Oceania Football Center

Fiji: Bula Boys training camp is underway

The 30-men squad selected by Fiji national team head coach Flemming Serritslev is already training at Fiji FA Academy grounds in Ba. As mentioned by the Danish coach in interview to Fiji FA Media, the aim of this training camp is to kick-off preparations for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers – despite it is still unknown when it will start in Oceania, Serritslev wants to continue his work in evaluation of players for a possible call up list when necessary.

Important players from all top-eight districts in the country are taking place of the national team training camp, but certainly the most important of them is not representing any Fijian team at the moment. The wonderboy Roy Krishna, currently attached to Indian Super League’s ATK-MB, is also part of Serritslev’s list and is currently part of the training camp in Ba.

Fiji national team in camp – *Fiji FA Media*

Fiji national team latest duties were in 2019 Pacific Games where the team won bronze after beating Papua New Guinea in the penalty shotoout to confirm their medal. Since then, specially due COVID-19 situation, the national team is still to play any international matches – something that seems to be still far to happen -, but Serritslev continues in his progressive support to keep possible national team players fit and close for trainings expecting to have the best of them when the international duties knock back at the door.

Stahl Gubag stands as PNG National Soccer League top scorer thanks to his goal as Lae City player

Lae City’s FC new signing Stahl Gubag is enjoying a lot of game in his new club; finally in his third match as Lae City player the former Tusbab Stallions forward scored his first goal. In the massive 9-2 win over FC Boungainvile, Gubag netted once to help his side continue at the top of the table of PNG National Soccer League.

Vitiaz United’s Mathew David scored seven goals in two matches for his side and now reached nine in the season – the same amoung of goals scored by Gubag when played of Tusbab Stallions, but thanks to his debut goal as Lae City player he continues as the top scorer of the season so far.

Gubag is being one of the top-performers in the season so far and getting attention all over the country – a great signing by the team coached by Bob Morris. You can see the updated standings, top scorers and results of the current season of the PNG National Soccer League by clicking here.

Alwin Komolong scores his first goal for Lae City FC

The 13th matchweek of 2019-20 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League was contested on last Saturday as two matches were played in Lae and three matches were played in Port Moresby. Lae City and Vitiaz United are still sharing the first position in the table with 29 points each as you can check here.

Lae City’s faced FC Bougainville and the final score was a 9-2 win for Lae. Despite the huge amount of goals, this match was special for Alwin Komolong who scored his first goal for Lae City FC since he returned to Papua New Guinea. His celebration was also special as he paid tribute to his aunt.

Alwin Komolong paid tribute to his aunt – *PNGFA Media*

Komolong is a key player in Lae City’s squad. The 25-year-old defender is a leader inside the pitch – specially on defense – and now he had the opportunity to score his first goal for the club. Oceania Football Center congratulate Alwin for scoring this goal.

VFF National League: Noah Roger shines for Tafea FA; Shefa FA reach the top of the table

The second matchday of 2020 VFF National League’s Group B took place on this Monday as two matches were contested at Korman Stadium in Port Vila – the capital of Vanuatu.

Shefa FA and Port Vila FA clashed in the first match of the day in a very interesting match. After a nil-nil draw in the first half, Shefa FA took the lead in the second half with a goal scored by youngster Keiben Kalotang in the 62nd minute. The victory by 1-0 placed Shefa FA on top of the table while Port Vila FA are now in the second position.

Kalotang (right) scored Shefa’s winning goal against Port Vila FA – *Vanuatu Sports News*

After Shefa’s win, Malampa FA and Tafea FA came to the pitch in the second match of the day. Malampa showed their power as Jordy Tasip opened the scoreboard in the third minute while Andre Batick extended the lead nine minutes later. Tafea FA managed to find the net in the final minutes of the first half with a goal scored by Noah Roger.

