Galaxy FC is getting ready for debuting at 2020 OFC Champions League in Papua New Guinea. It was reported by the team management that they faced a minor trouble but it is already solved.
According to sources, Vanuatu Football Federation (VFF) competition manager did not update Galaxy’s squad information properly at COMET system so there were some wrong things there like players’ nationalities. COMET is the system used by Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) to register things related to local football.
Galaxy FC delegation. Source: Galaxy FC Media
After checking players’ passports, Oceania Football Confederation found these mistakes and everything was solved. Galaxy will debut in the tournament tomorrow against Hienghène Sport from New Caledonia.
In 2018 Lautoka ended the OFC Champions League as runners-up after being defeated by Team Wellington in the finals. In that year, the attack of the Fijian powerhouse was very strong, couting on players as Benjamin Totori and Samuela Drudru.
This year, three of the four foreign players brought by the Blues are defensive players, showing Lautoka for the 2020 edition of the OFC Champions League is coming with very storng defensive system.
Liam Anderson and Jack Counter; the latest signings from New Zealand of Lautoka
Lautoka brought the goalkeeper Liam Anderson and the central defender Jack Caunter from New Zealand to boost their squad for the OFC Champions League. Both players have experience in the ISPS Handa Premiership, the top-tier of football in their homecountry.
Lautoka, that already counted with the good local defenders Arami Manumanubai and Poasa Bainivalu, had the reinforcement of their squad with Andersom and Caunter, but another very known player at Oceania stage was signed by the team also for their defensive system.
Jason Thomas, new player of Lautoka – VFF Media
The Ni-Vanuatu international Jason Thomas that already defended Erakor Golden Star and Solomon Warriors in previous editions of the OFC Champions is now a player of Lautoka. The still young defender is one of the most prolific defensive players in Oceania scenario currently and he can be a rock for Lautoka back.
Lautoka will have its match in the tournament when they enter the pitch in Luganville to face the locals of Malampa Revivors.
The second match of 2020 OFC Champions League begins in two hours. Fijian side Lautoka is ready to debut in the tournament against Group B hosts Malampa Revivors from Vanuatu at Soccer City Stadium, Luganville.
Lautoka comes to this tournament with a very strong squad. They added some great defensive power by bringing goalkeeper Liam Anderson and defender Jack Caunter from New Zealand. Vanuatu international Jason Thomas also arrived to strengthen Lautoka’s defense.
Saniel (left), Radrigai (middle) and Ali (left). Source: Fiji FA Media
On the other hand Malampa Revivors play at home with the crowd support. The young and talented squad is ready for making history once Revivors have never won an official international match. Forwards Azariah Soromon and Andre Batick must have the mission of finding the net for the Ni-Vanuatu side.
This match finishes the first round of OFC Champions League Group A. All four teams from this group will play their second match on Tuesday.
Oceania Football Center talked to Henderson Eels’ forward Joses Nawo about his expectations for OFC Champions League and his team first match in the competition against Lae City FC from Papua New Guinea.
Joses Nawo of Henderson Eels – OFC Media
The Solomon Islands international is set to play once more OFC Champions League; in 2019 edition, Nawo also defended Henderson Eels in the tournament, helping his team to proceed to the knock-out stage. “We are ready for the first game and I hope we will do different and better from last year“, said Joses Nawo. Nawo also added that he feels his team is more experienced than in 2019: “We are a better a team than in 2019, I expect our boys can do better than in last year“, mentioned Nawo.
Nawo is happy to count with a player of the quality of Raphael Lea’i and adds the team is focused in the attacking training for their upcoming clasg against Lae City: “Rapha is so good. We are happy to have him. We will be focusing in our training in attack to give the best of him our boys“, said Nawo.
Joses Nawo and his side of Henderson Eels will be entering the pitch in Luganville, Vanuatu to face Lae City for the first match of the Group B of the OFC Champions League group stage.
The first match of the group stage of the OFC Champions League 2020 will take place in Soccer City Stadium in Luganville, Vanuatu for the Group B of the tournament.
The current PNG National Soccer League Lae City FC will take on the Telekom S-League runners-up Henderson Eels in the group and league opener for the current edition.
Lae will look for a good start in the competition, counting with their star duo Raymond Gunemba and Nigel Dabinyaba upfront. The two new recruits of the team coached by Peter Gunemba might be also starting the game: the Ecuadorians Abdias Aguiree and Gustine Icaza Vergara are set to debut in the continental stage for the Lae-based side.
Lae City is ready for the clash – Vanuatu Sport
But the clash will certainly not be an easy fight the national champions of Papua New Guinea; the Solomon Islanders of Henderson Eels come with some power upfront, especially from the wonderkid Raphael Lea’i that scored 24 goals in only seven matches in the national league, where Eels finished in the 2nd place.
The also U17 Solomon Islands national team members – that played in the U17 World Cup in 2019 in Brazil – Derrick Taebo and Leon Kofana might be very important for Eels’ defense. The international goalkeeper Desmond Tutu and the defender Boni Pride might be crucial for the Solomon Islanders to deal with a player as Raymond Gunemba.
Raphael Lea’i is the star of Henderson Eels – OFC Media
Both sides have many players with international experience in the OFC Nations Cup and in previous editions of the OFC Champions League. The Lae City captain and top-striker Raymond Gunemba was in 2016 the top-goalscorer of the OFC Nations Cup, where his nation lost in the grand final for New Zealand.
Various players of Henderson Eels took part in the last Pacific Games in 2019 held in Samoa, as the dangerous front-man Tutizama Tanito and Joses Nawo – both playes Lae will need to really deal with if they want to come out with all points from this clash in the opener of Group B.
