Oceania Football Center

Fijian defender Scott Wara on trial with Newcastle United from England

Fijian youngster Scott Wara is on trial with Newcaslte United from England. The 21-year-old defender was part of Newcastle U-23 squad in a 3-2 loss against Reading in Premier League 2, the U-23 Football League from England. Wara was in the starting eleven and he played 88 minutes before being sent off.

The Fijian defender was released by Stoke City in July and now he is looking for a new club. He already spent some time training with Wrexham FC – a football team from Wales that is currently playing at English 5th tier – and now he is having the opportunity to stay with Newcastle U-23 team.

SEE ALSO
Ba and Labasa to clash at Women’s IDC final in Fiji;
Fijian youngster Kishan Sami on trial with Auckland City

Scott Wara is currently on trial with Newcastle United U-23 squad

Wara was born in Lautoka, Fiji, but he moved to England with his parents when he was a child. He represented his homeland at senior level as he debuted for Fiji National Team in 2018. Oceania Football Center wish him good luck on his trial.

ISPS Handa Women’s Premiership kicks-off in New Zealand

The 2020 ISPS Handa Women’s Premiership kicked-off in New Zealand as three matches were contested this weekend in the country. This is the first year that the championship is held under the name of ISPS Handa Women’s Premiership, since until last year the tournament was called National Women’s League.

The opening match of the season Current league champions Canterbury United Pride faced Southern United at Dunedin Artificial Turf on Saturday. Led by Britney-Lee Nicholson, who scored a brace, Pride beat their opponents by 4-1.

After finishing the past season in the third position, Auckland Football smashed Central Football by 9-1 at Riverhills Park. Rina Hirano scored a brace while Arisa Takeda, Ava Collins, Casey Elizabeth Berrier, Ella Russ, Liz Anton, Maisy Dewell and Paige Satchell scored once each.

Auckland Football smashed Central Football by 9-1 – *AFF Media*

The remaining match of the weekend was an 1-1 draw between Northern Lights and Capital Football. As the championship is contested by seven teams, WaiBOP Football had a bye week and has not yet debuted in the season. You can check more information about the tournament by clicking here.

AS Pirae beat AS Arue to reach the top of Ligue 1 VINI’s table

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AS Pirae and AS Arue clashed at Stade Pater in the fourth matchweek of Ligue 1 VINI – the top tier football league from Tahiti. With no big surprises, AS Pirae won their second straight match to reach the top of the table.

Midfielder Patrick Tepa used his left foot to open the scoreboard in the 35th minute in a great shot from outside the box while youngster Louis Gitton extended the lead in the second half to seal the 2-0 win for AS Pirae. Despite the positive result, the orange side will have to deal with Steven Tetuanuitefarerii who saw the red card in the 77th minute.

AS Pirae players celebrating a goal – *Christophe Fotozz*

The current league champions had some help to reach the top of the table as the clash between AS Dragon and AS Central Sport was a nil-nil draw.

Two other matches were contested on this Saturday. AS Pueu beat AS Manu-Ura by 2-1 to reach the third position in the table while the clash between AS Tiare Tahiti and AS Jeunes Tahitiens finished drawn. You can check the current Ligue 1 VINI standings, results and top scorers by clicking here.

Jackson Tasso joins Yatel FC

The PVFA football season is over in Vanuatu and now teams are looking for opportunities to strengthen their squads for the next season. After helping Erakor Golden Star to finish 2019-20 PVFA Premier League in the fourth position, Jackson Tasso is leaving the team to join Yatel FC.

The 27-year-old midfielder was a regular starter for Erakor Golden Star and he was part of the squad that played 2019 OFC Champions League. Tasso has now a new challenge in his career: helping Yatel to become a stronger side in Vanuatu.

SEE ALSO
Eight new players join Galaxy FC in Vanuatu;
Lucien Hinge joins Ifira Black Bird

Tasso playing for Erakor Golden Star in 2019 OFC Champions League – *OFC Media*

He is a very consistent midfielder and he is going to be a huge addition to Yatel FC squad. Tasso also represented Vanuatu National Football Team back in 2018, in an 1-0 loss to New Caledonia in a friendly match. Oceania Football Center wish him good luck at his new team.

Rewa avoid Suva’s party at Ratu Cakobau Park

Rewa and Suva clashed at Ratu Cakobau Park in the thirteenth matchweek of Vodafone Premier League, the national football league from Fiji. There were lots of expectations on this match as Suva could win the title with a victory while Rewa needed to hold their biggest rivals to keep their chances of being national champions.

Both teams had many opportunities to score, but veteran goalkeepers Beniaminio Mateinaqara and Simione Tamanisau managed to keep the score at zero. The 0-0 draw was not the ideal result, but it was a good result for both teams, specially for Rewa that still have chances to clinch the national title for the first time ever.

Rewa and Suva clashing at Ratu Cakobau Park – *Fiji FA Media*

With this draw, the national title are going to be decided in the last matchweek when Suva will host Nadi while Rewa will visit Lautoka at Churchill Park next week: “It has been a good year. I cannot remember the last time when the national league was decided on the last game,” said Rewa’s head coach Marika Rodu in a post-match interview. You can check Vodafone Premier League standings, results and top scorers by clicking here.

