The 2020 VFF National League Championship reached its end on this Saturday when Shefa FA (Southern Region) and Sanma FA (Northern Region) clashed at Korman Stadium in Port Vila – the capital of Vanuatu.
Anthony Belly opened the scoreboard for Sanma FA in the fifth minute of the game after a terrible mistake by Shefa’s goalkeeper Daniel Alick. Twenty minutes later Kaltfer Kaltack equalized after a nice cross from the right wing.
Shefa started the second half performing in a good level and forward Tonly Kalotang scored twice to put his side ahead by two goals. Sanma’s Anthony Belly still managed to score again, but it was not enough to equalize and Shefa FA were crowned the champions after a 3-2 win in the final clash.
Shefa’s captain Jayson Timatua receiving the trophy from Vanuatu Football Federation president Lambert Maltock – OFC Media
Shefa FA had an outstanding campaign as they remained unbeaten in the tournament and some players like Tonly Kalotang and Jayson Timatua must be highlighted and it would not be a surprise if we see both in Vanuatu National Football Team soon.
France is one of the strongest countries when it comes to football. Current FIFA World Cup champions, the European nation has open doors for footballers from French territories, including Tahiti and New Caledonia from Oceania.
It is known that many players from these territories play in France like Georges Gope-Fenepej from New Caledonia and Terai Bremond from Tahiti. While these players are already known in French football, another player from New Caledonia is ready to debut in Europe: Mickael Tiaou.
He made his official debut for New Caledonia National Football Team last year in a 3-0 loss to Fiji. He played seven matches for Les Cagous. Oceania Football Center wish him good luck in his new club.
The fourth matchweek of 2020 Telekom S-League is ready to kick-off as five matches are going to be contested from this Saturday to Wednesday at Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara – the capital of the Solomon Islands.
Currently in the second position, Laugu United will not play as they are having a bye week which means that they must lose some positions in the league table. On the other hand, league leaders Henderson Eels will remain on top even if they lose as no other team can reach them in this matchweek.
The first game of this matchweek will be contested between Isabel United and Central Coast – two teams that lost on the last weekend. It is a very important clash for both teams, specially for Isabel United that are in the tenth position without a single point. Despite having some top players like Benjamin Totori and Michael Boso, the team coached by Gideon Omokirio does not impress the fans. On the other hand, Central Coast have showed more than Isabel so far in the league and it would not be a surprise if the team coached by Jacob Moli grabs all points from this match.
Henderson Eels and Southern United are the teams that will come to the pitch in the second match of the week. As it was previously said, Eels will remain on top of the table even if they lose, but Eddie Marahare and his players want to win again. The powerful attack led by Raphael Lea’i and Joses Nawo is ready to score and score and Southern’s head coach Stanley Waita – who coached Lea’i in the FIFA U17 World Cup last year – needs to find a solution to stop them.
Henderson Eels are currently leading the league – Telekom S-League Media
Currently in the third position, Honiara City are still unbeaten in the league and now they have the opportunity to reach the second position in the table. For that, it is necessary to beat Real Kakamora that recently won their first match of the season against Southern United. While Honiara City will have all their players available for the contest, Kakamora will have to deal with the absence of team captain Richard Raramo who saw a red card in the last match.
There are more teams interested on reaching the second position, and one of these teams is current league champions Solomon Warriors. After a 2-2 draw against Kossa, the Warriors have the mission to beat bottom-placed Malaita Kingz on Sunday. Both teams need to show something different in this clash because Warriors and Kingz are having poor performances so far in the season.
The last clash of this matchweek will be contested between Kossa FC and Marist FC. While Kossa want to keep fighting for the second position, Marist need to find the right path in order to win their first match of the season. Both teams have young players who can make a difference – while Kossa’s forward Barrie Limoki is living a huge moment, Marist’s defender John Aeta must deal with the responsibility of being the team captain. The good thing for Marist supporters is that the team is coming from a bye week which means that head coach Patrick Miniti had more time to make the necessary changes for this match.
Second-placed Vitiaz United and third-placed Hekari United will go head-to-head this weekend in Port Moresby in a match which could have huge ramifications on the recipient of this year’s Papua New Guinea National Soccer League Minor Premiership.
With both sides boasting the best firepower in the league – Vitiaz’ Jonathan Allen and Mathew David each have nine for the season, while Hekari’s front three of Gunemba, Dabinyaba and Kolu Kepo have 20 between them – it could be a goal-fest, although Hekari also have the honour of having the best defensive record in the division so far, having conceded only 7 goals in thirteen games.
