Suva beat and overtake Lautoka at Churchill Park

The football weekend in Fiji was a little bit different as all the spotlights were on Women’s Inter-District Championship final between Ba and Labasa. However there was a very important clash between Lautoka and Suva in the 2020 Vodafone Premier League.

A minute of silence was observed before the match in memory of the passing away of Northland Tailevu Football Association President, Shane Ravindra.

Nickel Chand scored the only goal of the match after receiving a nice cross from Christoper Wasasala in the second half. The Capital City Boys are unbeaten in the second position with eight points in four matches while Lautoka stand in the third place with seven points.

Nickel Chand (right) scored Suva’s goal. Source: FIJI FA Media

You can check the current standings and the top scorers by clicking here.

Roy Krishna opens the path as ATK reaches Indian Super League final

After losing semifinals’ first leg by 1-0 against Bengaluru FC, ATK had the last chance to reach the Indian Super League final on this Sunday. The team from Kolkata needed to win by two or more goals to make the final match, and they did it!

ATK saw the beginning of a nightmare when Muhammed Kuruniyan opened the scoreboard for Bengaluru in the fifth minute. They managed to find the net again to extend the lead to 2-0 but the goal was disallowed by the referee. Fijian forward Roy Krishna tied in the 30th minute after receiving a cross from the right wing to give some life to his team.

Roy Krishna (left) playing for ATK

Former Wellington Phoenix David Williams found the net twice in the second half to take ATK to the Indian Super League final against Chennaiyin. The final clash will take place at Fatorda Stadium on Saturday. You can check the highlights by clicking here.

Roy Krishna and ATK have a hard challenge at ISL semifinal

Roy Krishna will expect to guide his side ATK to a very important victory in the semifinal clash against Bengaluru. His team is going to be back to Kolkata and after the first leg they depend on a win to proceed to the grand final of Indian Super League.

ATK could not hold the striking force of Bengaluru in the first leg – the team from Bangalore emerged victorious with a 1-0 margin. A simple 1-0 win for ATK will force the game to extra-time or even a penalty shootout if necessary; a two-goal advantage win will qualify ATK for the grand final – the team is seeking for their 3rd title in the most important football league of India.

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Roy Krishna playing for ATK – DH Photo

Krishna is having a fantastic season for ATK so far; in 19 matches he scored 14 times and also provided 5 assists in the process. Despite his excellent stint in India so far, his team success depends totally in this match against Bengaluru to seal their fate: to take part in the grand final to continue pursuing their third title or to stop in the semifinal stage of the Indian Super League.

Wellington Phoenix control and win Central Coast Mariners

Wellington Phoenix travelled to Gosford to take on Central Coast Mariners for their 19th match of the A-League season. The New Zealand-based side did not have major issues to beat the Mariners and continue their good form in the league so far – it was their third victory in a row.

Phoenix had the most of the possession in the early minutes, but could not create goalscoring chances. But, when Ulises Dávila found Libby Cacace free in the box, the first finish of the afternoon for the Nix was directly to the nets of Mariners to open the scoreline for the visitors at the 18th minute of play. Cacace scored his 4th goal for the Phoenix in his 50th appearance for the club. 19-years-old full of talent!

Mariners created some trouble for the defensive system led by the captain Steven Taylor, but it was to be Phoenix the team to score again: a fantastic assist of Reno Piscopo found Gary Hooper free, he takes the ball and with a class finish scores his 5th of the season – the second in the clash for the New Zealand side.

Phoenix led at half time by 2-0. The advatange was solid and the good performance of the coached by Ufuk Talay seemed to be enough for their third straight win. Mariners started the second half on top, pressing the defense and hunting an opportunity to cut the deficit.

But again it was not to be for the home side: the Jaushua Sotirio that subbed Reno Piscopo received a fantastic ball from the also substitute Alex Rufer; the speedster made no mistake in front of the goalkeeper to score the third for the Nix.

