One more important move for New Zealand and Oceania football; the former Team Wellington and Western Suburbs talented midfielder Marko Stamenic is the new player of one of the most important clubs from Denmark: FC København.
Stamenic was part of the U17 squad of New Zealand that took part in the last U17 World Cup held in Brazil last year. The New Zealanders were knocked-out in the group stage stage after losing two matches for Angola and Brazil and beating Canada in the process.
Marko Stamenic (center) in Denmark – FCK.DK
Stamenic was training in Denmark, but he was forced to move back to New Zealand due the COVID-19 pandemics. The player was impressing in Europe and continue to play his club football for Western Suburbs in the Central League. Now, with the borders reopened, the 18-year-old player was able to return to Denmark to confirm his deal for the club.
“The talent department has signed 18-year-old Marko Stamenic, who is a central midfielder from New Zealand and will be part of our U19 squad“, FC København website presented the New Zealander in a press release – “Marko has previously been with us on a training stay, and we are happy that we have been able to attract such an exciting and talented player, and we welcome Marko to FC København“, completed.
Hekari United’s last match against Vitiaz United should be a happy day for Koriak Upaiga as this clash would mark his return after missing some matches due to an injury. However this game was not so good for him as the 33-year-old left back made a crucial mistake that culminated in the goal scored by Jonathan Allen.
Upaiga tried to pass the ball to a teammate but Vitiaz’s Mathias Oyabua managed to steal the ball and pass to Jonathan Allen who found the net to open the scoreboard in the first half. However Hekari United managed to equalize a few minutes later with a goal scored by Michael Foster. You can check both goals by clicking here.
Koriak Upaiga made a big mistake against Vitiaz United – OFC Media
Upaiga and his teammates lost the opportunity to reach the second position in the table as they are now three points behind Vitiaz United. Despite his mistake, Upaiga is loved by Hekari United supporters. The experienced left back has a good reputation and this fail against Vitiaz United does not damage his legacy in the club.
Hekari are currently in the third position in 2019-20 PNG National Soccer League with 30 points in fourteen matches. You can check the league standings by clicking here.
After being out of Hekari United’s squad for two weeks, Ishmael Pole is back from suspension which means that the 27-year-old goalkeeper must be available for Saturday’s match against Gulf Komara at PNG Football Stadium in Port Moresby.
Pole was red carded in Hekari’s 1-0 loss to Lae City on August 15. The PNG Kapuls member was forced to leave his penalty box to tackle Lae City’s opponent, unfortunately he commited a foul and denied a clear goal possibility outside the box – what, according to the rules, is a red card offense.
Ishmael Pole was red carded against Lae City FC – OFC Media
Dave Tomare was being the starting goalkeeper during Pole’s absence. Now head coach Eric Komeng has his first choice keeper back. Hekari United are currently in the third position in the league with 30 points in fourteen matches. You can check the standings of 2019-20 PNG National Soccer League by clicking here.
The young Tafea’s defender Junior Felix was one of the stand-out players of the first ever edition of the VFF National League Championship. The talented player helped Shefa FA to clinch the title after beating Sanma FA in the final by 3-2.
Felix, that is being captaining his team Tafea for a while in the PVFA Premier League, was praised by local media and fans due his performances in the competition. Many of the fans supported the call that Felix is deserving a spot in the Vanuatu national team, specially due the football displayed by the defender in the newly-raised tournament.
Junior Felix – Vanuatu Sport
Shefa was one of the best defensive sides of the entire tournament having Felix as the leader of their defensive system. Felix club Tafea is also having a very good season so far in the Port Vila regional league as they are battling at the top of the table against Ifira Black Bird and Galaxy FC.
While international football is still on hold to restart due COVID-19 precautions, the 23-year-old central back will expect to continue his good form in Vanuatu in order to impress VFF board to get a call up when the international duties return. The PVFA Premier League is set to restart this month and Tafea will be counting on a Junior Felix in a very good moment of form.
The New Zealand international Kosta Barbarouses was already an A-League star – after clinching his 4th title in the Australian top-tier for Syndey FC in the last Sunday the Kiwi turned himself certainly into a legend in the most important football league of Australia.
The first title of Kosta was back in 2011 when he helped Brisbane Roar to celebrate the glory, then All Whites‘ member was part of Melbourbe Victory titles in 2015 and 2018. Now, in 2020, all the issues of the COVID-19 were not able to stop the premiers Sydney to confirm their favouritism and beat Melbourne City in the extra-time thanks to a goal of Australian international Rhyan Grant.
The 30-year-old Barbarouses already played a total of 231 matches in A-League and scored 69 goals – including both regular season and finals – what makes him the 4th all-time top scorer of the league. In the 2019/20 season, Barbarouses scored eight goals in the succesful campaign of his Sydney FC.
Kosta Barbarouses
Barbarouses, that already represented New Zealand for 46 times, is certainly one of the most important figures of the A-League of all-time. The player that seemed to be unsuccessful in Europe in stints playing in Russia and Greece, capitalised most of his career achievements in the Australian top-professional football league playing for Brisbane, Wellington, Melbourne Victory and Sydney.
A potential move to leave A-League seems unlikely now for the experienced player – it seems the New Zealander will be looking to lift the league’s trophy for the fifth time in the 2020/21 season as he contract is set to expire in 2022.
Football will restart soon for Barbarouses and Sydney FC as the club is still taking part of the AFC Champions League and the club is set to take on the Chinese giants Shanghai SIPG next month for the continuation of the continental tournament that was forced to stop due COVID-19 pandemics – and the continental glory is something that both Barbarouses and Syndey are still looking to add to their profiles.
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.
Oceania Football Center 