Oceania Football Center

Mobil Super Ligue: AS Magenta travels to Maré to face Horizon Patho as Hienghène takes on AS Wetr

The 5th matchweek of football in the most important football league of New Caledonia will see the top-two tabled sides AS Magenta and Hienghène Sport travelling to play very important matches in the competition. While the leaders AS Magenta will take on Horizon Patho at Stade de la Roche in Maré, Hienghène Sport will have a hard clash against AS Wetr at Stade Numa Daly in Nouméa.

The 6th placed AS Wetr will expect his star striker Germain Haewegene to be a great night when they take the experienced defense of Hienghène led by Emile Béaruné in the first match of the day this Saturday (22th Aug) at Stade Numa Daly. Hienghène cut the deficit to AS Magenta in the top of the table last matchweek afer their important win over AS Lössi and the draw of AS Magenta against AS Mont-Dore. AS Wetr suffered a heartbreaking defeat to a last minute goal against Tiga Sport and will expect better luck this time against the current national champions.

Hienghène Sport surpassed AS Lössi in their latest match in the league – *MSL Media*

Two teams with much history in New Caledonia football scenario will be battling for all points from the second match of the day in the New Caledonian capital: AS Lössi will expect to bounce back from their defeat against Hienghène when they play AS Mont-Dore that could hold AS Magenta to a 3-3 in the team latest match. Lössi currently played 7th in the table is not doing a very good season so far when we have the team counts on players of the caliber of Jean-Philippe Saïko and Cyril Drawilo. AS Mont-Dore is having an ever worse season so far, but they expect to build on after a good performance against AS Magenta to improve their rankings; the likes of Titouan Richard and Cédric Décoiré might be their pillars in this match against Lössi.

Horizon Patho is impressing in the season so far sitting 4th in the process. The team will not have an easy match when they take on the Alain Moizan coached-side AS Magenta. The current top-tabled side will come with the powerful striking force led by Kevin Nemia against a defensive system that already conceded nine goals in the season – despite being ranked fourth.

Also on Saturday, Tiga Sport will travel to Koné face the JS Baco. The team from the north of New Caledonia collected their first win in the season after beating AS Kunié in Stade Numa-Daly in the last weekend. The Stade Yoshida will be full of supports to welcome Richard Sélé and his Tiga Sport – that is currently doing a very good start of season sitting 3rd in the process.

To finish the weekend of football, another match at Stade Numa Daly, this time on Sunday (23th Aug). The bottom ranked AS Kunié will expect a better luck against the good team from Lifou, SC Ne Drehu. If the team coached by Luka Laurent Douepere wants to get something from this match, they will need to be ready to stop Ne Drehu’s star duo Leon Wahnawe and Yorick Hnautra, both former Magenta players.

You can check the latest updates about New Caledonia’s Mobil Super Ligue by clicking here – you can see full results and updated of the league so far.

Ishmael Pole unhappy with local media treatment on Hekari United players

In exclusive interview to Oceania Football Center, Hekari United and PNG Kapuls goalkeeper Ishmael Pole stated his views from recent headlines on Hekari United players – including himself – made by local newspapers in Papua New Guinea.

The goalkeeper, that is suspended for two matches after a straight red card after fouling Lae City’s Jacob Sabua in the late stages of the last game between the two top-sides, was very unhappy with a recent article posted by local newspaper The National stating he was fined after receiving a straight red card: “Everyone gets red carded in every game. It is just part of the game. Even in rugby, it does not have to on the headlines. It was not my intention to get the red card,” stated the experienced player – “It was a miscommunication between me and the defender. If I left Jacob [Sabua] and did not foul him he was going to score a clear goal,” added the goalkeeper.

In fact, Pole’s foul on Sabua was not a violent action – according to FIFA rules, if a player denies a clear goal chance by fouling a player outside the penalty box, he must be red carded. If the foul is commited inside the penalty box, the player is only yellow carded. In Pole’s case, he left his box to tackle Lae City’s player, but could not get in time and stopped him with a foul. “They should have just called my manager and tell her about the fine. Why headlines? Too personal for Papua New Guinean medias,” said the goalkeeper.

“It was not my intention to get a red card; it was miscommunication between me and Junior David, but only way to protect my goal mouth I had to commit this foul to deny a clear goal. Everyone gets red card in every game, no use to go headlines and all this,” said Ishmael Pole.

Pole is also very frustrated with the treatment received by two of his teammates – Raymond Gunemba and Nigel Dabinyaba – in a recent headline from local newspaper Post Courier. “What happened this week on the news and now this one. This is a personal attack on us Hekari United players. Can they make it fair for everyone?“, said Pole.

Hekari United will be playing this Saturday (22th Aug) against FC Kutubu in Port Moresby, without the services of Ishmael Pole, but needing a win to continue in the contest for the top spot in the 2019/20 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League.