Phoenix was close to get their third clean sheet in a row, but a powerful strike from the Brazilian forward Jair did not allow Stefan Marinovic to reach this mark. The finish was too strong for the Kiwi custodian to stop it and Central Coast reduced the margin to two – but it was only a consolation goal, the final result was a victory for the Nix by 3-1.

As Perth Glory lost at home against Melbourne City, Phoenix lost their 2nd place in the ladder despite their convicing win over Central Coast Mariners. Phoenix stands now 3rd in the run, three points above the fourth placed side Perth Glory and three points behind the 2nd in the process Melbourne City.

Phoenix will be back to Wellington in their next fixture, when they take on Melbourne Victory at Sky Stadium next Sunday (15/03).

OFC Champions League: see the qualified teams for the knock-out stage

The most important club football tournament of Oceania had its group stage finished after the 4-2 win of AS Vénus of Tahiti against Ba from Fiji in the last match of the stage. The OFC Champions League of 2020 now knows exactly the eight teams that are qualified for the knock-out stage of the regional tournament.

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AS Vénus was the last side to seal their spot in the quarterfinals – OFC Media

You can check below all the clubs that continues in the competition – It is knock-out stage time!

OFC will release a draw to set the four quarterfinal matches; the 1st placed teams of each group (Eastern Suburbs, Malampa Revivors, AS Magenta and Auckland City) will host each of the games – the winner proceeds.

The quarterfinals, semifinals and grand final are all played in one-direct elimination match. Only the hosts of the quarterfinals are decided according to the teams peformances in the group stage, the following phases of the competition will be also decided through a draw made by Oceania Football Confederation.

Wira Wama returns to Hekari United; Carlos Onne signs from Gulf Komara

Papua New Guinea international Wira Wama has returned to Hekari United for the second half of the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, according to sources close to the player.

Wira Wama has already had two stints with Hekari United, from 2010-2013 and from 2016-2019.

The 30-year-old, who has five senior caps for his country, has returned from studies in the United States, and was quickly snapped up by the league leaders to bolster their midfield options.

Hekari have also today confirmed the signing of Gulf Komara’s central defender Carlos Onne. The 20-year-old is an excellent signing, not just for this season but also for the future of the club. Onne is currently playing in his fourth NSL season, having played for a different club each year: he played for PS Rutz in 2017, Southern Strikers in 2018, and Eastern Stars last season, before moving to Gulf Komara. This will be his fifth club in four years.

According to rumours, Hekari are also hoping to bring Solomon Islands international Tutizama Tanito, 26, back to the club, although his current side, Henderson Eels, are in the quarter-finals of the OFC Champions League, so it’s unclear as to whether Tanito would be willing to sacrifice a shot at OFC glory to return to the club where he spent five seasons between 2011 and 2016.

Ba pull ahead but can not resist AS Vénus striking force

Ba played their best game in the competition, but still disappointed their fans after giving up a two-nil lead against the hosts AS Vénus. The Tahitian side could complete a comeback still in the first half to seal their spot in the knock-out stage of OFC Champions League.

Ba started very strong the match – differently from their previous two matches – and opened the scoreline with just two minutes in the clock. Samuela Drudru scored after a great run in the flank, passed the defender and with a fantastic finish he found the back of the net.

Eight minutes later the same Drudru was brought down inside the penalty box by AS Vénus’ goalkeeper Teave Teamotuaitau – a penalty was awarded for the Fijian side. The Solomon Islands international Benjamin Totori saw his shot saved by the keeper, but in the rebound the veteran put the ball in the nets. 2-0 ahead for the Fijian champions.

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Totori (17) celebrates his goal – Christophe Fotozz

AS Vénus was helpless in the first ten minutes, but started to bounce back slowly to the game. The comeback started when the full back Tefai Faehau made an excellent run in the left and found the captain Teaonui ‘Filou‘ Tehau free in the middle of the box to score the first for the home side. Seven minutes later, a perfect delivery from the Frenchman Yann Pennequin Le-Bras in a free-kick found the head of Kevin Barbe to put the ball in Beniamino Mateinaqara’s nets. The game was leveled again at the 36th minute of play.

