It is the decision time for Phoenix and Perth Glory in A-League; both sides will meet at Bankwest Stadium for a do or die match to see which of them will proceed in the post season of the Australian top-tier league.
Despite the bad return after the forced COVID-19 break, Perth was the only team Phoenix beat since then – a good sign for the New Zealand fans. The bad of the day is that the top-striker Gary Hooper is ruled out of the season, so certainly a big loss for the team coached by Ufuk Talay.
Phoenix will face the New Zealand international Dane Ingham – the young Kiwi scored in the previous Phoenix vs. Glory match that ended up with a 2-1 win of the Nix. Certainly, the defensive system led by Steven Taylor will need to look after the Uruguayan forward Bruno Fornaroli and the usual danger man Joel Chianese.
It’s now or never for the Nix – Phoenix Media
Phoenix will expect the combination between the Mexican Ulises Davilia and the English forward David Ball returns in style for them in the decisive clash. Both players are not having a good restart of the season so far, but now the total focus need to be there for decisive 90 minutes – or extra time if necessary.
Nix is being backed by a whole country in this elimination final game against Perth. The ‘Get Fired Up’ campaign introduced by the Phoenix media seemed to work as many people had shown support to the New Zealand-based club in this that is surely the most important match of the season for the yellow and black.
The match will be live telecasted by Fox Sports at 7pm NZT – the MyFootball App/YouTube channel will livestream this elimination final for foreigner supporters.
The 2019-20 Hyundai A-League’s regular season reached its end and now the top six teams are ready for the Finals Series that start today while the season has finished for five clubs that did not advance to the next round.
Now that all teams played 26 matches it is time to name the best players of the regular season, and that is what Opta Sports Data – a British sports analytics company that provides data for 30 sports in 70 countries, with clients ranging from leagues to broadcasters and betting websites – did.
The ‘Opta Index Hyundai A-League Team of the Season’ was released on this Friday and it is in a 4-4-2 formation, with the player with highest index score in each position getting the nod in this star-studded side. According to A-League’s media, the index uses Opta’s granular data to create a ranking score for each player, seeing an increase in their index for positive actions and a decrease for negative actions.
After a marvelous regular season, Sydney FC have four players in the team of the season while Perth Glory have three players in the list. Western United’s forward Besart Berisha had the highest rating (84), followed by Wellington Phoenix’s rising star Liberato Cacace.
2019/20 Opta Index Hyundai A-League Team of the Season – A-League Media
Liberato was surely one of the best players of the season and a key player in Wellington Phoenix’s offensive system built by head coach Ufuk Talay. The fans must enjoy the 19-year-old left back because today’s match against Perth Glory can be his last with the club if Phoenix lose.
It was already reported that Sint-Truiden from Belgium is interested on signing with him while Stuffrevealed that English Championship clubs have joined the race to sign with Cacace.
Many clubs from Europe are interested on signing with Liberato Cacace
The clash between Wellington Phoenix and Perth Glory – also known as The Distance Derby – is scheduled to kick-off at 5pm (local time) at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney.
The 2020 Telekom S-League reaches its third matchweek as five matches will be contested at Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara – the capital of Solomon Islands – including two clashes between clubs that are currently in the top four positions in the table.
After having a bye week in the opening round of the season, current league champions Solomon Warriors have beaten Marist by 1-0 and now they are going to play their second match in the season as they will face Kossa on Saturday. The bad news for Warriors is that they still do not have a head coach and the physical trainer was the coach against Marist. Another bad thing for the title holders is that Dennis Ifunaoa is still injured and he is expected to miss this clash.
On the other hand, Kossa have the opportunity to reach the top of the league if they win this match: “I think Solomon Warriors are a great footballing team and the calibre of players they have is exceptional,” said Kossa’s player Benjamin Mana. The team coached by Fred Osifelo will count on a powerful attack led by James Naka and youngster Barrie Limoki who scored three goals so far in the season.
Naka (right) and Limoki (left) are leading Kossa’s attack in the season – S-League News
After losing two matches in a row, Malaita Kingz want to grab their first points of the season and for that they need to beat Honiara City this Saturday. Despite the bad results, head coach Michael Alafa can see some good points in the team like younger striker Bradley Irosaea that scored a brace last week.
While Malaita lost all matches so far in the season, Honiara City have not lost yet, but they have not won as well. The good news for the fans is that Anthony Talo must be the starting goalkeeper once again to bring some safety to the team.
Another two matches will be played on Sunday. After surprising Central Coast FC in the last weekend, Real Kakamora will have another difficult challenge against Southern United that grabbed their first points in Telekom S-League’s history after beating Malaita Kingz.
Sunday’s second match will be contested by current league leaders Henderson Eels and Central Coast that is currently in the second position. While Eels smashed Laugu United by 7-0 in the last weekend with four goals scored by Joses Nawo and two by Raphael Lea’i, Central’s head coach Jacob Moli have the tough mission to stop a powerful team after a poor performance against Real Kakamora in the last week.