Raymond Gunemba scored two goals for Hekari United last week against FC Kutubu. Photo: PNGFA
In last week’s victory against FC Kutubu, Hekari manager Eric Komeng shuffled the midfield trio, switching out Gregory Togubai and Michael Foster for Willie Gia and Wira Wama, a move which allowed Muta more flexibility in a creative attacking midfield role. How Komeng sets out his midfield against Vitiaz could be key to where Saturday’s three points will go.
Whichever way the game goes, Lae City will be feeling as if the pressure is off them slightly this weekend. They kick-off at the same time as Hekari and Vitiaz – 11am – against FC Kutubu in Lae, so we’ll know the standings going into the final four matchdays well before the end of play on Saturday. Lae must be feeling confident after their 9-2 victory over managerless Bougainville last weekend, but despite their nine goals, they still lack an out-and-out striker, something which may come back to haunt them once the playoffs come around. Unless they get massively complacent, however, expect Lae to run out comfortable winners against Kutubu on home soil.
Eliud Fugre (left) has played a key role in Vitiaz’ successful midfield this season. Photo: PNGFA
The 1pm kick-offs and the main game at 3pm mainly concern the battle for fourth place – and the final playoff spot – in the league. After last week’s results, out-of-form Tusbab Stallions find their position in the playoffs massively under threat, and they will want to recover from a run of three games without a win against Star Mountain in Lae this weekend. Star Mountain have looked in decent form since the restart, having taken points off Vitiaz United three weeks ago, but they will be travelling to Lae for the game, which should swing the advantage in Stallions’ favour. Young Stallions will be looking to the Wadunah brothers once again to take control of the midfield, something which they should find a little easier against Star Mountain than they did against Fugre et al last week.
In Port Moresby, FC Bougainville and Morobe United, who are 8th and 9th in the table respectively, will both be looking for a result which takes them away from the bottom of the table. There is still time for either side to make a playoff push, but a win this week would be crucial to those hopes. Morobe United’s biggest problem is putting the ball in the back of the net: they have 14 goals in 13 games, the lowest in the league, and their top goalscorer, Emmanuel Simongi, isn’t even at the club anymore, having moved to FC Kutubu during the transfer window. No-one else in the side has more than two goals this season. On the other hand, Bougainville are in chaos after the departure of Percy Mataio – something which still remains shrouded in mystery – and looked dreadful last week against Lae City. Surely Morobe United won’t have a better chance for the rest of the season to get some goals on the board?
Gulf Komara’s Ilagi Geno scored a brace to see off Morobe United last week. Photo: PNGFA
In the 3pm kick-off, Gulf Komara host Morobe Wawens in a crucial playoff-chasing match. Komara, in 5th, and Wawens, in 6th, have both struggled with consistency this season, and both have managed far better results at home than when on the road. This would suggest that Komara will get the win due simply to home advantage, but the loss of skilful winger Donovan Murray and young star centre-back Carlos Onne to other teams has seen them struggle to get off the mark since the restart – last week’s win against Morobe United was their first since the resumption of play post-COVID lockdown. Wawens haven’t won a game away from home all season; now would be a good time to start, but a win for Komara, coupled with a defeat for Tusbab Stallions, will see the Gulf-based side move into 4th place in the table. Can last week’s hero Ilagi Geno score some more crucial goals for Komara?
Interesting matches are going to take place this weekend in Fiji as the national league is set to return after a three-week period. The current top-tabled side Rewa will have a difficult clash against Ba, while Suva and Labasa will be also a very interesting match to watch. To complete the matchweek, we will be Nadi taking on Navua and Nasinu playing against Lautoka.
The only match played on Saturday will be held at Fiji FA Academy in Ba; the Men in Black will have the tough challenge to beat the current top-tabled side Rewa. It is also important to state the Delta Tigers are now the current champions of the Battle of Giants, as they surpassed Suva two weeks ago at Churchill Park to celebrate a very important achievement. The likes of Samuela Drudru and Abbu Zahid will have the task to lead Ba at home against the strong Rewa team captained by Setareki Hughes, the best player of the recent Battle of Giants tournament.
