Oceania Football Center

Le Cagous’ Emile Ounei score in Coupe de France

Recently, Oceania Football Center reported that New Caledonian international Emile Ounei signed for French side Avenir Lavitois. There are good news for the New Caledonia football fans: the striker scored in his debut for the club in a Coupe de France match against Coquelicots Montecho by 6-1. The former AS Magenta man netted one of the six goals in strong performance of the site that currently plays in Regional 3 – 8th tier of French football.

Ounei as AS Magenta player – *OFC Media*

A.S Stéphanoise will be the opponents of Avenir Lavitois in the second round of the Coupe de France – the match will be played this Sunday (30th Aug) in Lavit. The club currently counts on the former New Caledonia national team head coach Thierry Sardo from the sidelines, one of this first moves as Lavitois’ head coach was to grant the signing of Emile Ounei for the club.

All Whites’ Liberato Cacace signs European deal

After lots of talks between Liberato Cacace and Kevin Muscat’s coached-side – the Belgium’s top-tier club Sint-Truiden – it is confirmed by Stuff that the New Zealand international signed a three-year-deal with the club coached by former Melbourne Victory boss.

It is reported Cacace received many attention from European clubs – including proposals from English’s Championship teams – but the talented player decided to move for Belgium for the next season. “Cacace flew to Belgium to complete the deal shortly after the Phoenix were knocked out of the A-League finals series by Perth Glory on Saturday night“, said Stuff.

The now former Wellington Phoenix player was named for ‘Opta Index Hyundai A-League Team of the Season’ and he is expected to enjoy regular first team football time in his new club in Belgium. Sint-Truiden finished 12th in the last season in Pro League in Belgium and hopes the quality of Cacace can put them in higher in the rankings of the upcoming season.

Two players suspended from football after testing positive for Marijuana

The Vodafone Futsal Inter-District Championship was contested at FMF Gymnesium over the past weekend by eight teams and Suva lifted the trophy after beating Lami in the final on Sunday. Although the tournament was a success, an unpleasant situation was repeated in this tournament.

It was reported by local media as two players tested positive for Marijuana and both players must be suspended from football for three months and fined. The names of these two players were not released yet.

It is important to remember that earlier this month Saula Waqa and Manasa Nawakula from Ba were suspended after testing positive in drug tests during 2020 Battle of the Giants played at Churchill Park in Lautoka.

Despite the punishments, cases of players testing positive for drug use are recurrent in Fiji. The local federation must find a solution in order to keep the sport clean.

Mathias Iani’s ‘goal of the season’ contender takes Laugu forward against Isabel United

After being smashed by Henderson Eels in the last match, Laugu United had a tough challenge against Isabel United on Wednesday at Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara during the third matchweek of 2020 Telekom S-League – the major football league from Solomon Islands.

Laugu and Isabel have scored twice each until the final minutes of the contest when Laugu’s midfielder Jeffery Bule passed the ball to Mathias Iani who scored a marvelous goal from outside the box in the 87th minute to put his side ahead. You can check his goal by clicking here.

Mathias Iani scored a marvelous goal against Isabel United – *Telekom S-League Media*

Iani has now three goals in three matches while Laugu United are currently in the second position in the table with six points. You can check the current Telekom S-League standings and top scorers by clicking here.

New Caledonia: AS Wetr’s Germain Haewegene deserves a spot in the National Team

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AS Wetr are having a solid start in 2020 Mobil Super Ligue – the top-tier league from New Caledonia. The team coached by Casimir Hnawange have three draws and a win in five games while the remaining match was a 1-0 loss to current league leaders Tiga Sport.

The good performance of AS Wetr must be linked to four players: Christopher Wacalie, Enrick Bouanaoue, Germain Haewegene and Waia Sakilia. While Wacalie, Bouanaoue and Sakilia are having good performances day in day out, Haewegene must be highlighted for being a decisive player in the league – even when he comes from the bench.

Haewegene is AS Wetr’s top scorer in the current Mobil Super Ligue season with four goals, including a brace against Hienghène Sport on Saturday. Besides that, the 24-year-old forward is a very fast and intelligent player and it is surely a differential inside the pitch. You can check some highlights of his career by clicking here.

He is also known in athletics as he guides Sylvain Bova – an athlete with a vision impairment – at international evelts. Haewegene and Bova won the silver medal in the Men’s 200 meters at World Para Athletics European Championships held in Germany two years ago.

It is known that AS Wetr are not one of the most famous teams from New Caledonia, however it would not be a surprise if Haewegene receives an opportunity in the National Team. His combination of quality and athleticism is unique in the country. Having a player like him is something that must be valued by football fans, specially in a nation that football has an amateur status.

Fijian international Nicho Prasad ready for another season in Germany

The 2020-21 season has already kicked-off in some European countries. Although the first three divisions have not started yet, Regionalliga – the fourth-tier of German football – is already back which means that it is time to see Fijian international Nicho Prasad in action with Bischofswerdaer FV 08.