Things have changed in the second half when Tafea FA equalized with a goal scored by Roger Dick Noukout and Noah Roger scored his second goal in the game to put his side ahead by 3-2. Andrew Barry came from the bench and equalized for Malampa in the 79th minute but it was not enough because Noah Roger found the net for the third time in the day to put Tafea FA ahead. After the final whistle the score was 4-3 in favour of Tafea.

Tafea FA starting eleven – *Vanuatu Sports News*

The final round is scheduled to take place on this Wednesday while the final of the tournament will be contested on Saturday. Shefa are leading the group with four points in two matches while Port Vila and Tafea are tied in the second positions with three points each. You can check the current standings and the tournament’s schedule by clicking here.

Samuel Kini unavailable for Tusbab Stallions

Former Papua New Guinea international midfielder Samuel Kini will be temporarily unavailable for Tusbab Stallions FC. The player joined the club recently, but needed to depart to Mount Hagen due work commitments – it was already known when Stallions signed Kini that he would be not available for one month soon due his current off-football job.

The former Hekari United midfielder played only three matches for Stallions before his departure – against FC Kutubu, Morobe United and Vitiaz United. Kini had little time to have impact in his new team since signed for the Madang-based side.

Stallions is still to record a win after the resumption of the 2019/20 PNG National Soccer season; the club that is currently ranked 4th in the standings is now only two points ahead of the 5th place Gulf Komara and will need to start getting points in the next fixtures of the league if they want to confirm their spot in the top four of the most important football league of Papua New Guinea.

Lupe o le Soaga smash Moata’a as Premier Men’s kicks-off in Samoa

After two months of youth tournaments, the Premier Men’s kicked-off in Samoa. Senior clubs are back to action after nine months as the past season was called-off due to measles outbreak. Twelve teams are fighting for the title this year – the same amount of teams in comparison with last season.

Current league champions Lupe o le Soaga had a marvelous start in the season as they smashed Moata’a by 18-0. On the other hand, Kiwi FC that finished the last season in the second position lost to Lepea by 3-2.

Lupe o le Soaga squad – *Lupe o le Soaga Media*

Three other matches were contested in the opening matchweek: Vaipuna have beaten Vaiusu by 5-2 while Sogi thrashed Fa’atoia United by 5-0. The only draw of the round came in the match between Vaivase-Tai and Vaitele-Uta and the final score was 2-2.

A sixth match was scheduled to be contested between Moaula and Togafuafua but there are no official reports about it. You can check the current league standings by clicking here.

Telekom S-League: Adrian Mara’s hattrick give Kakamora first win as Henderson Eels gets another win over Central Coast

The Sunday of football was full emotion and water in Honiara; heavy rains also took place in the two matches of the day that continued the third matchweek of football for the top-tier league of Solomon Islands.

The first game of the day saw Real Kakamora get their first win of the season thanks to a hattrick of the young talented forward Adrian Mara against the newcomers Southern United. Kakamora got the lead at the 7th minute of play with Mara adding his first of the day, but the black and white side suffered a huge loss as the defender Richard Raramo Jnr was sent off after a terrible action: Raramo kicked an opponent and received a straight red from the referee.

The good performer Augustine Halumwane scored through a header to equalise for Southern still in the first half, but Adrian Mara approached a defensive mistake of Southern’s defense to add another to his tally only five minutes later of Halumwane’s equaliser: Kakamora was up by 2-1 in the first half. Ian Ngahu scored another for Real Kakamora within the first ten minutes of the second half, but the substitute Aden Seymour cut the deficit six minutes to put Southern again in the match. The Stanley Waita-coached side went upfront seeking for another goal, but Adrian Mara got his hattrick at the end of the match to seal Kakamora’s win over Southern United.