A different weekend than usual in New Zealand football top-tier, with only three matches in the process. The OFC Champions League kick-off in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu this weekend, will split the commitments of the current title holders of the ISPS Handa Premiership Eastern Suburbs that will be playing in Papua New Guinea the Group A of the competition. Auckland City will also travel for Tahiti for their regional commitments, but their Group D will only start in March. The upcoming weekends will have their focus split between the national league and OFC Champions League.
Waitakere United is in great moment – NZF Media
The 1-0 win over Eastern Suburbs in the local derby put the sleeping giants back in the run. Waitakere now sits 3rd in the table and will hope to count with the superb performances of players as Sam Burfoot, Dane Schnell and Alex Connor-McClean to win once again, but this time away from Auckland when they take on Southern in Dunedin.
Southern got a hard-fought draw in Hamilton against the Wanderers, when their top-striker Garbhan Coughlan found the nets after a long period without a goal. The team from Dunedin is only 8th in the process after a very good start of the season, but unfortunately for the club they could not keep the good form for longer. A win against the good side of Waitakere at home might put them back in the fight for a spot in the top-four.
Hamilton suffered a late goal to see their win denied by Southern – Wanderers Media
Wanderers will need a win in their upcoming clash against Wellington Phoenix Reserves in Wellington if they want to get closer to the top-four placed teams in the table so far. The late penalty scored by Xavier Pratt against Southern was not enough for to grab all points from their previous clash, as an injury-time strike from Garbhan Coughlan gave the visitors a point from the match.
Wanderers will hope to see their super-duo Tommy Semmy and Derek Tieku back in form against the youth side of Wellington Phoenix when they enter the Eden Park, in Auckland for the clash. The match will serve as a curtain raiser for the Wellington Phoenix first team clash in the Australian A-League.
Wellington Phoenix Reserves gave a lot of fight for Auckland City in their previous encounter at Kiwitea Street, suffering a 3-2 defeat where the youngster Ben Waine scored a fantastic goal. Despite their efforts, the strong Navy Blues side kept the lead, keeping Phoenix only at 9th in the process.
Auckland City continues their fine form in the season – NZF Media
Canterbury United will have a big task if they want to leave the last place in the ladder – to win Auckland City is something any side did so far, especially playing at Kiwitea Street. Canterbury suffered several defeats in a row and will certainly need a strong defensive system if they want to avoid another loss against the Navy Blues.
The top-scorer Myer Bevan, the club legend Emiliano Tade and All-Whites member Clayton Lewis are in excellent form for Auckland, that needed to manage a last-minute pressure in their latest match against Wellington Phoenix Reserves to secure another win in the league.
Galaxy FC from Vanuatu is going to play the OFC Champions League for the first time ever. They count on a very strong squad for this tournament. However one of the most important players of the team wil miss Galaxy’s first two matches.
Bong Kalo played 2019 OFC Champions League for Lautoka from Fiji. He played all three matches for the Bluez in the tournament and he was red carded in Lautoka’s last match aginst AS Central Sport from Tahiti.
Bong Kalo (right) leaving the field after receiving the red card against AS Central Sport. Source: OFC Media
As Lautoka was eliminated and Bong Kalo did not play any official club international match, the Ni-Vanuatu player is suspended for two matches due to this red card which means that he is going to miss Galaxy’s debut against Hienghène Sport.
He is also going to miss the second match against Eastern Suburbs. He is going to be cleared to play Galaxy’s last meeting in the group stage against Hekari United.
Malampa Revivors are ready to host 2020 OFC Champions League group B and they now have a big opportunity to win an international official match for the first time ever. The team based in Luganville, Vanuatu, is going to count on a lot of young local players that already represented the country at international level.
Some of them must be spotlighted like Armando Ravo, Claude Aru, Jesse Kalopong, Azariah Soromon and Tasso Jeffery. All of them represented Vanuatu in the 2019 OFC Olympic Qualifiers held in Fiji and they are ready for the challenge. Aru, Jeffery and Ravo were already playing for Revivors while Soromon and Kalopong arrived to play the continental tournament.
Kalopong, Jeffery, Aru and Soromon at Vanuatu’s starting eleven against Papua New Guinea in the 2019 OFC Olympic Qualifier. Source: OFC Media
Malampa Revivors are going to debut at 2020 OFC Champions League today against Lautoka from Fiji.
Manukau United FC announced on their official Facebook page that George Konusi is returning to the team for one more season. The 30-year-old midfielder is very known by Manukau’s supporters and he is also called “The South Auckland Hulk”.
George Konusi
Konusi was born in New Zealand and he has Samoan and Fijian heritage. In 2019 he opted for representing Samoa at international level and he made his debut for Samoan National Football Teams in the Pacific Games.
Manukau is getting ready for New Zealand football’s winter season. They recently announced that they signed with three Fijian players: Mohammed Alzaar Alam, Kishan Sami and Malakai Rakula. Manukau finished 2019 Lotto NRFL Premier League in the seventh position and they expect better results this year.
Hamilton Wanderers announced that they have signed with legendary Solomon Islands international Henry Fa’arodo. The 37-year-old midfielder/striker will join the ISPS Handa Premeirship squad and he will also represent Wanderers in the Lotto Northern Premier League in the winter.
Fa’arodo is a true legend in Oceanian football. He played more than 60 international matches for Solomon Islands National Football Team and he recently won 2019-20 Telekom S-League as Solomon Warriors’ head coach. It is going to be his fourth team in the top-tier of New Zealand football league system as he has already played for Canterbury United, Auckland City and Team Wellington.
Oceania Football Center wish good luck to him at his new club.
Oceania Football Center 