Oceania Football Center

Erakor GS and Galaxy to battle again for a spot in PVFA Independence Cup semi-finals

Galaxy and Erakor Golden star are going to clash in a exciting match that is going to decide the fourth and last qualified team for 2020 PVFA Independence Cup semi-finals in Vanuatu.

Both teams have already clashed on Saturday in the last round of the group stage and the final score was a 0-0 draw. However a new match needed to be contest to decide which team will advance to the semi-finals because Erakor and Galaxy finished the group stage tied in the second position as you can see in the picture below:

Ifira Black Bird qualified in the first position while Galaxy and Erakor are tied in the second position

According to reliable sources it was announced that an extra-time would be played after the Saturday’s clash but it was not possible due to lack of light. This rematch will decide which team will finish the Group A in the second position to advance to the next stage.

Galaxy and Erakor Golden Star clashing on Saturday – *Vanuatu Sports News*

Ifira Black Bird, Tafea and Yatel are the three other teams that advanced to the semi-finals. You can check results, standings and top scorers of 2020 PVFA Independence Cup by clicking here.

Avinesh Suwamy to meet Ba as Nadi tries to recover in Vodafone Premier League

After losing their respective matches on the weekend, Ba and Nadi are ready to clash at Prince Charles Park aiming the three points in order to climb some positions in the ladder.

Currently in the seventh position, Nadi will have the tough mission to face current league champions Ba. The Green Machine are trying to recover in the league after a 1-0 loss against Labasa at Subrail Park – “In this ground, we cannot say much because the ground was very hard, very bumpy but we need to improve. We cannot blame the ground, we need to improve on all surfaces so we can play well,” said Nadi’s head coach Kamal Swamy.

It is also known that Nadi’s talented player Jeshal Kumar did not play the match against Labasa due to a knee’s injury. However there are no reports if he is going to play against Ba or not.

This match is going to be something special for Nadi’s midfielder Avinesh Suwamy as he is going to meet his former team Ba for the first time after leaving the Men in Black earlier this year. Suwamy is a legend of the Men in Black as he played there for fifteen years and helped Ba to win dozens of titles.

Nadi (left) and Ba (right) are ready for the battle – *FIji FA Media*

On the other hand Ba will try to win this match to get closer to the top. The Men in Black are currently in the third position with nine points – four points behind current league leaders Rewa. However it is known that some important players like Ilimotama Jese and Saula Waqa are going to miss this important match once Jese has two yellow cards to his name and Waqa is out for two matches after getting a direct red card during the game against Nasinu last week.

Both teams are not happy with playing in the midweek after having difficult matches on the weekend – “We travelled to Labasa and then we came back from there and then we are training two days travelling is another hectic thing,” said Kamal Swamy to FBC News. Ba’s Team Manager Ranbeer Singh is also upset about it – “We play a match and there are only two days rest one day after the match is just for recovery and then we are up for the next match so we did our injury assessment and most of our senior players are carrying an injury but they have to play,” he revealed to FBC News.

The clash between the Green Machine and the Men in Black is scheduled to kick-off at 6pm (local time). You can check the current Vodafone Premier League standings by clicking here.

South Auckland Rangers remain unbeaten as Ivan Kumar scores a brace against Lynn-Avon

Ivan Kumar continues to prove himself in New Zealand as he helped his club South Auckland Rangers to overcome Lynn-Avon by 5-1 in the latest weekend. The result keeps Rangers with their unbeaten run in the season and also at the top of the table.

Kumar scored one of the fastest goals of the season, finding the nets just with 45 seconds of the match. The fullback would also score another in the 90th minute of play. Prashil Kumar brace and Alvin Avinesh goal were the other scores of Rangers as Lynn-Avon consolation goal was scored by Robert Robinson.

Kumar is the joint top-scorer of the league with five goals so far – two other players of South Auckland Rangers are also alongside him the top of goalscorers table. Rangers is at the top of the table with 13 points, three points clear to the second-placed side West Auckland.

