There are excellent news for Hekari United fans: the Papua New Guinea international Wira Wama is back to Papua New Guinea and he is the first confirmed move for Hekari United in the PNG National Soccer League transfer window. The 30-year-old is back to Hekari United to reinforce the team coached by Jerry Allen in the second round of the national league – competition that Hekari is currently at the top of the standings.
The midfielder already represented three times Papua New Guinea internationally and he was part of the squad that in 2016 ended as runners-up in the OFC Nations Cup held in Port Moresby. Since then the player left the country to study in United States – he also played in the well-known college football system of United States for the MBU Sabercats – team of his university, the Maranatha Baptist University.
Wira Wama playing for Hekari United – OFC Media
The midfielder last appeared for Hekari United in 2016 season, when the club also took part of the OFC Champions League. 2020 marked the comeback of the Port Moresby-based side to the regional tournament and will also be the year Wama is back to Papua New Guinean football after four years in United States.
It is known the player finished his studies in the North American country and now he is back to his home nation and is set to represent his former club in their upcoming challenges in the season.
On the weekend in which the most anticipated clash of the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League season between eight-time champions Hekari United and five-time reigning champions Lae City took place, the real winners of the weekend were third-placed Vitiaz United, who closed the gap on the top two with a win against Morobe Wawens while Hekari and Lae were unable to be separated.
The match of the day between Lae City and Hekari United took place at 3pm at Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium in Lae, and the stadium was packed to the rafters for the third and final game of the day.
Lae City’s starting XI against Hekari United. Photo: Lae City FC
The two sides were evenly matched throughout, with Hekari taking after around 20 minutes after Brazilian import Vinicius converted a spot kick, with his effort hitting the bottom of the crossbar before dipping past the goal-line. Hekari held on to their narrow lead until half-time, but chances to score for both sides were few and far between, with the wet conditions in Lae affecting both sides’ ability to skilfully play the ball.
In the second half, Emmanuel Simon levelled up the scores ten minutes into the second half with his sixth goal of the season, also from the penalty spot. However, Lae’s chances of holding onto a draw were dealt a blow shortly afterwards when Emmanuel Airem was sent off for a second bookable offence. However, the Lae City defence, which has looked exposed at times this season, tightened up, and that, combined with Hekari’s profligacy in front of goal, meant the two sides went home with a spare of the spoils.
The draw means that Vitiaz United, who remain third, have closed the gap between themselves and the top two after a narrow 1-0 victory away in Lae against Morobe Wawens. Wawens, who had lost three matches in a row without scoring before this game, took high-flying Vitiaz by surprise in the first half with their attacking, possession-dominating football, but they were unable to make the most of their excellent first-half spell. With the game seemingly ebbing out into a draw, Vitiaz’ Joshua Talau scored the decisive goal against the run of play in the second half, giving Vitiaz a vital victory and keeping the pressure on the league leaders.
Just one point separates the top three in the PNG NSL. OFCe Graphic.
With the season half-finished now, Hekari United retain their lead at the top by just a single point after going unbeaten in the opening half of the season, drawing two games, against main rivals Vitiaz and Lae. Lae are second, ahead of Vitiaz on goal difference despite losing 2-1 to the debutants in February, while Vitiaz are third, with their only defeat having come against FC Bougainville.
In the early kick-off in Lae, visiting Tusbab Stallions were unable to make the breakthrough against draw-specialists Morobe United, securing a 0-0 draw which is semi-useful for both sides. Stallions go into the second half of the season comfortably in a playoff spot but six points from any sort of continental qualification, while Morobe United have lost just one of their last five games, a springboard to what could be a decent second half of the season for them.