Bischofswerdaer had a powerful start in the current league season with two victories in two matches – the same number of victories they had last season. However Prasad was not in the squad in the opening clashes: “I have been injured for four weeks but now I am ready to play my first game of the season,” said Prasad.

Prasad in action for Bischofswerdaer FV 08

Prasad joined Bischofswerdaer in February but he did not have many time to show his quality once the league was called-off due to COVID-19 pandemics. Now the Fijian defender has the opportunity to play a whole season with the club.

Bischofswerdaer’s next league match will be against SV Babelsberg 03 on Sunday. You can check the current league standings by clicking here.

David Browne scores as HJK beat Nikko Boxall’s SJK in Finland

HJK received SJK Seinäjoki at Helsinki Football Stadium in the twelfth matchweek of Veikkausliiga – the top-tier league from Finland. It was a special match for Oceania as two OFC players were face to face in this clash: David Browne and Nikko Boxall.

Roope Riski opened the scoreboard in the first half to put HJK ahead. On the other hand, SJK’s central defender Nikko Boxall saw a yellow card in the 62nd minute. The second and last goal of the match was scored by David Browne who pushed the ball into the net after a cross from the right side in the 75th minute. At the final whistle the score was 2-0 in favour of HJK. You can check the highlights of the match by clicking here.

Browne celebrating his goal against SJK – *HJK Media*

Browne is living a huge moment in Finland as he scored two goals in the last three matches while Boxall was in SJK’s starting eleven for the seventh straight game. HJK are now on top of the table with 27 points in twelve matches while SJK Seinäjoki are in the tenth position with only eight points. You can check the current league standings by clicking here.

Vanuatu: Shefa FA reach VFF National League Championship’s final

The third and last matchday of 2020 VFF National League Championship’s Group B took place on this Saturday as the final games of the group stage were contested at Korman Stadium in Port Vila – the capital of Vanuatu.

Shefa FA and Tafea FA clashed in the first match of the day. Despite all efforts, Tafea FA were not able to stop their opponents as Kenry Arsen passed by three players before Tonly Kalotang push the ball into the net the 80th minute to seal Shefa’s 1-0 win – which means that Kalotang and his teammates will play the tournament’s final on Saturday. You can check Kalotang’s goal by clicking here.

Shefa FA players celebrating the goal against Tafea FA – *Vanuatu Sports News*

The second match of the day was contested between Malampa FA and Port Vila FA. Both teams entered the field already eliminated from the tournament, however that was not an obstacle for Port Vila’s striker Kensi Tangis who scored a hat-trick in the 3-0 win against Malampa.

Shefa FA will meet Sanma FA in VFF National League Championship’s final. You can check more information about this tournament by clicking here.

Koriak Upaiga available for Hekari United’s decisive match against Vitiaz United

After a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat against their rivals Lae City two weeks ago in Port Moresby, Hekari United recovered with a strong 6-0 win over FC Kutubu in PNG National Soccer League last weekend. Now the Papua New Guinean powerhouse will have another massive match ahead against the 2nd placed side Vitiaz United.

Hekari is three points away from both Lae City and Vitiaz in the national league standings, and they just cannot afford another defeat against a direct rival for the two top-spots in the league; the first two teams at the end of the regular season will get a berth in the 2021 edition of the OFC Champions League. Eric Komeng’s team will be happy to know they now can count on the important defender Koriak Upaiga; the player was not available for the club last matches since he was injured.

During Upaiga’s absence, Hekari was able to beat FC Bougainville by 2 goals to nil, but could not provide their best against a strong Lae City FC in the most important match of the season so far. Their win over Kutubu kept them on the run, but this upcoming clash against Vitiaz could be decisive for Hekari in the regular season.

The Papua New Guinean international is back to normal training since last week according to reliable sources, but he was not completely fit to play against Kutubu last weekend. Certainly, Hekari United will field their full force against Vitiaz hoping to collect all three points from this very important match.

Benjamin Totori scores his first goal as Isabel United player

Despite the 3-2 defeat of Isabel United in the mid-week clash for Telekom S-League against the strong side of Laugu United, the Isabel’s recent signing Benjamin Totori shown his credentials: the Solomon Islands’ football legend scored his first goal as Isabel United player in his second official match for his new club.

Totori scored after a counter-attack, he received the ball just in front of the goalkeeper and with a powerful finish he put the ball in the back of the net. He put his side upfront Laugu at that moment of the game, but Gagame Feni and Mathias Iani strikes gave the win to their side, breaking the hearts of Totori and his teammates.

This was the second defeat in two matches for Isabel United. The team coached by Gideon Omokirio will certainly need to improve in the season if they want to battle for the top of the table, but it is good remember both Isabel opponents in these two first fixtures were the very good sides of Henderson Eels and Laugu United.