Oceania Football Center

Telekom S-League: Gagame Feni and Mathias Iani goals give Laugu win over Isabel United

The final match of the third matchweek of Solomon Islands’ Telekom S-League saw an entertaining match between two of the very good sides of this season. Laugu United captained by Solomon Islands international Atkin Kaua faced Benjamin Totori‘s Isabel United.

Both sides last matches were against Henderson Eels – Isabel United had their bye week in the second matchweek – and suffered heavy defeats. For this match, the two teams would be looking to bounce back in the competition playing all out in the Lawson Tama Stadium.

The day started well for the Gideon Omokirio’s coached side Isabel United thanks to an early goal of Alvin Ray, but still in the first half the star Gagame Feni equalised for Laugu with a powerful finish that found the top corner of the opposition goalkeeper.

In the second half, Isabel United pulled upfront again at the 56th minute of play thanks to the first goal of the season of Benjamin Totori, but Feni added another to his tally five minutes later – in a controversial play – to put Laugu United leveled again the in scoreline.

Iani and Feni scored the goals of Laugu United against Isabel United

In the 87th minute of play, the decisive goal of the clash was scored by powerful striker Mathias Iani – a perfect long-range finish that got the top-corner of Isabel United’s goalkeeper to seal the second win in three games played for the team in black and white.

Unfortunately for Isabel United, with this defeat they continue without any point recorded in the league. Laugu is now ranked 2nd, three points away the top-placed Henderson Eels. You can see the full standings and results by clicking here.

All Whites’ Tommy Smith joins League Two side Colchester United

Former Colorado Rapids and Sunderland Tommy Smith defender has joined the English side Colchester United. This will be the second spell of Smith in the club as he played for Colchester in 2011 – when he was loaned by Ipswich Town to the team.

The New Zealand international has 38 caps for the national and most recently played for Sunderland also in England. “The experienced defender has put pen to paper on a two year deal and committed to the North Essex side following a trial period where he has been involved in a number of pre-season friendlies“, said Colchester United’s press release.

Smith was called up by New Zealand’s new head coach Danny Hay in the two friendly matches played by the All Whites in Europe last year – the last two matches played the national team – against Republic of Ireland and Lithuania.

Colchester expects the experience of Smith helps them to get a promotion in the upcoming season. The club finished sixth in the 4th tier of English football last season – very close to grant a promotion – and hope to return to their good moments when in Championship, second tier of football, in the past years.

PNG National Soccer League: Tusbab Stallions has to improve as Gulf Komara knocks at the door of top-four spot

Since the departure of Nigel Malagian and Stahl Gubag, Tusbab Stallions are suffering to get back to the winning ways in the PNG National Soccer League. The team coached by Rachel Wadunah is now five in a row matches without a win in the competition and saw their advantage on the 5th placed side to decrease to only two points – Gulf Komara is the side two points away Stallions in the standings, while Morobe Wawens are three points behind them in the 6th position.

After a heartbreaking defeat against Vitiaz United in the last weekend, Stallions saw themselves for the first time so far in the season their top-four place challenged. While the team is 11 points away from Hekari United in the 3rd place, it seems their clear goal is to defend their top-four spot to guarantee an entry in the semi-final stage of the national league.

Tusbab Stallions FC – *Tusbab Stallions FC Media*

The Madang-based side is impressing everyone to continue in the top-four in this stage of the season, but much of this is due their fantastic first part of the league as in their last five games they were able to collect only three points.

When Stallions take on Star Mountain in the next Saturday (29th Aug) at Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium in Lae, they will depend only on themselves to defend their spot in the top-four. If they are unable to surpass their opponent, maybe this time their luck will not be enough to help them to keep their 4th place; in the recent weeks, despite Stallions weak performances, their direct opponents for the top-four spot were also unable to grab good results, but now with the both Komara and Wawens victories in the last matchweek of football in the national league, another failure by the Madang-based side might mean their final stay within the best four ranked teams in the top-tier of Papua New Guinean football.

The bad start of Malaita Kingz in Telekom S-League

Telekom S-League resumed this month with the promise of being the best season in the history of the competition – and expectations are being met so far. With the live broadcast of all league matches, football fans from Solomon Islands are having the opportunity to enjoy the local league and get to know the players better.

While Henderson Eels and Solomon Warriors must fight for the title once again, newcomers Central Coast FC, Honiara City FC and Southern United have showed that they are going to be competitive sides in the league. On the other hand, Malaita Kingz – a very traditional team – did not have a good start in the league.

