After lots of rumours, four Fijian players are ready to move to Australia and play for Frankston Pines FC, a football team that currently plays the State League 3 of the football league system in Victoria region.
According to reliable sources, the visas have been granted and the players will be travelling to Australia soon. It was already confirmed by Frankston Pines FC media that Savenaca Baledrokadroka (Rewa), Peni Tuigulagula (Nadi), Tito Vodawaqa (Nadi) and Asaeli Batikasa (Labasa) are the ones who are going to play in Australia.
Baledrokadroka is the most experienced player from this list. The 20-year-old flanker has seven caps for Fiji National Football Team and he was the U23 team captain in the OFC Olympic Qualifier held in Fiji last year.
Baledrokadroka playing for Fiji in the U23 Olympic Qualifier. Source: OFC Media
All these four players are very young and they have already capped for Fijian National Youth Teams. Akeimi Ralulu and Arami Manumanubai are two other players that might be joining Frankston Pines soon.
One of the best games so far of the current edition of the OFC Champions League saw the strong side of Galaxy FC surrender a two-goal lead for the ISPS Handa Premiership title holders Eastern Suburbs from New Zealand. The Ni-Vanuatu side was brave and displayed a very good match against the New Zealanders and a heartbreaking goal at injury time made both sides share the spoils.
Martin Bueno: the savior of Eastern Suburbs – OFC Media
The current PVFA Top Four champions, started strongly the first half being present at the defensive field of Eastern Suburbs. The attacking trio Terence Carter, Roberson and Gagame Feni were a real threat for the New Zealand side. Galaxy proved their attack is very strong when Roberson found the Englishman Terence Carter in the box after a fantastic combination – the striker made no mistake and put the ball in the nets of Danyon Drake to score the first and historical goal for Galaxy.
The New Zealand side was surprised with the good game displayed by the Ni-Vanuatu powerhouse; the lead was doubled after Eddison Stephen fights for the ball, recovers it in the area and finds the Brazilian star Roberson free in the box just tap home the second of Galaxy in the match.
Roberson celebrates with Barry Mansale his goal – OFC Media
Terence Carter had an injury still in the first half and needed to be replaced by the coach Batram Suri – the Ni-Vanuatu international Kensi Tangis was introduced in the match.
Galaxy kept strong upfront, not avoiding much spaces in the back. But, the story of the game changed when Barry Mansale made a silly foul inside the box – the third penalty Galaxy commits so far in the competition – and the powerful Martin Bueno scored through the spot kick to reduce the deficit for the New Zealanders. The 2-1 was the result at half time.
The turning point of the clas happened just early in the second half, when the midfielder Eddison Stephen was sent off after a reckless challenge in the middle of the park on an Eastern Suburbs player. Galaxy lost one player at the 52th minute of play: it would not be easy to hold the Auckland-based side with only 10-men.
Stephens (23) is sent off – OFC Media
Rapidly, Tony Readings introduced more offensive players in the match to pursue the needed goal to equalize the match. Batram Suri replaced Gagame Feni and introduced the central defender Joseph Iaruel to get stronger in the back.
The Brazilian Roberson had a chance to score his second in the process and the third for Galaxy when he recovered the ball inside the box after a mistake of Eastern Suburbs defense, but his shot went wide. The super-sub Frank Ruben almost score one of the contenders for the goal of the tournament from almost the middle of park with a fantastic long-range shot that hit the woodwork.
Galaxy could maintain their lead until the 92th minute of the game; again Martin Bueno shown his class to score the equalizer for Eastern Suburbs – denying what would have been a historical victory for the Ni-Vanuatu club. The ball was offered to Martin Bueno after it touched the defender Selwyn Vatu, in the only chance Eastern Suburbs and the striker had in the final 45 minutes of play, the ball went to nets of Seiloni Iaruel.
A hard-fought goal for a hard-fought draw – OFC Media
Galaxy suffered a heartbreaking goal, but they are still at the top of the group after this match in the goal difference as both Eastern Suburbs and Galaxy have now four points in the group A.