Setareki Hughes is a great momemt – Fiji FA Media
Nadi impressed in BOG‘s group stage winning all their three games, but could not surpass Suva in the semi-final stage of the competition. Despite being at the mid of the table at the moment, the team coached by Kamal Swamy is coming in a high and tends to be favourites against the bottom ranked Navua at Prince Charles Park in Nadi. The captain Avinesh Suwamy scored three goals in the Battle of Giants and is currently Fiji’s top goalscorer of the year and might the player to watch from the Green Machine side, while Navua will be expecting the young Thomas Dunn to lead them to another win in the league – their latest match was a surprising 3-2 win over Nasinu that put Navua now only three points away to leave the relegation zone of the Vodafone Premier League.
In Ratu Cakobau Park, Nasinu will be taking on Lautoka. The Giant Killers might be missing their head coach Tagi Vonolagi as he was not training the team during the week, but Nasinu did a much better Battle of Giants campaign than Lautoka; the Sugar City Boys lost all their matches in the competition and just got one win under the guidance of their new head coach Ravinesh Kumar. Nasinu will be hoping the good moment of Jasnit Vikash and Marlon Nonone continues to help them to improve their rankings, while Lautoka will be happy to count for the first time in national league with the services of Malakai Rakula.
Also on Sunday, this time at the capital city, Suva will expect to bounce back from their Battle of Giants defeat in the final against the Babasiga Lions. Labasa dissapointed their supporters as they could not proceed to the semi-final stage of the Battle of Giants and their campaign in Vodafone Premier League is not being as good as the team planned for this season. Ronil Lal and his player will be expecting to grab a very important against Suva that is doing well so far in the national. Akeimi Ralulu will not be available for Labasa in this clash, but the Lions fans will expect to see Antonio Tuivuna and Siotame Kubuto step to guide them in this hard challenge. The Capital City Boys side coached by Babs Khan is in need to collect all points from this match to retake their 2nd place in the table – if the striker Christopher Wasasala is a in good day certainly it will make things easier for local side.
Suva will have a tough challenge against Labasa – Fiji FA Media
Football fans will be pleased to have the return of national league in action in Fiji expecting their districts can perform as planned. You can check the current standings, full results and the current top scorers of the season so far by visiting our session of the Vodafone Premier League.
History is a fantastic subject to study; for instance, it can teach us many lessons from the mistakes from the past in certainly all areas of society. History is the subject we from Oceania Football Center decide to start this editorial due one particular figure: Charles de Montesquieu. This Frenchman was the first thinker to theorize the modern tripartition of powers in a state: executive, judiciary and legislative. Nowadays, some important scholars point out that media acts a bit like a fourth power in modern society – basically, a country without a proper information outlet will certainly have its society in a very complicated scenario.
The obstacles they face to develop the sport are understandable. But it is also understandable that without proper management and know-how, we are not going much further than we are currently – and this can be stated through media. If you aware of what is happening in the supreme court or in the second division of football in your country it is exactly due to media – to the journalists.
If you get out from your own world and try to ask any football fan living in the Americas or Europe about what is happening in one particular football league in Oceania he will certainly need to search on internet – he’ll probably be checking out Oceania Football Center. That’s what Oceania Football Center states in our About Us section: our goal is to let the world know there is football in the Pacific, and hidden talent does exist.
We feel that in the Pacific, there is a lack of understanding of the activities of football journalists. A surprising number of players, coaches, directors, and all those involved with the game in the Pacific Islands often actively reject the reporting and broadcasting of their league’s activity – something alien to those in other continents where sports journalism is a given. This is also something understandable; before Oceania Football Center, the amount of info regarding the game in the Pacific was ostensibly much less, and now this influx of information can cause some strangeness. But, first of all, we would like to assure we are working based on reality, committed to the truth and heading towards the development of football in the region.
If we do not get to know what is happening in the football tournaments in Oceania, we will not be able to analyse it, to inform our friends about the performances and even to ask for clarifications when we feel things are not going as expected. So, we will be connecting you on what is happening in all matters related to our beloved football. That is the best way to understand how we can improve on it. The first step.
If media is censored, certainly important news are not being allowed to come out. In terms of football, in a region where football still has a long way to go to compete at international level, it can not really definitively help the huge process of development that is necessary to come.
Oceania Football Center is committed to make things happen. Actually, as far as we know, we already make things happen. Hopefully, it will continue.
The third matchweek of 2020 Telekom S-League finished on Wednesday when Laugu United have beaten Isabel United by 3-2 with a beautiful goal scored by Mathias Iani in the 87th minute. However the most interesting result of the matchweek was surely Honiara City’s 5-1 win over Malaita Kingz.
