Burnley received Wolverhampton at Turf Moor in the 36th matchweek of 2019-20 Premier League – the top-tier league from England. New Zealand international Chris Wood played the whole match and scored a late goal to save his team from losing at home.
Wood found the net for the first time since March when he scored against Tottenham Hotspur. The All Whites striker converted a penalty kick in the 96th minute to equalize Burnley’s clash against Wolverhampton to grab one more point for The Clarets in the ladder.
Wood is Burnley’s top scorer in the current Premier League season with twelve goals in 30 matches. The Clarets are currently in the tenth position with 51 points. You can check the current Premier League standings by clicking here.
A very important player for Ba intentions in Vodafone Premier League is set to be not available for the Men in Black in their next clash in the league. The Fijian international goalkeeper Misiwani Nairube suffered an injury in the latest match of Ba – the 2-1 away win against Lautoka – that forced him to leave the pitch being replaced by 17-year-old backup stopper Isikeli Sevanaia.
Nairube sufferd a muscle strain – the goalkeeper needed medical attention twice in the match before leaving the pitch for Sevanaia. “I feel like I will not be ready for the match this Saturday, but I will be fine for the next week,” stated Nairube on talks to Oceania Football Center.
Misiwane Nairube – OFC Media
Ba might be in trouble as the 17-year-old Isikeli Sevanaia is the 2nd choice goalkeeper; Ba lost the stoppers Beniamino Mateinaqara andAtunaisa Naucukidi in the recent transfer window. Sevanaia made his senior debut against Lautoka replacing the injured Nairube in the second half of the clash – the young Ba product player already represented Fiji at age group tournaments; the latest OFC U16 Championship held in Solomon Islands in 2018.
It seems that the 2020 OFC Champions League‘s demons were exorcised by Ba. The Men in Black won their last two official matches in the Vodafone Premier League with a good level of performance in both matches.
Ba won all their three matches in the current league season so far and they are now in the second position with nine points in three games, only three points ahead current league leaders Rewa, but the Delta Tigers have already played five matches in 2020 Vodafone Premier League.
Today’s win against Lautoka at Churchill Park was crucial for Ba. Winning away matches are always important specially against the top teams – “We needed to win this match in order to defend the title,” said Ba’s forward Samuela Drudru.
Drudru celebrating a goal for Ba in 2020 OFC Champions League – OFC Media
The Men in Black are the current title holders and they know that they must work hard if they want to win the league again – “We have to win more games. We will chase for the title,” stated Drudru. The 31-year-old had a good performance in today’s win. He was very important to open spaces in Lautoka’s defense and he was fouled by Sekove Finau inside the box in the first half. The penalty kick was netted by Manasa Nawakula who opened the scorboard in the 15th minute.
Rewa will have a tough challenge if they really want to win the league because Ba remains very strong to fight for the title once again.
The tall striker Samuela Gavo is a Lautoka player for a long period – but the match against Ba this Wednesday (15th Jul) might have a special taste for him despite the 2-1 defeat at Churchill Park. The striker played his first match for Lautoka since the Vodafone Premier League break in March. Gavo last match was against Suva in a 1-0 defeat for Lautoka – the big issue for the striker is that he was left out of the squad that travelled to Vanuatu to play the 2020 OFC Champions League. In that period, Samuela Gavo was unsure about the reasons of Lautoka management to let him out of OFC Champions League, as the N.10 of the Blues was a regular starter in the national league.
Samuela Gavo – FFA Media
After the terrible campaign of Lautoka in the regional competition – where the Blues were beatean by Lae City from Papua New Guinea and Henderson Eels from Solomon Islands, only securing one point from a draw against Vanuatu’s side Malampa Revivors – the COVID-19 pandemics took place and forced the national league to a break.
Gavo had a good restart of his career in Lautoka as he scored the equalizer against Ba in the early stages of the second half; this was the second goal of the striker in the national league. Despite Gavo and his teammates efforts, the final result was 2-1 in favour of Ba that record their third win in three matches played so far in the Vodafone Premier League.
