Oceania Football Center

Legend Jone Vesikula set to return to Men in Black

The supporters of Ba might be close to taste the return of Fijian international and Ba football legend defender Jone Vesikula. The 34-year-old player is currently attached to Lautoka – he helped the Blues to win two Vodafone Premier League titles in the recent past seasons. Vesikula was also part of Lautoka’s squad that reached the final of 2018 OFC Champions League, where Lautoka lost to New Zealand outfit Team Wellington.

Vesikula also helped Ba to reach OFC Champions League in the 11 years he represented the Men in Black. In the latest match of Lautoka, Vesikula was not part of the matchday squad what can show his intentions to return to his original district. “He had applied for his transfer to re-join his home district. The Lautoka football association has given his release,” stated Lautoka’s chairman Shalendra Prasad to Fiji Times. Vesikula already represented Fiji national team 13 times during his sucessful career in Fijian football.

Recently, Ba lost one of their most importants in history, Avinesh Suwamy, that departed to play in Nadi. Now, with the imminent return of Jone Vesikula the fans will be happy to have one more legend back and to count on the experience of the player as Ba lost many of its stars to other districts; especially their defensive system are now full of players coming from Ba’s grassroots system – where the experience of Vesikula might cause an instant impact.

The controversial penalty suffered by Ba’s forward Samuela Drudru against Lautoka

The first goal in the clash between Ba and Lautoka at Churchill Park was a penalty kick converted by Ba’s Manasa Nawakula. Samuela Drudru was fouled by Sekove Finau inside the box according to the referee. But it seems that it was a controversial decision… Let’s check it the video below:

Oceania Football Center’s management created an open poll asking neutral football fans to analyze the play and 97% of the voters said that it was not a penalty while most of these voters also stated that it was not even a foul.

Also, there is a very important point that must be taken into consideration: It is clear in the video that Lautoka’s defender Sekove Finau held the arm of Ba’s forward Samuela Drudru. The act of holding Drudru’s arm began outside the box so it should not be a penalty because according to FIFA rules the origin of the foul is what worths and not its end. Despite it even there are controversies if it was a foul or not, but the origin of the supposed foul was really outside the box.

Samuela Drudru and Sekove Finau were involved in the play

First of all it is very important to emphasize that controversies happens in football as it is part of the game. This article does not have the intention to tarnish the referees’ decision. It was a very difficult play that happened in less than a second and the referees can not be blamed if they took the wrong decision in this particular case.

All Whites midfielder Matthew Ridenton joins Brisbane Roar

Brisbane Roar added some talent to their squad for 2019-20 Hyundai A-League resumption by signing with former Newcastle Jets’ midfielder Matthew Ridenton.

Ridenton left the Jets in January and travelled to Europe for a trial with Reading FC from England but he failed to impress the English team’s staff. Now the All Whites midfielder is back to Hyundai A-League as he is going to play the remaining of the current season for Brisbane Roar.

Ridenton made his official debut for New Zealand National Football Team in 2014. He played six matches for All Whites. His last National Team’s appearance was in the 1-0 loss against Lithuania last year.

Solomon Islands: former international Alex Waimora joins Kossa’s staff

Kossa FC announced that Alex Waimora has joined the team’s staff as a Technical Game Analyst. The 26-year-old former international is going to bring his experience in the sport to help in the teams’ development.

Despite being very young, Alex is surely a huge addition for Kossa’s staff due to his knowledge – “I am pleased to be part of the management of Kossa especially in the technical team,” he said – “For me, this is an opportunity I am thankful to and I believe with my experience and knowledge of the game, I can definitely deliver according to the club’s expectation,” he added.

Waimora (left) is a valuable addition to Kossa’s staff

Basically, a Technical Game Analyst helps in allowing teams to evaluate their players in depth and this meant players can access pointers to allow them to develop more. Having a specific person to play this role might be something common for European or South American clubs but it is not the reality of football in Oceania – “I totally encourage other clubs to also look into this too because in football, you need every single tool there is to be able to provide a good outcome,” said Waimora.

Kossa is confirmed in the next Telekom S-League – the major football league from Solomon Islands – season that is set to begin on August 8.

Chris Wood’s late goal saves Burnley from losing to Wolverhampton in England

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.

Ba: Misiwani Nairube set to lose Nasinu’s clash due injury

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.

Ba might be in trouble as the 17-year-old Isikeli Sevanaia is the 2nd choice goalkeeper; Ba lost the stoppers Beniamino Mateinaqara and Atunaisa 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.

Samuela Drudru: we will chase for the title

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.

Samuela Gavo scores in his return to Lautoka after being out of OFC Champions League

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.

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.

Epeli Leiroti debuts for Lautoka

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.

Fiji: Saula Waqa leads Ba to beat Lautoka in a breathtaking match

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.