But AS Vénus would have still time to pursue another goal to complete the comeback – and it came in a very bizarre way: a good setup play of the Tahitian side was going to be cleared up by Ba defense, Filou tried to block the shot – the captain succesfully blocked the clearance and the ball incredibly went to the nets of the Fijian side. AS Vénus went ahead in the scoreline still before half time.

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AS Vénus players celebrate – Christophe Fotozz

In the second half, Teaonui Tehau completed his hattrick with an easy finish with his head in front of the goal to score the fourth of his team and put Vénus with two goals upfront in the scoreline.

The Fijians had good chances to reduce the margin through the likes of Samuela Drudru and Benjamin Totori. Vénus was also very dangerous with its captain Filou and the prolific Tamatoa Tetauira, but the scoreboard remained untouched until the final whistle.

In the final moments of the encounter, Ba was recuded to nine players in a two-minute period: Laisenia Naioko received a direct red after a brawl close to the corner flag and Sanaila Waqacanikau received his second yellow and was also sent off two minutes later the captain Naioko.

Ba goes back to Fiji with 0 points in the competition in one of the worst participations ever in an edition of OFC Champions League, while the Tahitian champions proceeds in style and expect to make their life longer through the knock-out stage of the regional competition.

Kaltak and Manickum score as Auckland City beat brave Lupe o le Soaga to top the group

Auckland City confirmed their favouritism against the Samoan side of Lupe o le Soaga and seal their spot as OFC Champions League – Group D winners in the knock-out stage. The New Zealand will host one of the quarterfinals of the regional tournament.

Despite their third win in three games, it was expected Auckland City to win by a bigger margin than only 2-0 against a team coming from the preliminary stage.

The Navy Blues just went upfront at the 30th minute of play when the Ni-Vanuatu defender Brian Kaltak tapped-in a great corner after an excellent setup play by the New Zealand side.

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Auckland City celebrate their goal – Christophe Fotozz

Lupe managed to have a significant share of possession of the ball and could put some pressure upfront on Auckland – crossing some balls to area and with some longs good shots specially from the youngster Jarvis Filimalae.

Auckland would take long to score again, only at the 68th through the efforts of Dylan Manickum with a very good finish after a mistake of Lupe’s goalkeeper Zane Green.

The New Zealand-based side managed to create some trouble to the Samoan defense with his good passing combinations and the pace of players as Logan Rogerson, but the Navy Blues could not find the back of the net again. Lupe also had their moments in the second half, the two-New Zealand attackers Jamie Mason and Tom Mosquera combined well in some opportunities and in one of those Mosquera forced Cameron Brown to a decent save to avoid a goal that would be historical for Lupe o le Soaga.

Lupe o le Soaga reduced Auckland to an only 2-0 defeat; this was the second time a team from New Zealand scored only two goals in a Samoan side – Waitakere United won Kiwi by 2-0 in the 2014 edition of OFC Champions League. Both matches are tied up as the best result ever of a Samoan team against a New Zealand side. Another huge milestone for Lupe in their campaign – that comes to and end now – in the regional tournament.

Auckland could have done better, but they really did not wanted to waste so much energy in this match. Their 2-0 win seemed to be what the team expected from this clash – ending winning all matches in the process and going through the group without any problems.

Ba has a last chance to impress against hosts AS Vénus

Ba definitively not impress in their campaign at OFC Champions League 2020; the Fijian champions were beaten by Auckland City by 6-0 and shocked the entire Oceania football community when they lost by 4-3 against the Samoan side Lupe o le Soaga. This is, for sure, one of the worst appearances of the Men in Black in the regional tournament – but they have one last chance to change this terrible campaign.

To proceed to the knock-out stage is something virtually impossible for Ba: the team coached by Ricki Herbert will need to beat AS Vénus at Stade de Mahina by a 6-goal margin win. If they can do so, they can proceed to the quarterfinals as the 2nd placed side of the group D with only one win in the process.