The New Zealanders even with numerical advantage were too slow to create goal scoring chances – they will need to improve. Galaxy shown a very good football and his country is surely proud of their big effort – Galaxy is real deal, they are in Oceania stage for the first time and the club works as a legit powerhouse. Unfortunately for the team coached by Batram Suri, the story of the game could be different if they did not lose one man early in the second half.
Both teams have one more match still to be played in the group and they will be looking to confirm their spots in the knock-out stage: Eastern Suburbs will take on Hienghène Sport, while Hekari United will be the opponents of Galaxy in the final group A matchday.
You can check all goals from this match in the video below:
The ISPS Handa Premiership weekend of football had only three matches in the schedule – the round was split due the OFC Champions League start -, but certainly the fans of the beautiful game in New Zealand are satisfied with the quality of the football played.
Auckland City smashed the last-placed side Canterbury United, no surprises; but in the other two matches of the weekend both Waitakere United and Hamilton Wanderers were surprised and lost important games in the process.
Cam Mackenzie scored the winner for Southern – Southern Media
Southern United took on Waitakere United in Dunedin and started very well the clash; a great play by the Irishman Garbhan Coughlan ended up in Cody Brook’s feet – the attacker made no mistake and opened the account for the home team at the 4th minute of the game.
Waitakere did not want to stop their great run, after a massive win over Eastern Suburbs in the previous round. The Spaniard Gerard Garriga Gibert scored the equalizer for Waitakere after a corner, the capitalised an error from Southern defense to head the ball to the nets to put the game leveled.
The 1-1 was the result of the first half, but in the final 45 minutes, Cam Mackenzie had the chance to put his side upfront again, the attacker did not hesitate to finish and score the second for the Dunedin-based side to put his team ahead. Mackenzie goal gave final numbers for the clash, ending up in a hard-fought 2-1 victory of the home side.
Callan Elliot (yellow) fights for the ball with Tommy Semmy – NZF Media
Hamilton Wanderers expected a win over the Phoenix Reserves at Eden Park in Auckland, but the outcome of the match was different than what the team coached by Kale Herbert wanted.
The New Zealand U20 national team player Callan Elliot opened the scoreline in favour of Wellington Phoenix reserves; the young team kept the control of the match and ended the first half with a narrow lead.
Hamilton managed to bounce in the game after an unfortunate own goal by Phoenix Reserves defense at the 58th minute of play. But the Eden Park curtain raiser clash for the Wellington Phoenix first team match would still see a goal in the encounter: the young Riley Bidois broke the hearts of Hamilton at the 89th minute of play to give his side a very important win the league.
Kaltak scored his second goal for ACFC since signed for the club – ACFC Media
The nightmare of Cantebury United continues: the team travelled to Auckland to take on the powerhouse Auckland City and suffered a big defeat. The bad moment continues after a dark run in the proccess – being the last placed team in the standings.
Auckland City started their dominant win with the legend Emiliano Tade ath the 7th minute of play. Seven minutes later, the Ni-Vanuatu international Brian Kaltak scored the second for the home team after a confusion in the box. Myer Bevan, Alfie Rogers and Jordan Vale would still score in the first half to give Auckland a shocking 5-0 lead at the half time.
The Navy Blues just managed their lead in the second half; Canterbury United was able to reduce the deficit throught the efforts of Aaron Clapham in the 78th of the match, but this was only a consolation goal for the coached by Lee Padmore.
To check the full standings, results and top scorers of the current edition of the ISPS Handa Premiership, visit the session of the league in our website.
The strong Eastern Suburbs are set for a big challenge against the great-performers Galaxy FC, that smashed the current champions of the OFC Champions League Hienghène Sport by 4-1 in the first match of the group A. The New Zealanders had to battle against the hosts of Hekari United to end up with a 2-1 win, even playing most of the second half with one-man advantage.
Both teams are playing for the first time the continental tournament, but they already got their first win the tournament in the debut as Galaxy won Hienghène Sport and Eastern Suburbs beat Hekari United.
Eastern Suburbs counted on the strong Uruguayan striker Martin Bueno – he scored a brace for the Lilywhites in their first challenge in the tournament and he was a constant threat to the Papua New Guinean defense. The talented midfielder Reid Drake was crucial in this match by assisting for Bueno’s first goal in the hard fought win of the Auckland-based club.