Real Kakamora celebrates one of the goals – *TSL Media*

In the second match of the day, the then 2nd placed side Central Coast took on the top-tabled team Henderson Eels. The heavy rain was hard to surpass by both sides – Eels had to face the sad loss of their goalkeeper Desmond Tutu early in the match to be replaced by Junior Barna -, and a weird goal still in the first half gave the lead for team coached by Eddie Marahare: Raphael Lea’i put the ball in the area and a deflection from Central Coast’s defender ended up putting the ball in his own nets, giving Eels the lead at the 36th minute of play – you can watch the goal by clicking here.

Central Coast led by young player Javin Wae gave a lot of fight for the strong side of Eels, but the final outcome of the ball was to be another important win for Eels that is the only side to win all matches so far in the Telekom S-League season. Raphael Leai’, that was awarded with the goal in the match, is the top goalscorer of the season so far.

Raphael Lea’i (left) scored the winner for Henderson Eels – *TSL Media*

The completion of the round will see Laugu United taking on Isabel United on Wednesday (26th Aug). Eels continues at the top of the table followed now by Honiara City and Kossa in the 2nd and 3rd places. You can see the updated standings of the Telekom S-League current season and its top goalscorers and full results by clicking here.

Kensi Tangis debuts in high level at VFF National League Championship

Ni-Vanuatu international Kensi Tangis is back to his usual form after his debut in the newly-raised VFF National League Championship. The league was created as an effort of Vanuatu Football Federation to kick-off a new brand National League format, as currently the football leagues in the country are separted by regions.

In the competition, the eight Member Associations of the country take place; Tangis represents Port Vila as he is currently attached to Port Vila Premier League’s top-club Galaxy FC. The striker was crucial for his side win over Tafea FA in the kick-off of the Group B – alongside Malampa Revivors’ Azariah Soromon that scored a brace in the win. Soromon, that currently is attached to the Luganvile-based side Malampa Revivors, is available to represent Port Vila FA because he was born in the capital city of Vanuatu.

Tangis (with the ball) playing for Port Vila FA – *Vanuatu Sport*

Tangis assisted for the two goals scored by Azariah Soromon in the 3-2 win of his side Port Vila against Tafea FA. The player ended up scoring the third goal of his team to secure their much needed win in their first match in the competition.

After some criticism to his recent performances, the 30-year-old player helped Galaxy FC to win the most recent Port Vila Independence Cup and now is displyaing all his quality for Port Vila FA in VFF National League Championship. Certainly, Tangis is now back to the peak of his form for the joy of the Ni-Vanuatu football fans.

Wellington Phoenix season is over

After a lot efforts to realocate to Australia to play the final regular season matches, Wellington Phoenix failed once again to win in the elimination final as they were surpassed by Perth Glory by 1-0. Glory that was ranked 6th in the regular season will be certainly satisfied to beat the 3rd ranked-team in the process – now Glory continues in the run as Phoenix season is over.

Ufuk Talay guided Phoenix to its best ever regular season campaign despite only one win after the resumption of A-League. Until the forced break in March, Phoenix was enjoying a fantastic season, but the team never could get the same level of performances after the return of the competition.

In the decisive match played at Bankwest Stadium, Glory almost scored in the starting minutes of play, but Bruno Fornaroli was denied by Stefan Marinovic. The All Whites‘ defender Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi started the match alongside Steven Taylor in defense – in place of the injured Luke DeVere – and minutes later of Fornaroli’s chance Wihongi could not get to Chianese that received the ball and with a clinical finish he put the ball in the left low corner of Marinovic’s goal.

Phoenix managed to have the ball, but could not create real goalscoring chances in the first half. Glory always seemed to be dangerous in the counter-attack specially through Fornaroli. In the second half Phoenix was running against the clock to find at least an equaliser to send the game to extra-time. Long range shots from the Mexican Ulises Davila started to disturb Glory’s gloveman Liam Reddy, but the best opportunity of the game came from a great solo effort play by Callan Elliot that passed the ball back to the middle of the box, he found Jashua Sotirio that unfortunately send the ball away from the target.