Solomon Warriors in search for a new head coach

The current Solomon Islands’ national league champions is searching for a new head coach. The team was coached by football legend Henry Fa’arodo, but Fa’arodo departed to New Zealand to play for Hamilton Wanderers and coach in their grassroots system. Selson Molea was the responsible to guide Warriors in the OFC Champions League group stage in New Caledonia, Molea was succesful in his duty to qualify the team for the knock-out stage.

Molea was still listed as head coach of Warriors in their debut match in the 2020 Telekom S-League, but the interim head coach will not continue in his position – and he was not even in the sidelines in the 1-0 win of Solomon Warriors against Marist last Wednesday: “our first game yesterday we played without a coach. Our physical trainer and a few injured boys were on the bench yesterday looking after us“, said senior team player Judd Molea.

Solomon Warriors in their debut against Marist – *S-League Media*

Warriors, that are qualified for OFC Champions League quarter-finals, are set to take on Kossa this weekend in their second match of the season so far. In his social media account, Judd Molea also confirmed his team is looking for a head coach for the season: “Solomon Warriors Football Club is looking for a new Head Coach. Anyone with the right criteria available please let the management know.” Molea also added that “it is a bit difficult to defend a title without a proper Head Coach. Hopefully we’ll sort this out soon“. Despite the strong message from the experienced midfielder, Warriors management is still to confirm the availability to hire a new head coach.

Despite counting on very important players such as Haddis Aengari and John Alick, Warriors are missing some key members of their team as Gibson Daudau and Tigi Molea. Certainly, not counting on head coach is another major problem the most succesful team of the modern era of Solomon Islands’ football is currently dealing with.

Labasa is the district with most players called up for Fiji national team training camp

Recently, Fiji national team head coach Flemming Serritslev named a training squad for an one-week period – news that most of the football fans in Fiji already noticed. What might passed unnoticed is the district that had the biggest number of players called up for the training squad; Rewa, the Battle of Giants champions, had six players called up – but they were not at the top in this matter: the Babasiga Lions saw eight of their players to be called by Serritslev for his evaluation in the training camp.

The top-trio of Labasa composed by Akuila Mateisuva, Siotame Kubu and Antonio Tuivuna were called up by the Danish coach; other Labasa players will be evaluated by Serritslev, names such as Sitiveni Rakai and Akeimi Ralulu will have their first take what is to don the jersey of the Fiji national team – even if it is only in training. You can see here the entire list of players called up for the training period.

Labasa in the 2020 Battle of Giants – *Fiji FA Media*

Football fans in the country were surprised with the addition of eight players from Labasa to the training squad of Serritslev – the team is not having so good performances as they used to in 2019. Labasa was knocked-out of the 2020 edition of the Battle of Giants in the group stage after drawing all their three matches in the process. The team is also not enjoying very good results in Vodafone Premier League, where the team coached by Ronil Lal is far away from the top of the table.

Certainly, Flemming Serritslev is evaluating his call up based on the recent success of Labasa – the team won 2019 Battle of Giants, Inter-District Championship and Champion vs Champion Series. But it is always good to remember this is a training camp and the head coach said himself that this list does not mean these are the best players in the country – it is an evaluation period and the players will need to work hard to get their chances in this new era of Fiji national team.

Rewa’s youngster Inoke Turagalailai pleased with BOG title and national team call up

The 18-year-old central defender Inoke Turagalailai is living heaven on earth. First the young player kicked the decisive penalty against Ba in the BOG‘s semi-final penalty shootout to seal his side Rewa spot in the traditional tournament grand final match, then he helped his team to clinch the competition tournament with an 1-0 win over Suva – to complete his dream moment, in the same week the player was called up by Fiji national team head coach Flemming Serritslev for an one-week training camp period.

“Winning my first title for Rewa, at this young age, it is a very good moment for me – getting all this exposue and confidence,” said the player in an exclusive interview to Oceania Football Center – “I was confident when I took that kick [penalty-kick against Ba]. It was a great moment for me,” added the central defender.

Turagalailai expressed his gratitute to Rewa’s management and staff for beliving his capabilities and call him up for the senior team: “I just thank the officials for believing in me and giving me chance to play in final match. When I entered the field I was confident that we were going to lift the trophy after 90 minutes of good football,” said the Rewa’s player.

Inoke Turagalailai playing for Rewa in BOG – *Fiji FA Media*

In 2018, Turagalailai represented Fiji in the OFC U16 Championship alongside Josaia Sela – his teammated in 2018 and also now in 2020 season in Rewa. Both young players helped Fiji to reach the semi-final stage of that tournament. The partnership of both players come from a long period – unfortunately, Sela suffered a harsh injury in BOG’s semi-final match against Rewa just after scoring his side first goal in the clash. Sela was unable to return for the match; the player broke his shin and might be out of football for a long period: “we dedicated the win to our brother Josaia Sela. We played for him in the final,” expressed Turagalailai.