Bueno and his teammates celebrate their goal – OFC Media
The strong defensive system of Eastern Suburbs will have a big test ahead of Galaxy FC. The Ni-Vanuatu side coached by Batram Suri did not face any trouble to score four times against the reigning champions of the competition. Despite having some problems in defense, Galaxy was very dangerous through the likes of Roberson, Gagame Feni and Terence Carter upfront – a threat the defensive system led by Adam Thomas will need to deal with.
Batram Suri knows it will not be a easy clash for his team; Galaxy defense needs to improve if they want to control the powerful Martin Bueno and the talented players in the midfield Leon van de Hoven, Reid Drake and the Englishman Adam Thurston.
Roberson (center) and Carter (left) were lethal for Galaxy against Hienghène – OFC Media
The victorious team of this clash will grant a spot in the knockout stage of the OFC Champions League; a very good result for debutants in the competition, so we can really expect a very good match between both sides that want to keep the good moment and qualify for the decisive phase of the most important club football tournament in Oceania.
Current OFC Champions League winners Hienghène Sport will have a tough clash against Hekari United today. Both teams lost in the opening round of the Group A and now they need to fight for their lives if they really want to go through the next stage.
Hienghène had an unexpected major blow in the first matchday when they were thrashed by Galaxy FC from Vanuatu while Hekari United played a decent match against Eastern Suburbs but they could not hold Martin Bueno that scored twice to give the win to the New Zealanders.
Hekari will have some advantage as they are going to count on the crowd support once they are playing in Papua New Guinea. The biggest problem for the Reds is the absence of David Muta that was sent off in the opening round. The 32-year-old midfielder is one of the most important players of the team and he is a legend there – he was part of Hekari’s squad that won the OFC Champions League in 2010.
With Muta out of combat, Brazilian Vinicius Kryzozun and Michael Foster will have the mission to lead Hekari’s midfielder while the Kepo brothers are going to be in charge of finding the net for the Papua New Guinean side.
Vinicius had a good performance against Eastern Suburbs. Source: OFC Media
Hienghène Sport faced lots of troubles in the 4-1 loss against Galaxy. They left too much space between their lines in the defense and Brazilian midfielder Roberson enjoyed it to show off his class. The New Caledonian side must fix it otherwise they will see another Brazilian punishing their defense.
The Papua New Guinean side faced some defensive problems in the opening round because Eastern Suburbs knew how to exploit Hekari’s defense perfectly and it might be a problem once again if they do not pay attention on their opponent’s attack as they have some great forwards like Bertrand Kaï that won the Golden Ball award in the 2019 OFC Champions League and Antoine Roine the two most important goals of Hienghène’s history: The winning goal at Champions League final against AS Magenta and the goal against Al-Sadd from Qatar in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup.
It is also a great opportunity for these two players to show their quality one more time as both forwards did not perform well in the opening.
Roine (left) and Bertrand Kaï (right) did not perform well against Galaxy. Source: OFC Media
Both teams are strong and it is going to be a very tough match. The midfielders are going to play a crucial role in this game. Keeping the ball possession must be the X-Factor to decide the winners and the losers. This match can be the end of the line with one match in advance for the losing team if Galaxy draws against Eastern Suburbs.
Malampa Revivors and Henderson Eels played an interesting match that ended drawn. Both teams were looking for the victory but they could not grab all three points and now they need to bet all their chips in the third and last matchday of 2020 OFC Champions League Group B.
Henderson Eels did not make many changes from the clash against Lae City to the second game against Malampa Revivors. Freddie Kini replaced Boni Pride that got injured in the opening match while Rodney Suri was promoted to the starting eleven as Augustine Tagana sat on the bench.
On the other hand, Malampa Revivors needed to change their attack for this match because forward Andre Batick was suspended. Left Back Lency Philip was another played that left the starting eleven but Revivors’ kept the same gamestyle in comparison with their debut against Lae.
The Ni-Vanuatu side started the match with a high ball possession while the Eels are trying to put some pressure on their opponents’ ball distribution. After suffering the first goal, the team coached by Eddie Marahare finally started to find some space to play but Revivors were also finding space to play.
