Four Fijian players have recently signed for Australian outfit Frankston Pines – a very good opportunity for them to keep their development in the sport. Peni Tuigulagula, Asaeli Batikasa, Savenaca Baledrokadroka and Tito Vodowaqa are the Fijian players signed by the club to represent them in State League Division 3 in Victoria football league system.
Savenaca Baledrokadroka and Tito Vodowaqa are two of Fijians at Frankston Pines
The four players played their first match for their new club in a friendy match against Beaumaris SC – a team ranked two divisions higher Pines. “They are settling in very nicely – just getting used to the change in climate. All very good players, hopefully we can get ITC’s through for them to be available in our 1st FFA Cup match“, said team coach Kevin Taylor. “They did very well. They will be a great asset for us. They definitely can attract interest from clubs at a higher level” mentioned the head coach – “We got beaten in their first friendly, but overall a good performance from us” added Kevin Taylor.
Oceania Football Center will keep following the four players development in Australia.
The friendly tournament to be held Fiji is postponed by FFA; Fiji was going to take on Solomon Islands and Tahiti national teams this March in order to prepare for the OFC Nations Cup, but the friendly matches were postponed. It is one more action to try to soften the Coronavirus outbreak in the region.
Following OFC procedure, where all its tournaments and organizational acitivities were postponed, FFA recently announced the Tri-Nations is not going to take place as scheduled previously. The FA is still to set a new date for the Tri-Nations, but it is believed the postponement of OFC is going to be followed by the Fijian FA; the confederation set that all tournaments and football activities organized by the governing body will not happen until 6th May.
It was also informed by Fiji FA media that “Tahiti government has put up a travel ban on its people due to the risk associated with the exposure to and spread of the infectious disease COVID-19“.
The COVID-19 outbreak is the reason why all competitions and activities organized by Oceania Football Confederation are postponed. The OFC Champions League and OFC Nations Cup will directly affected due the Coronavirus cases spread all over the planet; for health reasons the competitions will not take place as scheduled previously.
The following competitions will be postponed until 6th May, 2020.
OFC Nations Cup – Preliminary Stage: 21th-27th March, 2020 OFC U17 Women’s Championship: 6th-19th April, 2020 OFC Champions League 2020 – Quaterfinals: 4th and 5th April, 2020 OFC Champions League 2020 – Semifinals: 25th and 26th April, 2020
The competitions, that previously were schedyled to take place in March and April, will be forced to be postponed until May when OFC is set to reschedule the competitons for their new dates.
“Although it’s disappointing to postpone our scheduled events and competitions, the Executive Committee’s decision was taken following careful consideration of the best and most recent available advice to us. The health and safety of our staff, our players and officials in our member associations as well as the wellbeing of the people across our Pacific region will always take priority for our organisation”, OFC General Secretary Franck Castillo said to Oceania Football Confederation official website.
All workshops, meetings and techincal activities held by OFC are also postponed until the mentioned date above.
The qualifying stage of 2020 OFC Nations Cup is scheduled to be played this month in the Cook Islands. The hosts must fight against American Samoa, Samoa and Tonga in the main stage of the Nations Cup. However there are some rumours that American Samoa National Team is not going to travel to Cook Islands due to the measles outbreak.
American Samoa in the 2019 OFC Olympic Qualifiers. Source: OFC Media
The second week of 2020 Major League Soccer is gone and now it is time to talk about the performance of New Zealanders in the biggest football league in the United States. Only three Kiwis were called for this weekend’s matches: Deklan Wynne, Elliot Collier and Michael Boxall.
Wynne (Colorado Rapids) and Collier (Chicago Fire) did not play as both players remained on the bench against Orlando City and New England Revolution respectively.
Boxall was the only Kiwi to play in the MLS weekend. The 31-year-old central back had a very good performance at Minnesota United’s 5-2 win against San Jose Earthquakes. He was very important on defense by tackling his opponents and winning duels as he also had some moments in the attack by finishing twice and delivering some good passes to his teammates. You can watch the extended highlights from this match by clicking here.
Boxall performed well against SJ Earthquakes.
Boxall’s teammates James Musa and Noah Billingsley were not called up for this contest. Portland Timbers’ defender Bill Tuiloma remains injured and he is expected to return in a few weeks. All Whites captain Winston Reid (Sporting Kansas City) and Kyle Adams (Houston Dynamo) have not debuted in MLS yet.
Oceania Football Center congratulates Michael Boxall for his great performance. Our team remains keeping up with the Major League Soccer in order to bring all news about the New Zealanders in the main football league from the United States.
Labasa and Ba clashed in the Women’s Inter-District Championship Final at Churchill Park. After ninety thrilling minutes, the girls from Ba lifted the trophy.
Ba scored twice in the beginning of the match with Unaisi Ralumu and Cema Nasau but they saw Labasa coming back to the contest through Sofi Diyalowai and Vitalina Naikore.
However the girls from Labasa could not deal with Cema Nasau that scored in the 90th minute after a brilliant play to give the lead and the title to Ba. The 3-2 win seals Ba’s revenge as they lost to Labasa in the previous Women’s IDC edition.
Ba girls celebrating the win. Source: FIJI FA MEDIA
Oceania Football Center congratulates all people involved in this tournament.
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.
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 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.
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 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).
