The 2019 season was grateful for Labasa fans – winning both Battle of Giants and Inter-District Championship, still ending up beating Ba at Champion vs Champion series were certainly moments of joy for the Babasiga Lions.
But the situation is completely different so far in 2020; the team is just three points away the bottom-ranked side Navua in Vodafone Premier League and could not defend their title in 2020 Battle of Giants as Labasa was knocked-out in the group stage. In the most recent match of the Lions the inefficiency of the team coached by Ronil Lal was stated especially in the first half: Labasa was unable to hit a shot on the target in almost the entire first half of the match.
Despite starting full of hope 2020 after a brilliant season and the win over Ba in Champion vs Champion series, the Vodafone Premier League first matches shown Labasa had to work extra harder if they wanted to clash for the title or a spot in the 2021 OFC Champions League – something that is still far away in the current scenario.
The BOG campaign was also very disappointing for the fans that expected Labasa to battle for the title. The team just needed to beat Nasinu in the final pool match, but conceded a heartbreaking equaliser in the second half. Despite some fans pointed good signs of Lions‘ performances in the competition, they ended up being knocked-out in the group stage after a very bad game played against Nasinu.
Labasa before the clash against Suva – Fiji FA Media
Although there is still time to recover in the table of the national and to get ready for the next two major tournaments to come, the Fiji FACT and the Inter-District Championship, Labasa needs to be fast and start their recovery this weekend when they take on the bottom-ranked Navua. A win might put Labasa back on track, while a defeat would be disaster putting a lot of pressure on the team that would be now placed in real danger of relegation to Vodafone Senior League – the Fijian second-tier.
Henderson Eels seems unstoppable right now; the current leaders of the Telekom S-League had no mercy of their last opponent Southern United in the last weekened of football in Honiara as Eels put ten goals past the newcomers in the national league. This was their fourth win in four matches for the team coached by Eddie Marahare: 23 goals scored and just one conceded so far.
Alongisde the talented Raphael Lea’i – seven goals so far in the season -, the experienced Joses Nawo is enjoying a great start of season. Nawo scored only against Laugu United and Southern United so far, but in both of the matches the Solomon Islands international scored four goals. With his eight goals scored so far, Nawo is top goalscorer of the Telekom S-League edition of 2020 so far.
Joses Nawo – TSL Media
Henderson Eels seems the strongest contender for the title in the season as the current champions Solomon Warriors is still to impress in their three starting matches so far in the league. The stellar squad of Henderson Eels, that counts also on players such Tutizama Tanito and Boni Pride, might be pleased to count on Nawo on fire in the opening rounds of the season and expect the experienced forward can continue to guide the front line of the current top-placed side.
You can see the current standings of the Solomon Islands’ top-tier league, full results and top scorers so far by clicking here.
After the celebrated win of the Shefa FA in the VFF National League Championship, it is time to evaluate the performances of players and legacy of the tournament for Vanuatu football. Despite its very questionable format of competition, new players were showcased in the tournament – something useful when Vanuatu is set to return for international football activities.
Despite being already capped by Vanuatu national team, the young Jayson Timatua might be the player who most got attention through the tournament; the Tafea FC’s midfielder was already spotted by Oceania Football Center after his performances in the group stage of the tournament and then captained his team to win the new-brand tournament against Sanma FA.
Timatua (with the trophy) after winning the VFF National League Championship – Vanuatu Sport
The 21-year-old player alongside Tonly Kalotang and Junior Felix were the key man for Shefa FA in the competition. Timatua was chosen the ‘Best Player of the Tournament‘ to prove his very good performances in the process to lift the trophy.
Timatua is expected now to return to Tafea in style, proving his cabalities as a key man of his team in the PVFA Premier League – Tafea is currently battling at the top of the table and will be certainly happy to count on the man of the moment in Vanuatu football.
