win!
Oceania Football Center 