Ba and Lautoka starred a breathtaking clash at Churchill Park today and the Men In Black have beaten Lautoka by 2-1. Despite losing the match at home, Lautoka still have to celebrate some details and one of the things that must be highlighted and celebrated is Epeli Leiroti‘s debut for the Bluez.
Leiroti played his first official match for Lautoka but it was not a problem to him. The 25-year-old midfielder had a good performance in the contest by helping to set the pace of the team in the offensive actions. Surely he still has a lot to improve as he gets more used to his new teammates – “It is good to be back with my home team,” he told to Oceania Football Center after the match.
Epeli Leiroti debuted for Lautoka against Ba
Leiroti left Suva and joined Lautoka in the last Fijian transfer window. The Bluez are currently in the fourth position in the national league with seven points in five matches. You can check the current Vodafone Premier League season’s standings by clicking here.
The 2020 Vodafone Premier League keeps its way as Lautoka received Ba at Churchill Park on this Wednesday and the fans could enjoy an amazing match.
Lautoka did not count on forward Alex Saniel who is currently in Vanuatu waiting for an opportunity to return to Fiji. On the other hand, forward Samuela Gavo returned to the team while Epeli Leiroti made his official debut for the Bluez.
Ten of the eleven players who started the clash against Navua were in Ba’s starting eleven for this contest. The only change was the addition of Solomon Islands international Darold Kakasi who was not in the squad against Navua.
Lautoka tried to hold the ball while Ba took advantage of the spaces left by the Bluez on defense. Ba’s midfielders tried to find Samuela Drudru behind Lautoka’s defenders for many times. The former Lautoka’s forward was caught offside a few times in this kind of situation but the first goal of the match was born this way. Sekove Finau made a blunder after a through pass and the ball fell into Drudru’s feet and the 23-year-old defender fouled him inside the box. Manasa Nawakula converted the penalty kick to put Ba in the lead.
The Men in Black managed to take the lead to the half time. By the way the interval between the first and the second half was much longer than normal as it took more than 50 minutes from the end of the first half to the beginning of the second half. The match was put on hold by match officials and police officers because fans were not respecting social distance in the stands.
It did not take so long for Lautoka to find the net in the second half as Samuela Gavo managed to score after a confusion in the box. However the Bluez did not have many time to celebrate because Saula Waqa dummied the ball past his opponent and lobbed Lautoka’s goalkeeper Joela Biuvanua to score an amazing goal in the 54th minute to put Ba in the lead. You can check his goal by clicking here.
Saula Waqa (left) scored a marvelous goal to give the 2-1 lead to Ba
Ba had the opportunity to score a third goal in the 59th minute when Darold Kakasi finished with his right leg and Sanaila Waqanicakau could not reach the ball to push it into the net. The Men in Black got scared in the upcoming seconds when Shivam Naidu found Dave Radrigai free to score. However the goal was disallowed by the referees because Radrigai was caught offside.
The Men in Black had a major blow when Misiwani Nairube fell into the ground. The goalkeeper left the pitch and was replaced by Isikeli Sevanaia in the 67th minute. It was Sevanaia’s first ever appearance in Vodafone Premier League, a big accomplishment for the 17-year-old keeper.
Things got worse for Lautoka when Sekove Finau saw the red card in the 86th minute after seeing the yellow card for the second time in the match. Ba had a chance to score in the upcoming minute when Saula Waqa finished a powerful strike that was saved by Biuvanaua. Lautoka still had a huge chance to equalize in the stoppage time when Edward Justin crossed from the left wing to Radrigai but the forward missed an easy goal.
Ba is now in the second position with nine points in three matches while Lautoka was overtaken by the Men in Black to stay in the fourth position. You can check the full standings by clicking here.
Hekari United fans recently celebrated the news released by Oceania Football Center that Nigel Dabinyaba and Raymond Gunemba are ready to join Hekari United after being free agent players for a period. The duo left Lae City and now they are back to Hekari – club both players already defended in the past. Now, there are not good news for the Red Army.
The defender Otto Kusunan decided to leave Hekari United. As former Hekari United player Shane Sakael, the player decided to turn his focus to work commitments, the same as Sakael did in the last season. These are the hard choices of a footballer in Papua New Guinea – now we have two examples of talented players that are forced to leave a top-team in the country in order to pursue a full-time job; not being able to share his duties between playing and working, as football can not give them enough for a living in the country.