Gulf Komara (black) took on FC Kutubu (yellow) in Port Moresby on Saturday. Photo: Soka Citi Images
Focus was away from the capital Port Moresby this weekend, as the most important games took place in Lae. However, there was still some significant action taking place: Tau Winnie scored his first goal of the season for Star Mountain against FC Bougainville, but the side were unable to hold on to their lead, as Arneil Passam equalised for the hosts in the second half, giving both sides a point. In the 3pm kick-off, Gulf Komara pulled away from the bottom four with a comfortable 2-0 victory against visiting FC Kutubu, with Kila Gapi and Numa Kila scoring the goals for the home side.
Results
Morobe United 0-0 Tusbab Stallions Morobe Wawens 0-1 Vitiaz United FC Bougainville 1-1 Star Mountain Lae City 1-1 Hekari United Gulf Komara 2-0 FC Kutubu
The Women’s Inter-District Championship is about to reach its end. The final episode of this edition are going to take place tomorrow at Churchill Park when Ba and Labasa will be fighting for the trophy once again.
In the semifinals Ba won Nadroga by 3-0 led by Koleta Likuculacula that scored twice in the second half while Labasa had to fight hard to beat Rewa in the shootout after a 2-2 draw in the regular time.
Labasa (left) and Ba (right) will fight for the IDC’s title. Source: Fiji FA Media
Labasa will be fighting to win the IDC for the second straight year while Ba wants to take revenge for what happened in the last edition. The final clash is scheduled to begin at 12:30.
The group stage of SIPA Futsal League is over and the semifinalists are already known! Current OFC Futsal Champions League winners Kooline FC finished the Group A in the first position while Mataks led the Group B.
KF Gold Futsal and Marist FC are also qualified for the knockout stage. You can check the group stage standings by clicking here.
Kooline (blue) and KF Gold (red) qualified for semifinals. Source: SIPA Media
The semi-finals will be contested on Wednesday at Multi-Purpose Hall in Honiara. Oceania Football Center wishes good luck to all participants.
Shortly before this weekend’s matches in the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, we reported that Raymond Gunemba was handed a five-match suspension for his behaviour at the end of Lae City’s 2-1 defeat against Vitiaz United earlier in the season.
Gunemba celebrates scoring against Lautoka in the OFC Champions League in February. Photo: Phototek
The suspensions meant that he, alongside teammate Obert Bika, who was also involved in the incident, were unavailable to play against FC Kutubu last weekend, a match which ended 8-1 in favour of the five-time reigning champions.
However, Gunemba and Bika were both cleared to play in this weekend’s crunch match against Hekari United, which suggested that the club’s appeal against the lengthy suspension has been successful.
Further research has revealed that the club had to pay a fine of K1000, but that the suspension was lifted following the payment of the fine and the serving of a one-match ban for both players.
It is expected that Gunemba will be available for the remainder of the domestic season.
There has been no official announcement from the National Soccer League nor the Papua New Guinea Football Association regarding this incident, bringing into question the transparency of the process. Rest assured, we will always try to bring you all the relevant news as soon as we have the information, including further updates on Gunemba’s suspension and appeal.
Due to OFC Champions League, the ISPS Handa Premiership – top-tier of football in New Zealand – will have only two matches in its weekend of football. Despite the lack of games in the round, both matches are very important for the top-four battle in the league.
Hawke’s Bay will challenge the title holders away from home – Steph Gunther
Both Eastern Suburbs and Hawke’s Bay United come from defeats in their previous matches in the league. The current league champions, lost by 4-1 away from home against the powerful Team Wellington. Despite scoring first in the match, Eastern Suburbs could not defend their lead and suffered a tough defeat.
The Lilywhites will take on Hawke’s Bay in Auckland for a very important match for two sides fighting for the top-four. Eastern Suburbs currently sits 4th with 19 points in the process, while the Napier-based side has 15 points and sits 8th. A win is very important for both sides as HBU wants to keep their chances alive to proceed to the semifinals and Eastern Suburbs want to guarantee their spot in the post-season to defend their title.
Hawke’s Bay suffered heartbreaking defeat at home against Southern after being upfront in the scoreline. The team coached by Chris Greatholder suffered a harsh 4-3 defeat and will expect on Ahinga Selemani and his attacking force to overcome the strong Eastern Suburbs away from home.