After winning his first major trophy in senior football, the young player was called up for a traning period with Fiji national team under the guidance of the new head coach Flemming Serritslev: “I will go to national team. I will be getting much exposure and confidence training with experienced players such as Roy Krishna and Setareki Hughes,” said the defender. “For me it is very good opportunity to train with someone like him – he is a professional player,” says Turagailalai when he reminds he will be training alongside a player of the caliber of Roy Krishna in the coming week.

Recently, in an interview to Oceania Football Center, Rewa’s head coach Marika Rodu said winning Battle of the Giants was a secondary goal for Rewa and their real aim was to win the Vodafone Premier League – what would be the first title ever for the Delta Tigers in the national league. “We are ready to start second round at our best. We are going to meet Ba in the first match,” said Turagalailai regarding the focus of Rewa for the season – “playing BOG was just setting our platform for the national league,” confirmed the player.

Turagalailai future is set to be bright – his very good start for Rewa in 2020 show his capabilities. The young player is already tasting his possibilities for a possible national team call up in a near future and certainly achieving his side Rewa’s main goal in the season can solidify his presence in the new team Flemming Serritslev is intending to bring up.

Darold Kakasi: an underrated player

Ba is having a season of ups and downs; after the most shameful moment of their history in the start of the year in the OFC Champions League, the Men in Black are recovering themselves in the current season: after winning a series of matches in Fiji’s top-tier Vodafone Premier League – sitting now 2nd in the process – the team coached by Ronil Kumar qualified for the semi-final stage of the traditional Battle of Giants, but ended up finishing 3rd in the tournament as they defeated Nadi in the 3rd/4th playoff – Ba lost to Rewa in one of the semi-finals in the penalty shootout.

Exactly in the Battle of Giants, one young Solomon Islander stepped up to score in the last match of the tournament for Ba – that secured for them the 3rd place in the competition: Darold Kakasi. The former Laugu United man was instrumental for Ba, especially in their final match as he scored a brace against Nadi to give the bronze medal to the Men in Black. The U23 Solomon Islands international is being a regular starter for Ba since the last season – always being valuable for the team, the player is still to be recognised by his efforts.

The 21-year-old attacker scored three goals in the 2020 edition of the Battle of Giants. Kakasi almost left Ba in the most recent transfer window in Fiji – the player was in talks to move to Rewa, but Ba managament persuaded him to continue in the team.

The Solomon Islander is still to receive a call up for his senior national team, but he already captained the U23 side in the last OFC U23 Olympic Qualifiers, competition that his team reached the grand final match but was defeat by a strong New Zealand side.

Since Kakasi rejoined Ba – after a little stint in Laugu United in 2019’s edition of Telekom S-League in his country – the player was used in various positions: in the OFC Champions League, coach Ricki Herbert used Kakasi as a full-back, back in the Vodafone Premier League and Battle of Giants, the player was used more as winger or even forward. His hard work and strong contribution to Ba continues as always, even after rumours linked him out of the club.

Despite his always hardworking mentality and good production inside the pitch, the young Solomon Islander is not usually seem as one of the key members of Ba squad by local fans. Kakasi is proving his value in Fiji and showing to the Oceania football community he has what it takes to fly even higher.

Navua’s youngster Thomas Dunn has his chance to impress in Fiji national team training camp

Navua is not doing a so good season so far in Vodafone Premier League – the team is at the bottom of the table three points away from 7th placed-side Nasinu. In the recent Battle of Giants, despite an impressive win over Lautoka, the team could not proceed to the semi-final stage of the traditional tournament.

Despite Navua poor results, the performances of one of their players are getting attention all over the football community in Fiji: the 17-year-old Thomas Dunn. The young midfielder is being one of the best performers of Navua alongside the experienced Apisai Smith. The talented Dunn was part of the Fijian U16 national team squad in the recent OFC U16 Championship, competition that his team was knocked-out in the semi-finals after a defeat against Solomon Islands.

Now, Dunn has another important chapter of his football career: the player was called up by Fiji national team head coach Flemming Serritslev for an one-week training period. Dunn will have the opportunity to attend training sessions alongside key football players of Fiji football scenario such as Setareki Hughes and Malakai Rakula – and certainly a great chance for the youngster to have the legend Roy Krishna as his teammate in this training camp.

The 17-year-old will not only have the opportunity to better his football when training with Fijian superstars and having the guidance of the experienced Danish coach Serritslev, but also the chance to impress the Bula Boys‘ staff in order to get a call up for the next challenges of the national team.