They had to wait an extra two days to do it, but Lae City moved two points ahead of Vitiaz United at the top of the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League this weekend after a 3-1 victory over FC Kutubu, while the clash of the weekend saw Hekari United and Vitiaz United play out a tense 1-1 draw in the capital, a result which helps neither side.
Rain was a problem in the Northern city of Lae on Saturday morning, with the scheduled clash between Lae City and FC Kutubu – which was due to take place at 11am – postponed, while the 1pm clash between Tusbab Stallions and Star Mountain was delayed until 2.30pm.
This gave both Hekari United and Vitiaz United, who kicked off in Port Moresby at 11am, the chance to put pressure on Lae City, with Vitiaz in particular looking for a win that would take them three points clear of the defending champions at the top of the table. Hekari made three changes from the side that faced Kutubu last weekend: Michael Foster replaced Wira Wama in the centre of midfield, Kolu Kepo came in for his brother Ati Kepo, who was omitted from the squad entirely despite his brace against Kutubu, and the returning Koriak Upaiga took the place of Langarap Samol, with Daniel Joe moving into the centre of defence. Vitiaz had the usual suspects all starting – captain Eliud Fugre anchored the midfield with talented youngsters Yagi Yasasa and Jonathan Allen on either wing, and red-hot in-form striker Mathew David up front.
The first half was somewhat confusing, as Hekari had opted to wear their black away kit – as they were technically the away team for the game – while Vitiaz were decked out in their standard blue home kit. This led to a clash of colours that was difficult for those both on the field and off it. That had nothing to do with the first goal, though, which went the way of Vitiaz United: Upaiga tarried on the ball for too long in an innocuous-looking position, and was robbed by Mathias Oyabua; he squared the ball to Jonathan Allen, who hit his tenth goal of the season low beyond Dave Tomare in the Hekari goal.
Hekari’s Nigel Dabinyaba (right) tries to take on Vitiaz’ Eliud Fugre on Saturday. Photo: PNGFA
The lead didn’t last long. From a Russell Chris goal kick, Upaiga’s strong header forward found Nigel Dabinyaba, whose skill and strength was too much for Randall Passam, who brought the winger down around 40 yards from goal. The resulting free-kick was swung in by David Muta, and Foster headed the ball neatly into the back of the net for the equaliser.
Despite Hekari changing to their red shirts in the second half, the game became rather niggly. As the hour mark approached, the yellow cards started being thrust at players, and the flow of the game was disrupted immensely. After Raymond Gunemba came off due to an injury, his former Lae teammate Nigel Dabinyaba had a real chance to put Hekari ahead on 65 minutes; as Hekari broke from a Vitiaz free-kick, Michael Foster switched play beautifully to the opposite flank, and Dabinyaba cut inside one defender and struck the ball sweetly, but it hit the outside of the post and harmlessly wide. In the end, both sides had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
The second match of the day in Port Moresby saw an FC Bougainville side, still reeling from their 9-2 defeat at the hands of Lae City last weekend, take on a travelling Morobe United looking to move away from the bottom of the table. Bougainville started the match with three of their recent transfers in the starting eleven: Steven Inia and Bernard Purari both arrived from Star Mountain in the bonus transfer window, while Gabby Yanum was in the side to face his former club. Moreover, after Percy Mataio’s abrupt departure last week, David Passam returned as head coach. For Morobe United, new recruit Jonathan Pole started in goal, while captain Jeremy Yasasa was tasked with leading the line.
Bougainville’s Bernard Purari (in yellow) takes on Morobe United’s Kepas Kamen in Port Moresby on Saturday. Photo: PNGFA
The first half was an even affair, with neither side able to take any of the half-chances that they created. However, FC Bougainville came out firing in the second half, and almost straight from the kick-off, a through ball eventually found Basil Jofari in space in the box, and the midfielder hammered it home. Morobe United stayed relatively evenly-matched to Bougainville for the remainder of the second half, but two late goals – another for Jofari and one for Abel Redenut – made the score a little more one-sided than either side deserved.