Jean-Philippe Saïko is the man of the moment in Tasman United – NZF Media
Tasman has a lot to celebrate this season: the team is back to the contest in the top-four and its marksman Jean-Philippe Saïko has much to celebrate in his first season in New Zealand. The New Caledonian international scored the winner against Auckland City in their opponent first defeat since 2017 – a famous win for the team coached by Jess Ibrom.
Tasman will be back to the pitch to face Wellington Phoenix Reserves at Porirua Park looking to enter the top-four a very much needed win against the youth side of Phoenix. But Tasman can not expect an easy challenge in Porirua as Phoenix will count with the likes of Ahmand Othman and Ben Old that are having a very good season so far for the WeeNix.
There was no room for surprises: AS Magenta tops the group C of OFC Champions League while Solomon Warriors proceeds to the knock-out stage in the 2nd place of the group. The New Caledonians sealed their spot in the quarterfinals with two first half goals coming from defensive mistakes of Solomon Warriors. AS Magenta also guaranteed to right to host one of the four matches of quaterfinals – having the home advantage in the one-legged decisive match.
The Solomon Islanders had more possession of the ball in the starting minutes of the clash, but could not create any real goalscoring chance – something that would stand for the rest of the entire game. In the 15th minute of play, one terrible defensive mistake of communication between Haddis Aengari and John Alick allowed Fonzy Ranchain to strike in force to the left side of the goal of Timothy Maerasia to break the deadlock and put Magenta upfront.
Fonzy Ranchain scored the first goal of AS Magenta in the encounter – OFC Media
Solomon Warriors continued to have more the ball, but they still could not connect the attackers upfront to create goalscoring opportunities. Magenta was always dangerous in attack – Solomon Warriors defense seemed not well protected. In one of this attacks, the ball was crossed to the area Shene Welepane could not strike, the ball was offered to Nathanael Hmaen that made no mistake and netted the second goal of the home side in the encounter.
Lency Norman was the most effective forward for Solomon Warriors in the first 45 minutes of play, creating some trouble to the New Caledonian defense due his speed, but in his solo plays he could connect properly with his attack teammates.
The 2-0 advatange of AS Magenta in the first half would be the final score of the game. Despite having their best opportunities in the second half, Solomon Warriors did not manage to create any real danger to the home team. Solomon Warriors had the biggest share of possession of the ball during the entire game, but his midfield players could not find their forwards in good areas of the pitch to create opportunities.
Nathanael Hmaen celebrates his goal – OFC Media
Solomon Warriors best chances came in dead balls: the first in a corner, a powerful header of John Alick was saved by the goalkeeper Nicodem Hmaen and cleared for a corner before it passed the goal line by AS Magenta defense. In the final minutes of the clash, Alick crossed to the area, the ball was deflected and Molis Jr Gagame finished it over the bar. Despite the efforts of Warriors, Magenta was the closest side to score in the final 45 minutes of the game: Jean-Brice Wadriako and Kevin Nemia forced Timothy Maerasia to two hard stops – if the goalkeeper was not there to save the Solomon Islands side, both plays would end up in goals for the home side.
Magenta played a safe game, capitalizing in the early mistakes of Solomon Warriors and winning most of the balls in the midfield. The New Caledonians are still to impress in their two matches, but they played good enough to surpass their two opponents playing a very smart game. Magenta proved to have a very strong defensive system against Solomon Warriors – their strong protection to their last line of players proved to be effect, not allowing spaces for Warriors attackers.
The Solomon Islanders will need to study on their two matches and learn from their mistakes specially in defense. The team also lacked creativity and their attacking plays seemed to obvious for the opposition defense – there was a poor connection defense to midfield and midfield to attack, specially in this final match against the New Caledonians of AS Magenta. If the Solomon Islands’ champions want to have a long life at OFC Champions League this season, they will need to display a better football in the quarterfinals.