While it is uncertain when international football will restart in Oceania, Dunn will need to work extra hard to improve the results of his Navua side in the Vodafone Premier League and upcoming cup tournaments in Fiji. Adding to a possible improvement of Navua in the season a good training spell with national team, Dunn’s chance to receive a call up will turn into a real possibility.

Solomon Islands’ Judd Molea back to action after long football break

The hard fought 1-0 win of Solomon Warriors against Marist FC this Wednesday (19th Aug) was not only the debut of the current national champions in Solomon Islands. The game also marked the return of the pitch of the new number 10 of Warriors for the season: Judd Molea.

The Solomon Islands international played his last official football match in 2018 for the same Solomon Warriors – helping the team to clinch the title in the that season -, but did not feature for any other side in the country or abroad since its last appearance for the club. Molea played an important role in the 1-0 of his side against Marist, helping the title holders to start the season with a win.

Judd Molea against Marist FC – *S-League Media*

The player that will turn 32 this month has still a lot to contribute to Warriors and Solomon Islands football: “First proper game back after a very long time. Felt so good. Tough 3 points against a very young, fast and energetic Marist team.Looking forward to a fun and enjoyable season with these boys“, said the midfielder in his social account.

Molea already represented Solomon Islands national team for 13 times scoring for goals donning his country’s colours. The player also has plenty of experience when it comes to the most important club football competition of Oceania – OFC Champions League. The player represented clubs such as Hekari United, Lautoka and his current Solomon Warriors in the regional tournament.

Akuila Mateisuva to represent Rewa in Futsal Inter-District Championship

One of the most important players of Labasa is set to represent Rewa in this weekend’s Futsal Inter-District Championship. The goalkeeper Akuila Mateisuva will be one of the most known player of Rewa’s squad in the competition that will take place this weekend FMF Gymnasium in Suva.

Mateisuva represented Fiji in the last OFC Futsal Nations Cup in 2019 – the team’s first choice goalkeeper – when the futsal national team finished 5th in the tournament. Mateisuva will have as teammates the brothers Bruce and Setareki Hughes in Rewa – they were also with the goalkeeper in the 2019 OFC Futsal Nations Cup competition held in New Caledonia.

Akuila Mateisuva in 2019 playing for Fiji Futsal – *OFC Media*

Four Suva reps – Nickel Chand, Iosefo Verevou, Shahil Dave and Filipe Baravilala – will also be part of the Rewa’s squad that is full of important players for this weekend’s competition. Another districts will also have players that are currently registered to other districts for football tournaments, as Suva will feature Nasinu’s Marlon Nonone and Lautoka will count on Nadi’s Napolioni Qasevakatini.

The Futsal Inter-District championship was set to be played last year, but due measles outbreak that affected the region in the last months of the year, the 2019 Futsal Inter-District Championship will take place now in August, 2020.

Haddis Aengari’s late goal give Solomon Warriors debut win over Marist in Telekom S-League

The completion of the second round of Telekom S-League saw the current title holders Solomon Warriors field a very different starting team than usual against the good side of Marist FC. The team coached by Selson Molea could not count on players such as Dennis Ifunaoa and Tigi Molea for their debut in the season – as Warriors had a bye week in the first week of football in the national league.

Patrick Miniti’s side Marist had a clear strategy against Warriors: counter-attack. The former OFC Champions League semi-finalists counted on the pace of players such as Abraham Iniga upfront to harm the current champions in their fast transitions to attack. Warriors led by John Alick in the midfield, created some opportunities in the first half, but could open the scoreline. Good combinations in the midfield between Alick and other two important midfielders Alwin Hou and Judd Molea were always dangerous for Marist defense led by John Aeta, but Marist managed to keep the danger out of the box.

Warriors first choice goalkeeper Timothy Mae’arasia was forced to make interventions – the pacy Dalton Saeni was dangerous in the left flank, but rarely could not connect with Iniga upfront and create goalscoring chances -, but Marist had their moments in the first half as their counter-attacking strategy seemed to work in the first 45 minutes.

Haddis Aengari scored the winner for Warriors – *S-League Media*

As Warriors managed to control the tempo of the game in the first half, the team captained by Haddis Aengari decided to put more intensity in the final 45 to get a much needed goal. Warriors saw Henderson Eels smash Isabel United and Laugu United in their both first two matches in the season – the current champions did not want to see another title contenders rising up, they needed to win.

Marist was dangerous in counter-attack, but unfortunately for the team coached by Patrick Miniti, a late goal confirmed the favouritism of Warriors. After a corner, a pinball inside the box ended up in front of Solomon Islands international Haddis Aengari that with a header put the ball in the nets already in the final stages of the match. The 1-0 lead was sustained by Solomon Warriors until the final whistle giving the champions a win in their debut in the 2020 Telekom S-League.

Warriors will have another important clash in the weekend as they play their second match in the league against Kossa. You can see the update standings of Telekom S-League by clicking here.