After finishing the past season in the fifth position, Malaita Kingz lost important players: Edward Huniuehu – who scored 15 goals for Malaita Kingz in the last Telekom S-League season – left the team to join Isabel United as William Komasi joined newcomers Central Coast FC. Benji Toata and Sammy Aurara joined Real Kakamora while Emmanuel Simon, Michael Foster and Nigel Dabinyaba returned to Papua New Guinea.

With the departure of so many important players, Malaita Kingz needed to bet on young players like midfielder Frank Kabui and forward Bradley Irosaea while some other experieced players like Charlie Otainao have the missionn to lead the team. Despite having talented players, the lack of organization is being a huge problem for the team: “We have been failing to meet our responsibilities inside the pitch. Discipline is more important than talent,” said Malaita’s head coach Michael Alafa.

Irosaea (left) and Otainao (right) are two key players for Malaita Kingz this season – *Telekom S-League Media*

The team’s situation got even worse after the 5-1 loss to Honiara City last weekend: “It was a very bad game. We had a good start, but things went wrong after conceding the first goal,” stated Alafa. Kingz are now in the last position with three losses in three matches – a terrible start for them.

Alafa and his players will have to work hard if they really want to fight for something in the league. Malaita’s next challenge of the season will be against current league champions Solomon Warriors on Sunday – a very difficult test for them. You can check the current league standings by clicking here.

Rambo Tapui: a football legend from American Samoa

Rambo Tapui is a legendary football player from American Samoa. The 34-year-old striker took part of some important moments of the sport’s history in his homeland and he was also one of the best players from this tiny nation with just over 50 thousand inhabitants. However, what few people know is that he retired from football last year.

Tapui left his homeland and he is currently living in the United States of America which ended a successful career as a football player in American Samoa: “I wanted to retire in order to live a different life,” he said.

Rambo have lifted eight national leagues – four with PanSa and four with Pago Youth. He also won the league’s best player award on five occasions. However, when asked about the biggest moment of his career, he mentions a great moment of American Samoa National Football Team: “The best moment of my football career was the 2-1 win over Tonga in 2011. It was amazing, I felt like a curse was lifted, like all that weight on my shoulders went away,” stated Tapui.

Tapui playing for Pago Youth in 2018 OFC Champions League – *OFC Media*

He has been involved with football in his homeland since he was a kid and he notices a great evolution of local football, but he believes that American Samoa can do more: “I believe that football in American Samoa is improving a lot. We have facilities and help from out of the country, which is a big thing. I think American Samoa will get there soon,” he pointed.

Despite being out of football, he admits that he can get involved with the sport again in the future: “The passion for football is still there, maybe one day I might get back to be a coach,” explained Rambo who was Pago Youth’s head coach in 2019 OFC Champions League.

His legacy for American Samoa’s football is huge and we hope that one day this nation will have more players with the same passion for our beloved sport.

Solomon Islands’ forward Richard Fono debuts for Australian team

Football in Solomon Islands is developing quickly and it is possible to see local players having opportunities abroad. The most known names are surely Benjamin Totori and Henry Fa’arodo – two legends from Solomon Islands. However there is a not so known player that had his first opportunity as a player in Australia last weekend: Richard Fono.

Fono made his debut for Mareeba United against Edge Hill United. He came from the bench in the second half and score a goal in the 83rd minute. Despite having scored a goal, his team lost by 2-1: “We kept Richard quiet for a while, he has been training with us for the last few weeks and will bring a bit more spark to the forward line and he did get on the score sheet in his first game off the bench, very much a handy player to have at our disposal,” said team’s head coach Ang Tatti to The Expresser Newspaper.

Fono (left) made his debut for Mareeba United – *The Expresser Newspaper*

Fono is temporarily living in Australia as he has a work visa. He used to play for Malaita Kingz in his homeland and he was also part of Solomon Islands National Team’s squad that faced New Caledonia in two friendly matches back in 2016.

Mareeba United play in the FNQ Premier Men’s, a regional league in North Queensland. Oceania Football Center congratulate Richard Fono for this accomplishment.

Horizon Patho make history against AS Magenta in Mobil Super Ligue

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The fifth matchweek of Mobil Super Ligue was very interesting as Tiga Sport took the lead while AS Magenta are now in the third position after a 2-1 loss against Horizon Patho – a disappointing result for the team coached by Alain Moizan.