The New Zealand-based Wellington Phoenix is back to action at Hyundai A-League, the top-tier of football in Australia after a week of absence in the pitch. The New Zealand side will travel to Gosford to take on the last-ranked side in the league Central Coast Mariners.
Phoenix come from two wins a row – against Melbourne City and Western United – and despite not playing in the previous round, the club continues in the same position: 4th. A win over Central Coast can put Phoenix even in the 2nd place in the ladder depending on other results in the process.
David Ball (left) comes in a high for Nix – RNZ
The English striker David Ball is being instrumental for Phoenix victories so far: the attacker scored in the both previous matches of his team in the league and continues to combine very well upfront with the top-striker Gary Hooper.
The New Zealand team will hope the Mexican playmaker Ulises Dávila can be back to his goalscoring days – the player already netted 10 in the season so far. Phoenix will expect to keep in Central Coast Mariners mind the huge defeat the team imposed them in the last season – a magnificent 8-2 in favour of the visiting side, the same stadium where this match is going to be played.
The match can be watched at Sky Sport and also at YouTube channel of MyFootball for foreign supporters.
The current runners-up of OFC Champions League AS Magenta from New Caledonia will have a tough test when they take on the Solomon Islands champions Solomon Warriors at Stade Numa Daly. The Solomon Islanders need a win to secure the top-spot in the OFC Champions League – Group C to grant a home quarterfinal match in the knock-out stage.
A draw or a win for AS Magenta will secure them the a home quarterfinal in Nouméa, but they will have a strong side upfront to stop if they want to guarantee the 1st place in the pool. The players of Alain Moizan will hope the top-striker Kevin Nemia will be in good form once again as the player scored twice in their 3-2 win over AS Tiare Tahiti in their previous match in the regional tournament.
The likes of Fonzy Ranchain and Didier Simane will also expect to guide their side upfront, linking the front players with quality. The defensive phae of the team of Moizan will hope Damien Wanapopo and Jean-Brice Wadriako have also a strong match to avoid the two silly goals AS Magenta suffered against AS Tiare Tahiti.
AS Magenta will expect another win – OFC Media
Magenta will need to surpass the defensive system led by Solomon Warriors captain and Solomon Islands international Haddis Aengari. The protection of defense will be in charge of the MVP of the last edition of Telekom S-League John Alick – the Vanuatu international will hope to be important in defense and also a good player to start the offensive plays of Warriors.
Gibson Daudau and Dennis Ifunaoa will be the main danger of Solomon Warriors upfront. The former Hekari United players will expect to combine well upfront in order to cause trouble for the defensive players of the New Caledonian side.
John Alick can be key for Solomon Warriors – OFC Media
Both sides will be expecting the best outcome for them from this clash: a home quarterfinal-match will be a crucial advatange to proceed to the top-four of the most important club football tournament of Oceania. The match will be very important for New Caledonians and Solomon Islanders and the win is the goal of the two teams.
The Vanuatu football community raised lots of questions about the not inclusion of Galaxy FC defender Ignace Yamak in the 54-men provisional list of Vanuatu national team heading for the OFC Nations Cup 2020.
Yamak played all matches of the sucessful campaign of Galaxy FC in Papua New Guinea where the team qualified for the knock-out stage of OFC Champions League after surpassing Hienghène Sport and Hekari United. The 29-year-old defender already represented Vanuatu at U20 stage and senior level, playing five times for his national senior team – being the last appearace in 2016.
Ignace Yamak – Galaxy Media
In social media the Vanautu football legend Moise Poida shown his thoughts about the absence of Yamak in the provisional squad: “Why Ignace Yamak was not included? He is better than every right-back selected or even better than some of the left-back mentioned in the list“, stated the assistant coach of Galaxy FC.
The discussions will move on – it is not sure if Yamak can be still select to the squad -, but certainly the fans and media will have something to discuss about during the week. You can check the entire list of Vanuatu provisional squad by clicking here.
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