Henderson Eels smashed Laugu United by 7-0 in the last matchweek – S-League Media
The last clash of the week is a very interesting match between Isabel United and Laugu United. Isabel lost to Henderson Eels in the opening round and they had two weeks to get ready for the next match as they did not play last week which means that Benjamin Totori and Michael Boso had more time to know their new teammates.
On the other hand, Laugu’s staff and players want to forget what happened last weekend and they will play all-out against Isabel on Wednesday. Let’s see what Paul Kakai is preparing for this clash as he counts on some great players like Allen Peter, Atkin Kaua, Gagame Feni and Mathias Iani in the squad.
Marist FC will not play as they are in a bye week. All five matches will be streamed by S-League in their Facebook page. You can check the current league standings by clicking here.
Football is officially back in Cook Islands as the 2020 season kicked-off last week. Current league champions Tupapa Maraerenga had a strong start as they won their both male and female opening games.
The current champions have beaten Matavera Ngatangiia FC by 3-0 as Geoffrey Strickland and Paavo Mustonen scored once each while the remaining goal was an own-goal. Nikao Sokattak was another team that won by 3-0 as they have beaten Avatiu. In the third and last meeting of 2020 Vans Premiership’s opening round, Puaikura overcame Titikaveka with a goal scored by Dwayne Tiputoa from the penalty stpot to seal the 1-0 win.
Strickland scored one of Tupapa’s goals
In the Women’s league, Tupapa Maraerenga and Puaikura grabbed their first three points of the season while the contest between Nikao Sokattak and Avatiu was a nil-nil draw. You can check the current standings of both leagues by clicking here.
Lae City, Vitiaz United and Hekari United will all be seeking home wins in the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League this weekend, with all three sides needing to continue winning to keep up the pace at the top of the division.
Vitiaz and Lae will kick off simultaneously in Port Moresby and Lae respectively, with their games coming at 1pm local time, meaning Hekari United will already know the results of their rivals when they take on FC Kutubu in Port Moresby at 3pm.
The early kick-offs see Morobe Wawens host Star Mountain in Lae, with Morobe United travelling to Port Moresby to take on Gulf Komara.
Of the four sides, Star Mountain are in the best form, having not lost in the two matches since the league resumed at the start of August. Last week’s 3-1 victory over FC Bougainville was an impressive one, but they will need to be aware of Wawens’ ability to pull a result out of the bag at home – all four of Wawens’ victories this season have been when they were playing in Lae. The two sides didn’t actually play each other in the first half of the season – Star Mountain were awarded a 3-0 victory after Wawens were unable to finance the journey to Port Moresby. Wawens will be itching to set the record straight this time around.
Tau Winnie of Star Mountain paid tribute to all those suffering from COVID-19 after scoring last weekend. Photo: PNGFA
Gulf Komara host Morobe United, but they are in wretched form defensively, having conceded nine goals in their two games since the restart. This is their first home game since the restart, so they will be keen to take advantage of United’s tired legs, but the loss of key players Carlos Onne and Donovan Murray has clearly been felt since the league resumed. United, meanwhile, pulled off a surprise victory over high-flying Tusbab Stallions last weekend – their first victory since January 25th – and will be hoping to capitalise on that morale-boosting victory with another win this time around.
At 1pm, Lae City host FC Bougainville in Lae. Bougainville, under the management of Percy Mataio, have had a less-than-ideal restart, having lost both of their games since the break, against Hekari United and an in-form Star Mountain side. Lae City, meanwhile, seem to have shrugged off the loss of key strikers Raymond Gunemba and Nigel Dabinyaba with two big victories, including last week’s 1-0 win over massive rivals Hekari United in their own backyard. The side are still struggling to find the best solution for their lack of an out-and-out goalscorer, but contributions from midfield – especially from Jacob Sabua most recently – have thus far seen them over the line.
Vitiaz United are still level on points with Lae City and look like they might push the reigning champions all the way – a 2-2 draw against Star Mountain upon the resumption of play was quickly put to bed thanks to Mathew David’s marvellous hat-trick against Morobe Wawens last week, and the side are only second on goal difference. However, their visitors this week are Tusbab Stallions, who despite being out of form, are still a dangerous prospect with several of the brightest young talents in the country in their ranks. Stallions haven’t won since the restart and are in danger of being caught by clubs behind them, so they will be exceptionally keen to consolidate their position in fourth place and perhaps spoil the Vitiaz party in the process.
Ex-Lae City midfielder Mathew David scored a hat-trick for Vitiaz United last week. Photo: PNGFA
The final game of the day sees Hekari United host FC Kutubu. On paper, this should be a one-sided affair: Hekari defeated Kutubu 4-1 in Goroka earlier in the season, and Hekari’s squad is now arguably more potent in attack than it was in the first half of the season. However, Kutubu have enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance after the departure of head coach Mathew Witu, remaining undefeated since the restart and having scored six goals in two games. Hekari would do well not to underestimate their brothers from the Highlands.
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.
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.
Ishmael Pole
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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 ofRoy 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.
Oceania Football Center 