The bad performances of Ba made their fans very upset in Fiji and the club will certainly need changes if they still want to compete at Vodafone Premier League for the title.

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Mateinaqara suffers the first goal of Lupe o le Soaga – Christophe Fotozz

The Tahitians of AS Vénus come in a very comfortable situation for their last match: even a 5-0 defeat would still make them pass as the 2nd placed team in the pool – but the Tahitians will certainly want to beat Ba. The team coached by Samuel Garcia count on the likes of Tauhiti Keck, Tamatoa Tetauira and the captain Teaonui ‘Filou’ Tehau upfront and they can cause major problems for the fragile Fijian defense that already conceced 10 goals in the tournament so far.

Defensively, the New Caledonian international Pothin Poma and Kevin Barbe worked really well against Auckland City and suffered just one goal of the New Zealand powerhouse. The likes of Benjamin Totori and Samuela Drudru will have to work if they want to change the mind of their fans agains the good defensive system of AS Vénus.

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AS Vénus will count on their supporters to beat Ba – Christophe Fotozz

The Tahitians will certainly expect a win against a fragile Ba at this moment of the competition. The Fijians will certainly want to perform much better than in their previous two matches in process, specially in the shocking defeat against Lupe o le Soaga.

The Men in Black may know their possibilities to advance in the competition are close to zero, but they have a lot of pride to defend against the very good team from Tahiti if they want to come with their heads high back to their district.

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The Men in Black were lost in the pitch against Lupe – Christophe Fotozz

The Fijian outfit is the current champions of their top-division league back in their country – as AS Vénus also is in Tahiti – and they have more than only their names to defend at OFC Champions League, but also the pride of Fijian football as whole as the both sides from the country did not make any good in the tournament at 2020 edition of the most important club football tournament of the region.

‘David and Goliath’: Lupe o le Soaga and Auckland City clash at Stade de Mahina

The nine-time champions Auckland City is set to take on the little but brave Lupe o le Soaga from Samoa. The New Zealand powerhouse just need a draw to confirm their place in the knock-out stage once again while the Samoans will have to make history one more time and beat Auckland to have a chance to seal their fate and proceed to the quarterfinals.

Lupe o le Soaga will be the “David” of this story, needing to beat the giant Auckland City to shock Oceania and, depending on AS Venus vs Ba result, for the first time advance to the knock-out stage. The Samoans lost their first game in the process by 6-0 against AS Vénus from Tahiti, but grabbed a major upset against the Fijian outfit Ba after putting them down in the first half by 4-0. Despite the Men in Black efforts, the three goals scored in the second half were not enough to stop Lupe to make history: this was their first ever victory at OFC Champions League group stage, also the first ever club from Samoa to win at this stage of the tournament.

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Lupe o le Soaga was the first team from Samoa to win at group stage – OFC Media

Lupe will need to be very careful defensively, specially with the likes of Clayton Lewis, Logan Rogerson, Myer Bevan and Emiliano Tade – players that can cause a lot of problems for the defensive system by the team captain of Lupe Andrew Setefano.

The team coached by José Figueira will want to seal their campaign at group stage with a strong performance to finish the pool with three victories in three matches played.

To confirm their perfect campaign, the Navy Blues will expect to have a better performance than in their 1-0 victory over the hosts AS Vénus. To assure their form, Figueira and his players will need to face a lively Lupe o le Soaga side, coming from their best moment in the competition – certainly the Samoans will battle hard to make the life of the New Zealand powerhouse hard at Stade de Mahina.

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Auckland City celebrate their winning goal over AS Vénus – Christophe Fotozz

The well-know story of David and Goliath shown that the minnows can beat stronger opponents – specially in football, a game that allows the possibility of a weaker techinical side to beat a better prepared team. Lupe will hold on their strong performance againt Ba and in this belief to go ahead against the best team at OFC Champions League, expecting for another miracle in Tahiti.