Darold Kakasi to continue in Ba

The Solomon Islands international Darold Kakasi is not going to move anymore to Rewa – as Oceania Football Center reported recently both parties interest to come to an agreement. The young player already featured in the last two Ba matches in Vodafone Premier League as starter – win over Lautoka by 2-1 and the defeat against Nasinu – and is repoted the player is not moving to Rewa.

Despite both parties interest, Kakasi confirmed to Oceania Football Center he is going to reman in Ba’s squad and available for the coach Ronil Kumar. Recently, former Kakasi’s teammate Micah Tommy stated his dissatisfaction on Ba’s management and the treatment he received during this time in Fiji. The player is already back to Vanuatu; he is playing the PVFA Independence Cup for Tafea – a festive tournament on Vanuatu’s independence – and is also in talks with Ba to release his ITC. In his statement, Tommy also mentioned Kakasi as a player not satisfied with some happenings under Ba’s management.

It is know Rewa was ready to pay a transfer fee for Kakasi release, but Ba blocked the negotiations showing their interest to keep the player. Ba lost many players during the recent transfer window period and losing another start in Ronil Kumar’s team could be a huge blow for Ba’s expectations in the season.

Horizon Patho smashes JS Baco in New Caledonia’s Mobil Super Ligue

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The second round of football in the New Caledonia’s top-tier had its final match played last Saturday in Maré between Horizon Patho and JS Baco – team that just returned to the top-league after being promoted from second division.

Jean-Claude Jewine opened the scoreline for Horizon Patho through the penalty spot, Yohan Bearuné added another for the home side still in the first half. Cyril Wawia and Kenny Hnau scored the final goals of the clash giving Horizon Patho important points in the table.

Players of Horizon Patho (yellow) and JS Baco (red) united after the match

This was the first win of Horizon Patho in the season and the club now sits in the 7th position with 5 points. JS Baco will need to bounce back in the season if they want to keep in the Mobil Super Ligue next season as they lost both games so far in the competition by 4-0 and sits in the 8th position with 2 points.

You can see the full results and table of Mobil Super Ligue in New Caledonia by visiting the league’s page in our website.

Solomon Islands: Joel Konofilia three-year ban is over

Former Solomon Islands National Football Team’s player Joel Konofilia is finally cleared to run football activities linked to Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) as his three-year ban finished earlier this month.

The ban was for an assault incident in the Solomon Cup 2017 when Joel was coaching the Renbel Chiefs against Western Turtles on Saturday 16 June 2017. It was alleged that at the 73rd minute of the Match (second half), Joel was sent off from the technical area by the match referee for his continuous and persistent protests against match referee’s decisions during the match.

At the end of the match, the match officials including the match referee were retiring to their Dressing Room when Joel came out and approached them in front of the entrance leading into the dressing room. Joel allegedly gestured and pretended to shake the match referee’s hand. Instead, and instantly he landed a closed left fist on the match referee’s right cheek below his ear.

The three-year ban officially ended on July 3 which means that he is allowed to be part of football activities that have any kind of link with SIFF. Joel – also known as Puia – is currently well known in the country for running Royals Academy – a football academy that recently took many young players from Solomon Islands to study and train in England.

Boni Pride back to training in Solomon Islands

Boni Pride is back to training in Solomon Islands. The 24-year-old defender is finally cleared to resume training after getting injured in February during Henderson Eels 3-3 draw against Lae City in the opening match of 2020 OFC Champions League.

The Henderson Eels’ captain got injured in the 8th minute of the game and he was replaced by Freddie Kini. Pride’s injury was a major blow for Eels but it did not prevent them to advance to the knockout stage.

Boni Pride (in the middle) before the match against Lae City

Back from injury, Pride is confirmed at Eels’ squad for 2020 Telekom S-League that is set to begin on August 8 – “He will certainly wear the armband in the upcoming S-League,” said team’s head coach Eddie Marahare.