Ba and Labasa to clash at Women’s IDC final in Fiji

The finalists of the 2020 Women’s Inter-District Championship were defined this Saturday as the semi-finals were played at the ANZ Stadium in Suva, the capital of Fiji. The current champions Ba and Labasa will compete for the title this year.

After an 1-1 draw in the first half, Adi Anasimesi Volitikoro and Vitalina Naikore scored once each to seal Labasa’s win over Suva. In the second match of the day, powerful forward Cema Nasau found the net in the 52nd minute as Ba have beaten Rewa by 1-0.

Ba and Labasa will meet in the final clash – *Fiji FA Media*

Ba and Labasa have already clashed in the group stage and Ba won by 5-2. The final clash is going be contested at ANZ Stadium on this Sunday. You can check more information about 2020 Women’s Inter-District Championship by clicking here.

Fijian youngster Kishan Sami on trial with Auckland City

Auckland City and Hamilton Wanderers clashed at Porritt Stadium on this Sunday in a friendly match as preparation for the next ISPS Handa Premiership season that will kick-off in two weeks. Wanderers have beaten the Navy Blues by 2-1 with goals scored by Owen Comber and Xavier Pratt.

The big surprise of this match was on Auckland City’s bench: Kishan Sami. The 20-year-old player from Fiji is on trial with the team coached by Jose Figueira and he had the opportunity to play some minutes in this friendly.

Sami is one of the most talented players from Fiji. He moved to New Zealand earlier this year to join Manukau United and he was being a regular starter at Lotto NRFL Premier Men’s – one of the most important regional leagues in the country – before it was called-off due to restrictions caused by COVID-19 pandemics.

If he succeeds in this trial, Sami could join Roy Krishna and Salesh Kumar to become the third Fijian player to play an official match for Auckland City.

Galaxy FC and LL Echo advance to the semi-finals of VFF National Super League

The last match of VFF National Super League’s group stage was contested between Galaxy FC and Iwoka FC on this Saturday at Port Vila Stadium. In a match full of goals, Galaxy won by 6-4 to finish this stage on top of Group B.

Young forward Vira Jack scored twice while Andre Batick, Bong Kalo, Henry Namatak and Roberson scored once each for Galaxy. The blue team finished the group stage with two wins in two matches and they are going to face RueRue in the semi-finals.

Galaxy FC starting eleven against Iwoka FC – *Port Vila Football Association Medi*a

The other semi-final will be contested between Malampa Revivors, that finished first in Group A, and LL Echo, that came second in Group B. Both clashes are set to take place at Korman Stadium on Wednesday. You can check more information about 2020 VFF National Super League by clicking here.

Talented goalkeeper Anthony Talo joins Henderson Eels

One of the most talented goalkeepers from his country, Anthony Talo is going to play for another team in the current season of Telekom S-League, the Solomon Islands national football league, as the 24-year-old player left Honiara City to join Henderson Eels.

Talo was one of Honiara City’s best players in the first half of the season. The young goalkeeper played nine of the team’s ten league matches, making important saves and helping the team to finish the first round in sixth place.

He is well known by Eels’ supporters as he played there last season before moving abroad to join Hekari United from Papua New Guinea. Although he played only six matches in the last Telekom S-League season, he won the 2019-20 Telekom S-League’s Best Goalkeeper Award for his great performances by Henderson Eels.

Talo is the second player to join Eels in this transfer window as midfielder Charlie Otainao joined the team a few days ago. However, team’s head coach Eddie Marahare confirmed on social media that three players will join the team this transfer window, so people should expect one more player to arrive in the coming days.

Hienghène Sport beat SC Ne Drehu to clinch 2020 New Caledonia Cup’s title

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Hienghène Sport and SC Ne Drehu clashed at Stade Numa Daly in Noumea to decide which team would lift the New Caledonia Cup’s trophy this year. In a very well-fought match, Hienghène had to work hard to beat his opponents in extra time.

SC Ne Drehu’s captain Mone Wamowé found the net in the eighth minute to open the scoreboard. Wamowé and his teammates almost managed to take this advantage to half-time, but Willy Yentao headed the ball into the net after a corner kick to equalize in the last act of the first half. The 1-1 draw remained until the end of the 90 minutes so the match went into the extra time.

Despite all efforts, SC Ne Drehu could not hold Hienghène Sport in the extra time as Yvanoe Bamy found the net in the first minute to put his side ahead. Bamy was on fire in the extra time and he scored his second goal of the day five minutes later after a defensive mistake.

Hienghène Sport won 2020 New Caledonia Cup – *FCF Media*

It is the fourth time in history that Hienghène Sport has won the New Caledonia Cup – and it was their second consecutive title. They are also qualified for the seventh round of 2020-21 French Cup as New Caledonia is a French Territory. On the other hand, SC Ne Drehu also deserves applause for reaching the Cup final for the first time ever. You can check full information about 2020 New Caledonia Cup by clicking here.