On the other hand, this was historic for Horizon Patho because it was the first time ever that they have beaten AS Magenta. Jean-Claude Jewiné and Jean-Paul Wamejo were Horizon’s goalscorers in this unforgettable match for the club: “It is the victory of an entire island. We dedicate it to our sponsors and supporters. We beat the best Mobil Super Ligue’s team of the moment so that the boys gain confidence and see their progress as the games go on,” said Horizon Patho’s manager Kuan Bearuné.

Horizon Patho’s starting eleven against AS Magenta – *Horizon Patho Media*

Despite the unprecedented win, Bearuné knows that it was just another league match: “The efforts are rewarded, we take a little time to savor this victory but we must not get too excited but we must get back to work because the championship is long and the cup games are coming too,” he pointed.

Horizon Patho are currently in the fourth position in the league with fifteen points – just two points ahead current league leaders Tiga Sport. You can check the current Mobil Super Ligue’s standings by clicking here.

Roy Krishna: I am happy to be back to football

The Fijian football star Roy Krishna is back to action as he is part of the national team camp guided by new head coach Flemming Serritslev. The ATK-MB star player expressed his gratitude to be back to the game in his social media accounts: “I’ve missed playing football so I’m very happy to be back at the Fiji Football Academy in Ba“.

Krishna had returned to Fiji after the finish of the Indian Super Ligue season in March; the Fijian helped his side ATK to clinch their third ever title of the league being the top scorer of the team in the season. Krishna was one of the best players of the season and caugh the attention of the fans with his impressive peformances.

Krishna is three goals away to tie the record of Esala Masi as all-time top goalscorer of Fiji national team – and also nine appearances away to be tie with the same Masi as the player who most represented Fiji internationally. The striker that is going to turn 33 this month is arguably the best Fijian player ever. “This week I join the national camp led by our new head coach. It’s going to be a fruitful one as it will help me get my fitness back up and I get to play alongside the future stars of football in Fiji“, said Krishna.

The striker is going to be more time in Fiji as the season in India will only start in November. Unlike other seasons, this season will entirely take place behind closed doors in three venues across the state Goa due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both Gunemba and Dabinyaba scored their first goals in their return to Hekari United

After so much wait, in their second match as Hekari United players since they rejoined the Port Moresby-based club, the starlet duo Raymond Gunemba and Nigel Dabinyaba scored their first goals for the team. FC Kutubu was the victim of the day – Hekari smashed the Goroka-based side at PNG Football Stadium in the most recent clash of the both sides last Saturday (22th Aug).

Both PNG Kapuls members were in the scoresheet – Gunemba scored a brace and Dabinyaba netted once for the team coached by Eric Komeng in a strong 6-0 victory over FC Kutubu. Despite the win, Hekari United continues ranked third in the PNG National Soccer League as both Vitiaz United and Lae City also recorded important wins in the weekend of football in Papua New Guinea.

Raymond Gunemba and Nigel Dabinyaba – *PNGFA Media*

After this weekend clash, Raymond Gunemba has now a total of eight goals scored in the season and Dabinyaba, six. All goals in the season before this match were scored by the duo when players of Lae City FC.

Hekari United fans were in high expectance for to see their new stars in action. Unfortunately, they could not provide their best against their former club Lae City in their debut for Hekari United as they were defeat by 1-0, but now against Kutubu they got back their usual form scoring half of the goals of the Red Army in the clash. Both players already represented Hekari in the past, but now they are seeking to help the team to achieve so big glories as they could when playing for Lae City FC.

Vanuatu: Jayson Timatua impressing in VFF National League Championship

Shefa FA stuned Port Vila in the most recent round of matches of the newly-formed VFF National League Championship. The 1-0 win put Shefa in the top of the Group B of the league and one of their players is highly impressing the football community in Vanuatu.

The Tafea FC’s midfielder Jayson Timatua is being a key figure for Shefa FA so far in the competition. The team captain is displaying his class in the middle of the park playmakings most of the offensive actions of his side. The only 21-year-old player that debut for Vanuatu national team in 2018 is being rated as one of the best players so far in the tournament by Vanuatu media.

The former Shepherds United man is being a regular starter for Tafea in the PVFA tournaments – Tafea is currently ranked 2nd in the most important regional football league of Vanuatu. Timatua represented Vanuatu in their historical U20 World Cup appearance in 2017, when Vanutu played against Venezuela, Mexico and Germany – the Ni-Vanuatu side scored four goals in the tournaments, two against Mexico and two against Germany.

Timatua will be looking to continue in his great form to lead Shefa FA to their final match against Tafea FA to guarantee their spot in the semi-final stage of the VFF National League Championship.