The end of the road for Wellington Phoenix – *Phoenix Media*

The Nix pressed high, introduced Callum McCowatt and Alex Rufer in the game, but both New Zealand internationals could not connect with the front line of the team. The skills of Reno Piscopo were not enough for the Nix – the young Australian prospect made some impressive plays during the match, but none of them could not end up with a real chance for his side.

Davila had a last chance in a free-kick, but the Mexican wrongly decided to pass the ball to a teammate in the middle of the penalty box – the chance was once again wasted. The final result ended up being in favour of Perth – the club proceeds to the next stage as Phoenix one more time was unable to win an elimination final match.

Phoenix also lost in the last season in their first elimination final game against Melbourne Victory, being one more time unable to keep the dream alive to win their first ever A-League title. For the second time in a row the New Zealand-based club qualified for the A-League finals – showing a clear improvement of the club performance that was for a number of series away from the final stages of the top-tier league.

Mobil Super Ligue: Magenta and Hienghène fail to win as Tiga Sport reach the top of the table

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The fifth matchweek of Mobil Super Ligue is over as five matches were contested in New Caledonia over the weekend. After some unexpected results a new team reached the top of the table. Scroll down to check what happened in the major football league from New Caledonia!

AS Wetr and Hienghène Sport clashed at Stade Numa Daly in a livestreamed match on Saturday. The title holders had a powerful start as Yvanoe Bamy, Joseph Athalé and Nelson Kaï scored once each in the first half to put Hienghène ahead by 3-0 before the half time. However AS Wetr did not give in as they found the net twice in the second half to put some pressure on their opponents. Despite being ahead, things got worse for Hienghène when Jean-Luc Decoire was red carded in the secold half when his side was ahead by 3-2.

Antoine Roine scored Hienghène’s fourth goal in the 67th minute after a deadly counter-attack and they kept the lead until the final minutes when AS Wetr scored two goals in the 83rd and 90th minutes to equalize. The heroes of the day were Germain Haewegene (twice) and Edouard Zohune who came from the bench to score for Wetr in this amazing comeback while Rozen Mataika scored the remaining goal. At the final whistle the score was a 4-4 draw.

Meanwhile, Horizon Patho and AS Magenta were clashing at Stade la Roche in Maré. While Magenta were looking for another win to remain on top of the table, Horizon Patho players were working hard to steal some points from league leaders to get closer to them – and that’s exactly what happened! With goals scored by Jean Claude Jewiné and Jean-Paul Wamejo, Horizon managed to beat AS Magenta by 2-1 to reach the fourth position in the league. Magenta’s goal was scored by Shene Welepané.

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

After a breathtaking match between Hienghène and Wetr, AS Lössi and AS Mont-Dore came to Numa Daly’s pitch to fight for the win but the final score was a 1-1 draw – a disappointing result for both teams as they remain close to bottom-placed team AS Kunié.

As Hienghène Sport and AS Magenta failed to win, Tiga Sport had the opportunity to reach the top of the table if they beat JS Baco, and they did it. Freddy Hmej and Morgan Mathelon scored twice each while young striker Lues Waya found the net once in a 5-1 win over JS Baco. This result put Tiga on top of the table with seventeen points – two points ahead Hienghène and Magenta.

Lues Waya (left) scored one of Tiga Sport’s goals against JS Baco – *FCF Media*

The final match of thee weekend was contested between AS Kunié and SC Ne Drehu at Stade Numa Daly on Sunday. While AS Kunié could leave the bottom of the table with a win, Ne Drehu could get closer to the leaders with a positive result. However the final score was frustrating for both teams: a 1-1 draw. Mathieu Douépéré scored for Kunié while talented Josua Hlému found the net for Ne Drehu.

As it was reported above, Tiga Sport are the new league leaders with seventeen points while Hienghène Sport, AS Magenta and Horizon Pahto are tied in the second position with fifteen points each. You can check the current league standings by clicking here.