Watching football matches live is a reality for most of us but in Oceanian nations it is not so common as most national football leagues are not broadcasted there.
However it is going to change – at least in Solomon Islands. The 2020 Telekom S-League season kicked-off on this Saturday and it was reported by reliable sources that all football matches are going to be livestreamed on Facebook.
Two matches were livestreamed in the opening day: Kossa 3-2 Southern United and Henderson Eels 5-1 Isabel United. There were some technical issues in the streaming but it was reported by reliable sources that they are working on it to improve the quality: a huge milestone for local football.
Henderson Eels smashed Isabel United in 2020 Telekom S-League’s opening day
Oceania Football Center congratulates all people involved in the process. Having all matches recorded will help a lot the teams as they will have the opportunity to use them to make analysis which will surely help to develop the sport and improve the quality of the league.
Eleven goals were scored in the first day of action of the most important football league of Solomon Islands – the 2020 edition of the Telekom S-League has kicked-off! The first two matches were played in the national stadium Lawson Tama in Honiara – the current runners-up of league Henderson Eels played against the stellar squad of Isabel United while legenday James Naka‘s side Kossa faced the newcomers Southern United coached by former Solomon Islands international Stanley Waita.
Kossa had to battle to overcome Southern United – all goals were scored in the second half. The young talented forward Barrie Limoki opened the account for Kossa at the 50th minute, but Augustine Halumwane equalised for Southern at the 59th minute of play. The experienced Ian Paia put Kossa upfront again in the 65th minute just after coming from the bench, but the same Halumwane equalised again for his side four minutes later.
The winner for Kossa came only at the 86th minute through Barrie Limoki, securing his brace in the clash in the and all points from the match to his team.
Barrie Limoki scored a brace to help Kossa to grab an important win – S-League Media
Henderson Eels was expected to have difficulties against the new team of Isabel United that counts on the likes of Benjamin Totori and Michael Boso. But, indeed, the outcome of the match was another. The talented midiflder Timothy Bakale opened the account for the team coached by Eddie Marahare, John Oge equalised for Isabel four minutes later – being the 1-1 the final outcome of the first half.
But in the second half Henderson Eels came stronger: Raphael Le’ai added a brace within the first twenty-five minutes of the second half, Timothy Bakale, Robert Laua and team captain Boni Pride added one each to complete a strong performance of Eels to win Isabel United by 5-1.
Raphael Le’ai scored twice for Henderson Eels – S-League Media
On Sunday, 09th Aug, more two matches will take place in Honiara in the first matchweek of football of Telekom S-League: Real Kakamora will take on Laugu United while the debutants Central Coast will start their campaign against Malaita Kings.
After a convicing win over Navua by 4-1 in its debut match in the competition, Nadi certainly would have a strong opponent to face in its second match in Battle of Giants; the team captained by Avinesh Suwamy played against the Marika Rodu-coached side Rewa – both sides needed only a win to qualify for the semifinals.
The Jetsetters pulled upfront in the scoreline in the 29th minute of play through the efforts of the talented player Afraz Ali. Rewa battled hard in the match counting on the likes of Misaele Draunibaka and Bruce Hughes, but the final outcome of the game was the win for the Green Machine thanks to Ali’s first half strike – the minimum advantage was enough for Nadi that managed well to defend its lead and keep the danger out of the box.
Nadi is the only team in the competition to record two wins in two games; the team coached by Kamal Suwamy secured a spot in the semifinal and will play its final match against already eliminated hosts Lautoka to confirm its first spot in the Group B.
The Babasiga Lions had a hard challenge when they played Ba this Saturday (08th Aug) at Churchill Park; the team comanded by Ronil Lal needed to collect points from this clash as they draw their first match in the competition against Suva. Ba celebrated a big win over Nasinu by 7-3 in its debut in the competition.
Both teams went to play knowing their situations in the competition, but certainly the things got very complicated for Labasa when the defender Akeimi Ralulu saw his second yellow card at the 39th minute of play. Despite being reduced to 10-men, Labasa scored first, already in the second half, from a penalty kick well taken by Ilisoni Logaivau.
Labasa and Ba played a 1-1 draw in Lautoka – FFA Media
The advantage of the Lions did not take long: Samuela Drudru scored at the 58th minute of play – his second goal in the tournament – to level the scoreline. Ba continued to have one-man advantage, kept moving forward pursuing a goal winner, but Savenaca Nakalevu saw a straight red card at 82th minute of play and in the final moments of the clash both sides were one-man down.
The final result was 1-1, both teams will have all to play in the final day of competition to battle for a spot in the semifinal of the 2020 edition of Battle of Giants.
Navua suffered a harsh defeat against Nadi in their debut in 2020 edition of Battle of Giants – the club is also at the bottom of the table in Vodafone Premier League, but nothing of these stopped the experienced Navua to overcome the hosts of BOG by 3-1 in both sides second match in the tournament.
The 42-year-old defender Seveci Rokotakala put Navua upfront just early in match; still in the first half, after a free-kick Navua was awarded a penalty kick. The also very experienced striker Apisai Smith stepped up and made no mistake from the spot to double his side advantage in the match.
Navua earned valuable three points in this clash – FFA Media
In the second half, Navua added another through the talented 17-year-old midfielder Thomas Dunn. It was a dream match for Navua that was about to record a very important win. Kolinio Sivoki scored for the home side already in the late stages of the match, but nothing that could start a comeback for the Blues.
Navua won their first match in the tournament while Lautoka has now slim chances to proceed to the semifinals as they suffered two defeats in two matches played.