Currently in the third position with five points in three matches, Honiara City have not lost in the league yet – just like league leaders Henderson Eels. Honiara City count on well-known players like goalkeeper Anthony Talo and midfielder Moffat Kilifa while young players like Junior Annie and Alick Solo are performing in a very good level so far in the season.
Honiara City are currently in the third position in Telekom S-League – Telekom S-League Media
Two other teams are making their debut season in the league: Central Coast FC and Southern United. While Southern United have legendary Stanley Waita as head coach, Central Coast FC count on many young and talented players like Densly Geseni, Javin Wae, Junior Fordney and Philip Ropa.
Despite being in the sixth position, Central Coast FC have been performing in a very good level. The team coached by Jacob Moli showed consistency since the opening round of the season when they beat Malaita Kingz by 1-0.
Southern United did not have a good performance against Real Kakamora in the past matchweek but the team coached by Stanley Waita has a strong attack with Joachim Waroi and Augustine Halumwane – the biggest problem is the defense as they have suffered nine goals in three matches.
Having new franchises in the league is a good thing, but it is even better when these teams show quality. These three new teams are surely adding a lot to Telekom S-League!
The Vodafone Futsal Inter-District Championship was contested at FMF Gymnesium in the past weekend and Suva were crowned the tournament champions after beating Lami by 3-2 in the final clash. The team coached by Vivek Nadan counted on some well-known players like defender Laisenia Raura and forward Ravnesh Karan Singh.
Besides these players, Nadan also counted on two players from Solomon Islands: Marlon Nonone and Patrick Taroga. Both footballers are known from 11-a-side football as Taroga plays for Suva and Nonone plays for Nasinu in Vodafone Premier League – the major football league from Fiji.
Nonone (left) and Taroga (right)
Solomon Islands are known for being the strongest nation from Oceania when it comes to futsal. Taroga and Nonone scored one goal each in the tournament for Suva. Both players are now back to 11-a-side football as they will come to the pitch for their teams on this weekend in Vodafone Premier League’s eighth matchweek.
This weekend is going to be a different one in New Caledonia as there will not be any match from Mobil Super Ligue – the top-tier of local football. However football goes on in the French territory as New Caledonia Cup’s Round of 32 is going to be contested this weekend.
Hienghène Sport’s players celebrating 2019 New Caledonia Cup title – FCF Media
Besides the clash between Tiga and Lössi, there will be another two another matches contested by two teams from Mobil Super Ligue: AS Wetr vs SC Ne Drehu and JS Baco vs Horizon Patho.
Fourteen matches will be played on Saturday while the remaining two are going to take place on Sunday. You can check the full schedule of New Caledonia Cup’s Round of 32 by clicking here.
Since the 26-year-old midfielder Jasnit Vikash joined Nasinu for the Vodafone Premier League – in the mid-season transfer window in Fiji – the player is enjoying a very good form. In his debut, the talented player scored a brace against the powerhouse Ba to collect very important points for his side in the national league. Despite Nasinu is only ranked 7th in the top-tier league so far, Vikash is certainly one of the stand-out players since the resumption of football in Fiji
Nasinu could not qualify for the semi-final stage of the 2020 Battle of Giants; one-goal deficit separated them from Suva that got a spot in the decisive part of the traditional tournament. Despite the failure in the group stage, Vikash netted three goals in the competition and ended up collecting the ‘Golden Boot’ award of the BOG.
Jasnit Vikash – Fiji FA Media
The good individual moment of Vikash did not end up there: the player returned to his former district in football Lami this time to represent them in the Inter-District Futsal tournament. Scoring three goals in the group stage, the talented Jasnit Vikash helped his side to proceed to the semi-final where they faced Rewa and beat the Delta Tigers in the penalty shootout – Vikash scored his penalty in the contest.
Despite falling short for Suva in the grand final match of the competition, Lami impressed all spectators and certainly Vikash was once again one of the stand-out players of the tournament. The player proved he can be useful for Fiji both in futsal and football as most of the football fans in the country were expecting to see Vikash in the list of Fiji national football team head coach Flemming Serritslev – the Danish coach named a training squad heading recently, where the only Nasinu player in the list was Sekove Naivakananumi.
Despite not appearing in the call up this time, if Vikash continues to perform at the current level certainly Serritslev will be interested to test the player in the upcoming training camps of the national team. While international football is still uncertain, the national team head coach is evaluating players in trainings and watching closely their performances in the competitions through the country. Jasnit Vikash can be sure if he keeps performing as he is, a national team call up will not be taking so much longer.
Oceania Football Center 