Things got better for Eels when Eddie Marahare decided to make some changes. Kennedy Watamae left the pitch in the 40th minute to be replaced by Hudson Felani and this substitution was crucial for them. The Solomon Islands side started to be more combative in the midfield and then they were able to create good opportunities to score.
Hudson Felani (in green) joined the pitch in the late minutes of the first half. Source: OFC Media
The first half ended in a 1-1 draw and it was just a presage of what would happen in the second half. Eels had a better second half and they kept trying to find the net while Malampa Revivors struggled to keep the possession with a high quality.
The Solomon Islands’ team deservedly found the net to lead the match by 2-1 and it would be a fair result if we take into consideration that Eels were having a better performance since the 40th minute. However Revivors managed to tie the match after a quick play finished by Armando Ravo.
Revivors scored a late goal to keep themselves alive in the Group B. Source: OFC Media
Eels’ defense improved a lot from one game to another but they still need some ajustment as their defense are very unprotected. The midfielders should get closer to the defenders when they are trying to retake the ball possession.
Revivors played a decent match but they must find some new solutions if they want to beat Lae City in the third matchday to qualify through the next stage. The Ni-Vanuatu side has plenty of talent in their midfield but they need more to make the quarterfinals.
They say the best teams take constructive criticism and use it to their advantage. Lae City certainly listened to their critics, making five changes to the team that drew 3-3 with Henderson Eels at the weekend, and being immediately rewarded with a handsome first-half performance against Fiji’s Lautoka which eventuated in a 7-0 thrashing of their Group B rivals in the 2020 OFC Champions League.
Whether Coach Peter Gunemba read our analysis of that draw with Henderson Eels, whether he read the social media opinions of fans and armchair critics, or whether he noticed the problems that we had seen himself; the reasons he had for changing the side were not important. What’s important is that he did.
Five changes were made ahead of the Lautoka game, which addressed several of the weaknesses that were identified after the opening fixture of the Champions League on Saturday. In goal, PNG’s number 1 Ronald Warisan was dropped for Matheson Nasa in a move which could signal the end of the former’s international career. Nasa looked assured when coming to claim the ball and made some important saves, but most effective was his distribution: for the most part, short and swift to the full-backs or centre-backs, which allowed the side to produce some fast-paced, direct attacking football, which was simply too much for Lautoka to handle.
Two holes were plugged in defence too: ageing Valentine Nelson and the injured Eddie Managu were replaced by Joshua Oscar and Emmanuel Airem respectively, and despite a wobbly opening twenty minutes (from both sides) at the back, once Lae had scored one, the back four grew more and more confident as the game wore on. In the midfield, Ecuadorians Abdias Aguirre and Gustine Vergara replaced Troy Gunemba and Obert Bika, and it was Aguirre’s introduction which really made the difference, the central midfielder playing a key role in Lae’s opening goal with a deft flick to set up Nigel Dabinyaba, setting the stage for the whitewash which followed.
Raymond Gunemba celebrates with his Lae City teammates after scoring his first goal. Photo: OFC Media
Despite the changes, however, it was the usual suspects that ended up actually putting the ball in the back of the net: Dabinyaba, Raymond Gunemba, and man-of-the-match Emmanuel Simon all hit a brace, with Obert Bika getting on the scoresheet after he was subbed on late in the first-half. Lae have always had the firepower to be dangerous, and when working together as a team, they were carving the Lautoka defence apart: four goals in a ten minute session after the water break in the first half demonstrated that when the wheels are greased, Lae have one of the best attacks in the competition. It’s noteworthy then, perhaps, that when the game was in the bag, Lae were less successful in front of goal, as individual greed began to triumph over teamwork. Credit to Lae in that they wanted more than seven and continued to attack, but a warning that they were much more potent when combining their talents, rather than attempting individual brilliance.
For Lautoka, questions must be asked of their mentality. For the first twenty minutes of the game, the side more than matched Lae: they looked solid and assured in possession, and while they were unable to create any real chances, they were soaking up the Lae attacks with relative ease and building nicely from the back. However, once Lae had scored twice, they completely collapsed, and turned into a defensive shambles. Too often, simple, quick one-twos from the Lae creative players were able to completely bypass the Lautoka defenders, who looked sluggish, tired and defeated.