Solomon Islands’ Marlon Nonone was instrumental for Nasinu very much needed win over Suva; the attacker scored a brace in the match – two important goals in the second half that sealed the win for the Giant Killers in a surprising win over the favourites Suva.
Just after the match, Oceania Football Center talked to the Solomon Islander about the match and he was very motivated about the game and the expectations in the tournament: “we came back, we talked together and we have faith in each other and that is the main thing that gives us the strenght to win today,” explained Marlon Tahioa Nonone.
Marlon Nonone – FFA Media
Nonone is the first player to score three goals in this edition of the Battle of Giants – he also scored thorugh a penalty kick in Nasinu’s match against Ba. Nasinu will have one decisive final match tomorrow (09th Aug) as they take on Labasa; this very important win kept the team in the run as they were beaten by Ba – a heavy 7-3 loss – in the team debut in the tournament.
The clash between Hienghène Sport and AS Lössi is surely the biggest clash in the fourth matchweek of 2020 Mobil Super Ligue – the major football league from New Caledonia. A young team led by forward Jean-Philippe Saïko will have a tough mission against current league champions at Stade Numa-Daly.
Saïko is currently in New Caledonia because he was not able to return to New Zealand due to border restrictions so he is being AS Lössi’s captain while he remains in his homeland: “We have a very young side but winning is a possibility if we stay focused on the match,” he said about the upcoming clash.
Jean-Philippe Saïko
It was reported by reliable sources that Hienghène Sport might not count on some key players like Bertrand Kaï and Roy Kayara: “We can take advantage from it,” pointed Saïko.
Football fans will have the opportunity to watch this match live as it is going to be livestreamed by the local federation on Facebook.
The first match of the second day of football in Fiji’s traditional tournament Battle of Giants had one Solomon Islander as the most important part of the game; Nasinu, that could not count on their head coach Tagi Vonolagi guiding the team after being red carded in the previous match of his side, stuned the good Suva side to collect valuable three points in the run in Group A of BOG.
The first goal of the match came through Luke Savu that after confusion inside Suva’s box finshed to an empty net to put his side upfront at the 43th minute of play. Already in the second half, Suva’s midfielder Ravnesh Karan Singh approached a defensive mistake from Nasinu to score from close range to put the Capital Boys back to the game.
Nasinu recorded a fantastic win – FFA Media
Nasinu need the flair of its most important attcking player: Marlon Nonone was found free in the box at 74th minute of play to finish in force to put the ball in the back of net to retake the lead of the match. The same Nonone added another to his tally after receiving the ball at the edge of the box, a sharp shot put the ball in the right corner of Emori Ragata to decide the clash in the 82th minute of play. The Giant Killers were there once again! You can watch the goals of this match by clicking here.
This win is vital for Nasinu as they were heavily defeated by Ba in their debut by 7-3. Suva will need to decide its fate in the last match against Ba as they just colected one point so far from their first match against Labasa, a 1-1 draw.
The fourth matchweek of the most important football league of New Caledonia is set to take place this weekend in Nouméa; a match will be played on 15th August to complete the round in Maré – Horizon Patho vs. SC Ne Drehu.
The most important match of the weekend will see Jean-Philippe Saïko‘s Lössi taking on the current national champions Hienghène Sport at Stade Numa-Daly. Both teams come from defeats in their previous matches in the league and a very entertaining match might be awaited by the fans in New Caledonia’s capital. Also on Saturday, Tiga Sport will be playing against AS Wetr.
Hienghène Sport will be looking for recovery in the league as they take on Lössi – MSL Media
On Sunday, two more matches will be played in the same Stade Numa-Daly: the two teams that just got promoted to national league will be playing a very important match for their expectations in Mobil Super Ligue: AS Kunié that could hold AS Wetr to a draw in their last match, will be playing JS Baco; the Koné-based side lost all three matches in the league so far, but managed to score their first goal in the league in their last fixture in a 2-1 defeat against Ne Drehu.
To finish the weekend of football, the current top-tabled side AS Magenta will look to continue their good momentum after beating their rivals Hienghène – but they will have to face AS Mont-Dore, a team that is still to prove itself in the league as they did not obtain good results so far in the season despite having important players in its squad as Cédric Décoiré and Raphael Oiremoin.
The first matchday of 2020 Battle of the Giants is already gone and the second matchday will kick-off in a few hours. However it is very important to talk about a player that became a hero due to a plot twist: Patrick Taroga.
A plot twist is an unexpected development in a book, film or television program, but we can use this expression to describe what happened with Patrick Taroga on this Friday: the 20-year-old midfielder from Solomon Islands revealed to Oceania Football Center that he would miss Suva’s opening match in the Battle of the Giants due to a exam in the university.
PLOT TWIST: According to reliable sources, Taroga’s exam was cancelled so a staff member picked him up to arrive in Lautoka on time to play. For people’s surprise, the young midfielder was there and he started the match against Labasa on the bench.
THE HERO: Taroga came from the bench in the half time to replace Manasa Levaci and fate wanted him to become the name of Suva in the match when he scored in the 69th minute after a confusion in the box to open the scoreboard for the Capital City Boys. You can check his goal by clicking here. The young player that was not expected to play arrived on time and came from the bench to score a goal!
Solomon Islander Patrick Taroga opened the scoreboard for Suva against Labasa
However, to the sadness of the Suva fans, Labasa managed to score in the 86th minute with a goal scored by Taniela Waqa after a perfect cross from the right wing. At the final whistle the final score was a 1-1 draw.
Suva’s next clash against Nasinu kicks-off in a few hours while Labasa will face current Vodafone Premier League champions Ba. You can see more about the tournament by clicking here.
Oceania Football Center 