The 2020 OFC Champions League knockout stage is likely to take place in September but it is still being discussed between the confederation and the clubs.

Charles Mani scores his first goal for Hibiscus Coast

Hibiscus Coast received Franklin United at Stanmore Bay Park for the fifth matchweek of Lotto NRFL Men’s Division 2 and grabbed three more points to keep their good campaign in the current league season.

Daniel Cyra led Hibiscus Coast by scoring a hat-trick while Nathan Canton and Alexander Prior found the net once each. Franklin United’s goal was scored by Kartik Kumar. The biggest moment of the day happened in the late minutes of the match when Solomon Islands youngster Charles Mani found the net to score his first goal for Hibiscus.

Mani came from the bench in the 58th minute to replace Matthew Russell and after some matches he was finally able to find the net to help his team to beat Franklin United by 6-1. The 18-year-old forward from Solomon Islands joined the team earlier this year after having a sucessful trial with the club.

Hibiscus Coast is currently in the fourth position in the league with ten points in five matches while Franklin United is in the seventh position as they won only one match in current Lotto NRFL Men’s Division 2 season so far.

Rewa remains on Vodafone Premier League’s top after drawing against Suva

Rewa visited Suva at ANZ Stadium in the last match of Vodafone Premier League’s weekend. It was a very important match for both teams: Rewa wanted to remain in the first position while Suva could get closer to their rivals in the fight for the title.

This match marked the debut of many players for Suva: Beniaminio Mateinaqara, Laisenia Raura, Patrick Taroga, Ravnesh Karan Singh and Simione Nabenu. On the other hand, Rewa was strengthened by Kavaia Rawaqa and Simione Tamanisau who were back from injury.

It was an interesting match as both teams were trying to put the ball on the ground and keep the possession. Rewa was more successful on having the ball and they managed to built some good plays in the left side of the pitch with Kavaia Rawaqa and Setareki Hughes. Both teams had heir biggest goal chances in the final minutes of the first half.

In the 41st minute Suva’s left back Nickel Chand finished with his left foot and the ball went a few centimeters wide of the post. Two minutes later, Chand lost the ball possession and Rewa created a dangerous opportunity inside as Mateinaqara made a good save in an one on one situation inside the box.

Both teams have the chance to open the scoreboard in the first half

The second half did not have a lot of emotions as both teams were not able to create good chances to score. Anwyay the final minutes were quite interesting with the both teams trying to attack but they did not manage to find the net and the score was a 0-0 draw at the final whistle.

Rewa remains in the first position of the league with thirteen points in six matches while the Capital City Boys went down to the fourth position with this result. You can check the current league standings by clicking here.

Dave Radrigai leads Lautoka to defeat Navua in the Vodafone Premier League

After losing to Ba on Wednesday, Lautoka visited Navua at Uprising Resort Ground with a clear target: come back home with all three points to move forward in Vodafone Premier League’s ladder. However the Bluez did not have an easy day to beat their opponents.

Lautoka did not count on defender Sekove Finau who was suspended after being red carded against Ba while Navua had forward Apisai Smith in the starting eleven for the first time in the season. Smith did not disappoint and opened the scoreboard for Navua after a nice cross by Thomas Dunn.

This goal brought a lot of excitement for the fans as Navua was getting closer to win for the first time in the season. However the dream did not last so long as Merrill Nand equalized following a cross from Edward Justin inside Navua’s six-yard box and Dave Radrigai scored an amazing goal by going past three Navua defenders to put the ball in the net.

Radrigai Dave scored Lautoka’s winning goal

Radrigai has now four goals in the current Vodafone Premier League season and he joined and his teammate Shazil Ali Nadi’s midfielder Avinesh Waran Suwamy on the top of the list. Lautoka is now in the second positions with ten points in six matches while Navua remains on the bottom of the table with only one point. You can check the current standings by clicking here.