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.
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.
Joel Konofilia
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 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
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.
Charles Mani
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 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.
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.
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.
The group stage of 2020 PVFA Independence Cup is reaching its end as four matches were contested in Port Vila during this weekend. Ifira Black Bird and Tafea sealed their spots in the semi-finals while Galaxy and Erakor Golden Star will have to fight once again for a spot.
Ifira Black Bird faced Sia-Raga and they came to the pitch having in mid that they had to win by a good goal margin. On the other hand, Sia-Raga was already eliminated and they did not have anything to lose in this contest.
Led by powerful forward Tonly Kalotang who scored a brace, Ifira thrashed their opponents by 11-0 to take the lead of the Group A. The Tenene brothers Godine and Sylvain also scored twice in the match while Frederick Massing, Jacques Wanemut, Jonathan Spokeyjack, Loic Boulet and Sam Kalter found the net once each.
The other match of the Group A was contested by Erakor Golden Star and Galaxy. Both teams knew that they had to win because Ifira Black Bird was already qualified for the semi-finals. It was a very interesting clash but the final score was a 0-0 draw. Both teams are tied in the second position of Group A and another match will be contested by Erakor and Galaxy to decide which club will advance to the next stage.
In the other group, Tafea faced bottom placed team Mauwia and won by 3-0 with goals scored by Allista Kalip, Evaristo Kapulu and John Thomas which means that Tafea is still unbeaten in the tournament with three wins in three matches.
Allista Kalip (left) celebrating a goal against Mauwia – Vanuatu Sports News
In the last match of the weekend Yatel faced Tupuji Imere and also won by 3-0. Yatel is very close to advance to the semi-finals as they just need to draw against Mauwia on Tuesday to book their spot in the next stage – “We ask all people from Malampa to support Yatel in this Independence Cup as we are the only team from Malampa in the PVFA Premier League,” said the team’s president John Stephens Tougon.
Ifira’s forward Tonly Kalotang is the current top scorer of the league with four goals in three matches. You can check the current standings and the top scorers by clicking here.
Former Team Wellington’s player Ollie Bassett is having the opportunity to stay with a professional football club as the 22-year-old attacking midfielder is currently on trial with TOP Oss from Netherlands’ second tier.
Bassett was born in England but he represented Northern Ireland at youth level. He arrived in New Zealand in 2018 and he played for two ISPS Handa Premiership’s clubs in his stint in the country: Waitakere United and Team Wellington. He scored ten goals in 28 matches during his two seasons playing the ISPS Handa Premiership – the major football league in New Zealand.
He left Team Wellington in the beginning of this year to join Australian club St Albans Saints SC and now he is trying to have another opportunity in Europe.
Oceania Football Center wishes good luck to Ollie and we hope that he can get a contract with a professional club.
After beating Navua and Lautoka in the past week, current league champions Ba received Nasinu at Fiji FA Academy in order to maintain their unbeaten run while the visitors needed to win to escape from the seventh position.
The Man in Black had a huge problem for this clash as starting goalkeeper Misiwani Nairube got injured in the clash against Lautoka so Ba’s head coach Ronil Kumar had to put 17-year-old goalkeeper Isikele Sevanaia in the starting eleven. It was reported in the match sheet that forward Sanaila Waqanicakau was on the bench as the back-up goalkeeper. This match also marked the return of Isikeli Ratucava to Nasinu. The 21-year-old midfielder returned to The Giant Killers after spending a semester with Suva.
The Giant Killers showed to people why they have this nickname. Jasnit Vikash opened the scoreboard for Nasinu with a shot from outside the box. Vikash got his brace and extended Nasinu’s in the second half by scoring a penalty kick after a handball by Samisano Waqabuli.
Vikash scored a brace for Nasinu – FFA Media
Things got even worse for Ba in the 75th minute when Saula Waqa – who scored a marvelous goal against Lautoka on Wednesday – was sent off by the referee for a violent conduct on a Nasinu player who was down on the ground.
Nasinu managed to keep the lead until the end of the game to win the match by 2-0. The bad news for The Giant Killers came in the 91st minute when Meli Nagusudrau saw the red card which means that he is going to miss the next match.
After the match, Nasinu’s player Marlon Nonone said: “We were efficient in our game plan based on counter-attack. I played today as a number 10 in the midfield. Jasnit was very good helping us in the creation of plays; we missed Atkin Kaua and Jared Rongosulia, but we could still manage to get an important win. Coach Vonolagi was very happy with our performance and I felt Ba understimated Nasinu“.
Ba is currently in the second position with nine points in four matches while Nasinu overtook Nadi to reach the sixth position. You can check the current standings by clicking here.
Labasa received Nadi at Subrail Park in Labasa on this Saturday. Both teams were playing an official match for the first time in fourth months and the hosts took the advantage of playing at home to grab all three points.
Nadi did not count on talented Jeshal Kumar who is recovering from an injury. On the other hand, midfielder William Valentine returned to the team after spending one year far from football due to suspension.
As it was reported a few hours before the match, Siotame Kubu was in the starting eleven after deciding to stay with Labasa and he did not disappoint the fans as he opened the scoreboard in the beginning of the second half to give Babasiga Lions the 1-0 lead.
Kubu scored for Labasa
Labasa had another opportunities to score, specially in the first half, but they did not manage to find the net. The same happened to Nadi in the second half when Labasa’s goalkeeper Akuila Mateisuva made a good save in a free kick. The visitors were very close to score in another situation but it was saved by a defender right over the goal line. This match also marked the debut of former Navua’s forward Taniela Rakariva with Labasa.
The Babasiga Lions are currently in the fifth position with seven points in sixth matches while The Jetsetters were overtaken by Labasa and Nasinu and they are now in the seventh position. You can check the current standings by clicking here.