Furthermore, the man between the sticks, New Zealand import Liam Anderson, was nowhere to be seen for much of the game. Either Lae’s finishing was superb or Anderson’s goalkeeping was dire, but during Lae’s hot streak at the end of the second half, all of their shots went in: Lae had seven shots on target in the match, and scored seven goals. Only at the very end of the match, when all was already lost, did Anderson show some glimpses of why Lautoka used up a foreign player slot on him, with a couple of excellent blocks.
New Zealand goalkeeper Liam Anderson had a poor game between the sticks. Photo: OFC Media
For Lae, they now know that a draw against Malampa Revivors will be enough to see them through to the next round, and failing a goal fest in the other game, a draw will also see them win the group. Lautoka must take a step back and assess what went wrong, but they’re far from eliminated: a win against Henderson Eels would still see them in pole position to claim qualification in second place.
Current Vodafone Premier League champions Ba will play a friendly match against Rewa today at Ratu Cakobau Park (Nausori, Fiji) before departing to New Zealand.
Ba-Rewa friendly official banner. Source: Fiji FA Media
According to reliable sources Ba will travel to New Zealand in the next days in order to keep their preparation for 2020 OFC Champions League. The Men in Black are going to debut in the continental tournament on March 1st against Auckland City.
Solomon Warriors keep their preparation for OFC Champions League. The 2019-20 Telekom S-League winners are going to play two friendlies this week before travelling to New Caledonia.
It was reported by Isabel United’s media that the Warriors are going to play a friendly this Wednesday against a team made up by players from Isabel and Kossa. According to Telekom S-League media, Warriors will play a second friendly on Friday against another “select side” that is going to count on players from Kossa, Isabel and Marist.
Solomon Warriors squad is ready for the friendlies. Source: SIFF Media
Both matches are scheduled to be played at Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara. Solomon Warriors are drawn in 2020 OFC Champions League’s group C alongside with AS Magenta, AS Tiare Tahiti and Tupapa Maraerenga.
Malampa Revivors and Henderson Eels were face to face in the second matchday in the OFC Champions League Group B. Both teams were looking for the win as they managed to grab only one point from the previous matchday.
Revivors started the match keeping the ball possession but they are being under pressure as the Solomon Islands side was pressing the ball well. For Eels’ bad luck the Ni-Vanuatu team found the net in their first opportunity as Edwin Bai lobbed the goalkeeper after being assisted by Azariah Soromon in a quick play that started from a goal kick.
Henderson Eels managed to find more space after suffering the goal while Malampa was being successful to present some danger with long balls. Claude Aru was being a key player for Revivors as he was dominating the midfield. He had a chance to score in a free kick but he hit the post. Malampa was being very successful by countering Eels’ offensive actions and the Solomon Islands forwards started to move more in order to make some confusion in the Ni-Vanuatu defense.
It was pointed by Oceania Football Center that Eels’ goalkeeper Desmond Tutu did not have a good debut in the tournament. However the Solomon Islands keeper showed his quality in the first half by making good decisions and saved some shots.
Eels was leaving too much space between their lines and head coach Eddie Marahare noticed it. He called Hudson Felani that came from the bench in the 40th minute to replace Kennedy Watemae. This replacement happened in the right time as the Solomon Islands side has grown inside the match after it.
After a beautiful one-two with Raphael Lea’i, the experienced Joses Nawo found the net to tie the game. Lea’i also had a great opportunity to score Eels’ second goal before the halftime when he was face to face against the opposite goalkeeper Julian Malnaim but the shot went wide.
Joses Nawo kisses Solomon Islands flag during his goal celebration. Source: MyCujoo
The second half started the same way the first half ended with Henderson Eels having a better performance and pressing their opponents. After many minutes without any relevant plays, Tuti Zama Tanito crossed from the left and found Joses Nawo’s head to put Eels ahead in the scoreboard. However their happiness did not last long as 17-year-old Armando Ravo scored from inside the box after an amazing play by Edwin Bai. You can check all goals in the video below:
Both teams now have two points in the Group B. Eels will face Lautoka in the third and last matchday while Revivors are going to play against Lae City on Friday.
Oceania Football Center 