The third match in the capital saw Gulf Komara take one Morobe Wawens. Wawens, who have not won away from home so far this season, continued their miserable record on the road with a 2-1 defeat, which put the victors in fourth place. Komara took the lead just after the half-hour mark after Wawens were dispossessed in midfield, and Pala Paul cut in from the left flank and curled an unstoppable shot in off the far crossbar. Komara went two up through Ilagi Geno just after half-time: a long ball from a deep free-kick found its way to Kenneth Arah, who squared the ball for Geno to smash his third goal in two games the roof of the net. The score remained 2-0 until the dying seconds of the game, when Wawens goalkeeper Jason Bendi stepped up to score a late penalty for the visitors.
Rupa Emil (Gulf Komara) tries a curling shot against Morobe Wawens on Saturday. Photo: PNGFA
In Lae, then, the delayed kick-off between Tusbab Stallions and Star Mountain ended in another defeat for Tusbab Stallions – that’s three in three – thanks to a Willam Yumb goal for the visitors. The result see Stallions finally slip out of the playoff positions and be replaced by Komara, although Stallions have a chance to regain fourth place next week when they take on FC Bougainville while Gulf Komara face Hekari United.
Monday night saw Lae City eventually take on FC Kutubu in slightly better weather conditions, and despite an early own goal from Alwin Komolong, the reigning champions eventually ran out 3-1 winners, with goals from Komolong (at the right end), Jacob Sabua, and Emmanuel Airem. The win sees Lae go two points clear at the top of the league ahead of next week’s clash against Morobe Wawens.
Results:
Vitiaz United 1-1 Hekari United FC Bougainville 3-0 Morobe United Tusbab Stallions 0-1 Star Mountain Gulf Komara 2-1 Morobe Wawens FC Kutubu 1-3 Lae City
Women’s National League is ready to be revived in Papua New Guinea after some years. It was revealed by PNG Football Association’s president John Kapi Natto that the federation wants to promote gender equality in the sport.
The tournament is expected to kick-off in October – right after the end of 2019-20 PNG Men’s National Soccer League. The expression of interest opens on September 2 and closes on the 25 September.
Papua New Guinea Women’s National Team in 2015 Pacific Games
Papua New Guinea has the second best National Women’s Football Team in Oceania, behind New Zealand only and having a national league will help to strengthen the national team: “We are keen to ensure gender balance is achieved and given priority after years of neglect,” said Kapi Natto.
The Women’s National Team from Papua New Guinea won all five editions of the Pacific Games women’s football championship. Oceania Football Center congratulate PNG Football Association for the women league’s revival.
The New Caledonia Cup’s Round of 32 was contested in the past weekend when sixteen matches were played in the French territory. Now the sixteen remaining teams are ready for the next battles in the Round of 16 that is scheduled to take place in two weeks.
New Caledonia Cup’s Round of 16 draw was released on this Monday and the most exciting game is surely the clash between current league leaders Tiga Sport and current Cup champions Hienghène Sport.
Hienghène (left) and Tiga Sport (right) will clash in New Caledonia Cup’s Round of 16
Currently in the third position in 2020 Mobil Super Ligue, AS Magenta will face CA Saint-Louis while SC Ne Drehu are going to clash against US Gelima. All matches are going to be contested on September 12 and 13. You can check the full draw of the Round of 16 by clicking here.
Legendary Avinesh Suwamy is having a blessed season in Fiji. The 34-year-old midfielder is Nadi’s best player in the current season and he is showing to football fans that his age is not a problem as he keeps performing in a very good level.
After scoring three goals in the Battle of the Giants earlier this month, Suwamy kept his good moment by scoring one goal in Nadi’s 5-0 win over Navua yesterday in Vodafone Premier League – the top-tier league from Fiji.
Avinesh Suwamy
Suwamy is currently leading Vodafone Premier League’s Golden Boot race with five goals in six matches while Nadi are in the fourth position with twelve points in eight matches. You can check the current league standings, results and top scorers by clicking here.
