Oceania Football Center

Antonio Tuivuna available for Labasa in decisive match against Nasinu

The ‘2019 Fiji FA Player of the Year’ Antonio Tuivuna will be available for the coach Ronil Lal in the decisive clash in Group A of 2020 Battle of Giants. Labasa draw their both matches so far in the tournament against Suva and Ba and will have a very important clash against Nasinu to decide which of the sides will proceed to the next stage.

Nasinu with their 3-1 win over Suva put themselves in a good position to qualify – even a draw might be enough for them. Labasa needs a win if they want to proceed as Ba is very close to secure their spot in the semifinals of the tournament. Labasa depends only of its efforts to qualify and counting on a player of Tuivuna’s caliber can be certainly a turning point for the Lions.

The 25-year-old star player was suspended for the starting two matches of Labasa in BOG due a direct red card received against Ba in Labasa’s most recent match in Vodafone Premier League. The incident was around much controversy on social media, but the fact is that Tuivuna was not available against Suva and Ba in Battle of Giants, but now he is ready to contribute in the final group match at Churchill Park.

Gagame Feni: the new star of Laugu United

The 2020 Telekom S-League kicked-off on this Saturday and people expect that this is going to be the best ever season of the major football league from Solomon Islands. Moreover it is the first time that eleven teams will fight for the title in the tournament.

Laugu United is surely one of the teams that people must look at. After a decent 2019-20 season, Laugu is even stronger for this season as they signed with Atkin Kaua, Gagame Feni and Jared Rongosulia who decided to join the club as they can not leave the country due to border restrictions caused by COVID-19.

Kaua and Rongosulia were playing for Nasinu from Fiji while Gagame Feni was playing for Galaxy FC from Vanuatu before the pandemics: “I decided to play for Laugu United because I would not be able to leave Solomon Islands to play for Galaxy,” said Feni.

Laugu is a traditional team in the country but they spent many years out of the league until returning to S-League last year. Now Feni and his teammates have the challenge to take the club to a higher level, but the 27-year-old forward knows that it will not be easy: “It is going to be an exciting season and I hope we can perform well in this Telekom S-League. The level of the league is higher now with eleven teams,” he said – “But I know we can compete against the top teams and I hope we can finish in the top two to get a spot in the next OFC Champions League,” he added.

The first match of Laugu United in the current Telekom S-League season will be against Real Kakamora on this Sunday at Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara. You can check the schedule the league’s first matchweek by clicking here.

Malaita Kingz: head coach Michael Alafa to lead a young squad in S-League

After having a decent performance in the last Telekom S-League season, Malaita Kingz expect something bigger for this season and head coach Michael Alafa will have the mission to lead the squad to achieve better results.

Alafa knows that the 2020 Telekom S-League season is expected to be one of the best seasons of all time in the league’s history but he believes that Malaita Kingz have what they need to perform well: “We had four weeks of preparation. The players are ready for the first match of the season,” he said.

The head coach also expressed his thoughts about the current squad: “We have many young players in our squad. Some of them already represented Solomon Islands at youth level,” pointed Alafa – Forward Bradley Irosaea and midfielder Frank Kabui are two young players that represented the country at youth level just to name a few. – “Our expectations are high. The players have been working hard and they are very excited for this season,” added the head coach.

The first challenge of Malaita Kingz in the season will be against Central Coast FC on this Sunday at Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara. You can check the schedule of the first matchweek of the current Telekom S-League season by clicking here.

Javin Wae confident that Central Coast FC will make a good debut season in the S-League

Central Coast FC is one of the three teams that are going to debut in this Telekom S-League season. The biggest name of the team coached by Jacob Moli is surely Solomon Islands National Team’s goalkeeper Philipp Mango. However Jacob Moli will also count on known young players for this season.

Densly Geseni, Javin Wae, Philip Ropa and William Komasi are some young players that will be part of the team for 2020 Telekom S-League. Geseni, Wae and Ropa played the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil last year while Komasi represented his homeland in the OFC Olympic Tournament held in Fiji last year.

The mix of youth with experience can be the key for a successful debut season: “The preparation was pretty good. We will try our best fight on top,” said youngster Javin Wae.

Wae and his teammates will have their first official challenge of the season against Malaita Kingz on this Sunday at Lawson Tama Stadium. This match is going to be livestreamed on Facebook. You can check all clashes of 2020 Telekom S-League’s first matchweek by clicking here.

Zantas Kabini believes that Real Kakamora can be competitive in this S-League season

The 2020 Telekom S-League season kicked-off on this Saturday with two matches while two other clashes will take place on this Sunday at Lawson Tama Stadium – the major football stadium in the country.

One of the teams that will be in the pitch is Real Kakamora that finished the last Telekom S-League season in the last position with one point in sixteen matches – a shameful campaign. However Real Kakamora has a stronger squad this season and players expect something better this season: “We expect to have a good performance this season. We have a better squad to compete in this Telekom S-League,” said goalkeeper Zantas Kabini.

Zantas Kabini will play 2020 Telekom S-League for Real Kakamora

Kabini is back to the team after playing for Henderson Eels in the last season. The 35-year-old goalkeeper is a former national team player and he brings a lot of experience to the team: “We also have some former National Team players in the squad which brings experience to the team,” he stated – “Real Kakamora’s preparation for the league was good and we believe that we can compete this season,” he added.

Real Kakamora’s first match of the season will be against a strong Laugu United. The match will be livestreamed on Telekom S-League’s Facebook page.

Livestreaming: a new reality for football in Solomon Islands

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.

Raphael Le’ai brace helps Eels to smash Isabel as Kossa beats debutants in Telekom S-League kick-off

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.

Nadi qualifies for BOG semifinal as they beat Rewa by minimum advantage

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 qualfied for the semifinal – *FFA Media*

Rewa, that decided to play a total different team from its match against Lautoka, paid the price to not count on the good performers Setareki Hughes and Gabriele Matanisiga since the start of the match, but Marika Rodu recently stated winning Battle of the Giants is a secondary goal for Rewa as their main focus is to get first ever national league title for Rewa, so it is fair decision to rest its players in this match.

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.

Labasa and Ba draw in second matchday of Battle of Giants

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 records famous win over Lautoka

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.