Otto Kusunan
The 27-year-old Kusunan already played two OFC Champions League editions for Hekari United; the player was called-up for Papua New Guinea national team but is still to debut for his country internationally.
The 2020 Vodafone Premier League season resumed on last Saturday when Ba took three points home after beating Navua by 5-3. Now the Men in Black have a tougher challenge against Lautoka at Churchill Park to prove themselves.
Ba showed that they are still strong after losing key players like goalkeeper Beniaminio Mateinaqara and defender Laisenia Raura. Led by some players like Abbu Zahid and Saula Waqa, the Men in Black have to prove that they are able to fight for the title with the current squad. Head coach Ronil Kumar knows that it is going to be a difficult contest – “Lautoka is no doubt a great team and they will surely come up firing in front of their home fans,” he said to Fiji Football Association Media.
Ba and Lautoka clashing in 2019 Inter-District Championship – Fiji FA Media
Another player affected by border restrictions is Malakai Rakula. The 28-year-old midfielder left Ba to join Manukau United from New Zealand in the beginning of the year but he is currently stuck in Fiji due to border restrictions so he asked Manukau United to keep playing in Fiji to stay fit – something that was agreed between Rakula, Manukau and his now new club Lautoka. However he is not going to be available for today’s clash against Ba.
It is going to be Ravinesh Kumar’s first match as Lautoka’s head coach. He was appointed the new team’s head coach earlier this week. Shalendra Prasad – the president of Lautoka – says that Prasad’s inclusion is a major advantage for the Bluez – “Master Ravinesh Kumar as the new head coach will be a big boost for the Lautoka FC team. Nevertheless he is the number one coach in Fiji. And definitely he can do wonders,” he stated.
Lautoka is currently in the third position with seven points in four matches while Ba is in fourth with six points in two matches. You can check the current league standings by clicking here.
Recently, Oceania Football Center stated that the star-striker Siotame Kubuwas close to be moving to Lautoka. Despite the undergoing negotiations, new doubts about the possibility of the transfer aroused. According to FBC, “Kubu was one of the players who applied for his release from Labasa to join the Blues in the mid-season transfer window but FBC Sports understands the Babasiga Lions striker wants to withdraw his application“.
Siotame Kubu – FFA Media
“We are still holding on to his (Kubu) application, and when the application is lodged for any player. Then the player cannot withdraw for the next 7 days. He can only do that after the expiry of the 7 day period. We are in the 6th day so we will wait and see then Fiji FA will intervene“, said Fiji Football Association Chief Executive Mohammed Yusuf to FBC.
According to investigation of Oceania Football Center, Siotame had played in the last week a friendly match for Lautoka against Nadi. The player was in fact training with Lautoka, but his situation seems still under much doubt whether he will stay with the Babasiga Lions or the Blues.
The 26-year-old Siotame Kubu was one of the biggest responsibles for the amazing 2019 season Labasa had, hepling the Lions to win the Inter-District Championship, the Battle of Giants and the Champion vs Champion series. Kubu started his career in Lautoka, also featuting for Rewa in 2018 before joining Labasa in 2019 – the striker already played 39 matches in the Fijian top-tier league scoring 19 goals, counting on all his appearances and goals for Rewa, Lautoka and Labasa.
Rakula will be loaned to Lautoka as his ITC (International Transfer Certificate) is currently with New Zealand based-side Manukau United. The player moved back to Fiji, but the COVID-19 pandemic did not allow Rakula to rejoin his compatriot Poasa Bainivalu and Kishan Sami in New Zealand.
Malaki Rakula in Pacific Games
The player in an exclusive online meeting with Oceania Football Center explained he will be forced to continue in Fiji until the international borders reopen, allowing him to move back to Auckland. During this period, Rakula asked Manukau United to continue playing in Vodafone Premier League to keep his fitness and get valuable game time, something that was agreed between Rakula, Manukau and his now new club Lautoka.
Rakula will not be available for Lautoka’s clash against Ba this Wednesday (15th July) – the player confirmed his debut will be against Navua next Sunday.
Oceania Football Center 