The 2020-21 football season kicked-off in Netherlands as the first matchweek of Keuken Kampioen Divisie – the second-tier of Dutch football – started on Friday with two matches. One of the last matches of the weekend was the clash between Almere City and MVV Maastricht that marked Michael Woud‘s official debut for Almere.
Woud is on loan from Willem II until the end of the season in order to have more game time in a professional league in Europe. The 21-year-old goalkeeper from New Zealand made his first intervention of the match in the fourth minute when he slid into the grass to stop MVV’s attack. He did not have a lot of job in the first half as Almere City dominated the match. In the 40th minute he saved a shot from the right without many difficulties.
Michael Woud trying to reach the ball after a cross from the right wing – Almere City Media
Almere kept the dominance in the second half and created many goal chances, but they did not manage to push the ball into the net. On the other hand, MVV Maastricht tried to find the net in counter-attack situations and long range shots, but Woud was always there to hold the ball tight. At the final whistle the score was a nil-nil draw which means that the young goalkeeper debuted with a clean sheet. Woud had a 8.1 rating at SofaScore – the highest rating of a player in the match.
Woud is one of the most talented footballers from New Zealand and he played a key role in the U-20 National Team in the last two U-20 World Cups in 2017 and 2019. He has also played two matches for New Zealand National Football Team at senior level. Oceania Football Center congratulate him for the great performance in his debut.
Telekom S-League’s fourth matchweek is reaching its end and it is already possible to point which teams are having a good performance and which ones are disappointing. While Henderson Eels are on top of the table with a perfect campaign, Isabel United are having a terrible start in the season.
After a good debut season in 2019-20, there were lots of expectations on Isabel United before this season as some top players like Alick Maemae, Benjamin Totori and Michael Boso joined the team but the first match of the season against Henderson Eels was a disaster as they lost by 5-1.
After this terrible match, head coach Gideon Omokirio had time to make the necessary adjustments in the squad as they had a bye week in the second matchweek of the season. However, these adjustments were not enough as they were defeated by Laugu United and Central Coast FC after the bye week.
Isabel United starting eleven against Central Coast FC – Telekom S-League Media
These defeats are not an accident as they play a lazy football. The team is poorly organised and they lose the ball possession easily due to lack of organisation and intensity. Moreover, forward Benjamin Totori is not being well involved in the game which weakens Isabel United in the pitch.
Omokirio needs to find a fast solution if he still wants to see his side fighting on top. Isabel United are currently in the tenth position with three losses in three matches. You can check the current Telekom S-League standings by clicking here.
Henderson Eels are having a marvelous start in 2020 Telekom S-League – the major football league from the Solomon Islands. The team coached by Eddie Marahre is in the first position with twelve points in four matches, a perfect campaign so far in the season.
The key for Eels’ success is surely the powerful attack led by Joses Nawo and Raphael Lea’i that scored 23 goals in four matches – including huge wins against Isabel United (5-1), Laugu United (7-0) and Southern United (10-0). Despite the good offensive record, we can not forget to point that the current league leaders have a very strong squad – from goalkeepers to strikers.
While most people praise Lea’i and Nawo for scoring lots of goals, Eels’ defense is doing a very good job as they suffered only one goal in the current Telekom S-League season. It is very important to praise head coach Eddie Marahare who built a good defensive system but goalkeeper Desmond Tutu and defenders Boni Pride and Leon Kofana must be praised as well, while other players like Hudson Felani, Robert Laua, Timothy Bakale and Tutizama Tanito are also playing in a very good level.
Henderson Eels’ starting eleven against Southern United – Telekom S-League Media
With a powerful team performing in a high level, it is difficult to imagine that any other team will be able to level up with them but current Telekom S-League champions Solomon Warriors must not be underestimated as they are in the second position. Anyway, it is known that Warriors are not performing in a very good level despite the recent results.
Henderson Eels are currently five points ahead of Warriors but the title holders played one less game so far. You can check the current Telekom S-League standings, results and top scorers by clicking here.
Oceania Football Center 