After not playing in the last weekend in the top-tier league of Australian football, Wellington Phoenix is back to action this Friday – but they will need to travel a long distance to face Glory in Perth. The Distance Derby is the name given to the match between Phoenix and Glory; both sides need to travel the longest distance in the league for their three matches in the regular season – this is the time for the New Zealand-based side to fly to the Australian west coast city of Perth.
Glory comes in a fantastic streak of eight unbetan matches, being seven of those victories – including an impressive 6-2 over Newcastle Jets. The likes of Diego Castro, Bruno Fornaroli and Nicholas D’Agostino are key figures for the purple side. Chris Ikonomidis, another important member of Perth Glory squad, will be missing the match against Phoenix after sustaining an injury – good news for the Nix that will not have to deal with the Austrailian international.
Reno Piscopo is back to Phoenix – A-League Media
The coach Ufuk Talay will have all players available for the weekend, including the young talented midfielder Reno Piscopo that is back afte a succesful stint with Australia U23 national team in Thailand, helping his country to qualify for the Men’s Olympics Football tournament. The 21-year-old player missed the last four matches of Phoenix.
The club that is currently ranked 4th in the league will have a rare chance to jump positions in the table; a win can mean for the Phoenix reaching the 2nd spot in the table. The match is not going to be easy for any side, since the fantastic moment of Glory put them in the 3rd place in the run so far.
Phoenix also had a fantastic streak in the season – nine matches without a defeat – that was broken three weeks ago by Brisbane Roar after a 1-0 away defeat. Their last match against Mariners gave the New Zealanders a relief to the back to the winning ways after a hard fought 2-1 win at Sky Stadium in Wellington.
The match will be telecasted by Sky Sport and livestreamed at MyFootball YouTube channel for foreign supporters. Glory take on Phoenix at 11:45pm NZT at HBF Park, Perth.
Since Galaxy FC signed with English striker Terence Carter people have not heard anything about Kensi Tangis. The 29-year-old striker is the current top scorer of 2019-20 Port Vila Premier League with ten goals but there is no recent news about him.
Kensi Tangis is the current top scorer of 2019-20 PVFA Premier League. Source: Vanuatu Sports News
According to people related to local football Tangis is still a Galaxy’s player but he is not cleared to play. It is not known the exact reason but it seems that he had some extra troubles with his injury.
Despite this problem he must be named as part of the team squad for 2020 OFC Champions League.
It was reported by Nadi FA president Javed Ahmed that Nadi’s three new players are clear to debut for The Jetsetters.
Legendary midfielder Avinesh Waran Swamy and Ritik Prakash arrived from Ba. They also added Sakaria Naisua to the squad. They are all cleared to play for Nadi against Lautoka this weekend. However it is not known if they are already fit to play.
Swamy, Naisua and Prakash. Source: Fiji FA
Nadi had a positive start in 2020 Vodafone Premier League after beating Navua by 2-1 with two goals scored by Rusiate Matarerega.
Hekari United is set to represent Papua New Guinea once again at OFC Champions League; the powerhouse that already won once the most important club tournament of the region will have the unique opportunity to play the Group A of the next edition at Port Moresby, where the club is based. Hekari is currently topping the league in Papua New Guinea and is set to start their campaing in OFC Champions League on 15th February.
The club is certainly one of the favorites to qualify for the knock-out stage, the home crowd advantage can help a lot, but the team is also very well prepared for this challenge. The club signed important players, as the both Brazilian Erick Joe and Vinicius Reis and the Solomon Islanders Anthony Talo and Robert Laua.
Couting with five foreign players in their squad, Hekari staff will need to choose which of them will be dropped from the OFC Champions League squad. Only four foreigners are allowed per each team – three are free slots and one reserved for an OFC player.
Viníciuis (center) and Erick Joe (left) – PNGFA Media
The three players will compete from the two spots remaining for the foreign quota. Both Laua and David might be used as replacements for the experienced full backs Koriak Upaiga and Daniel Joe – both capped by Papua New Guinea national team with plenty of international experience. The competition for Vito Laloata might be big upfront as well, with important players as Patrick Aisa, Atti Kepo and Kolu Kepo jumping in front the first eleven competition.
Laua, David and Laloata are in the contention – PNGFA Media
The players will have a last chance to impress the head coach Jerry Allen before the release of the final squad of the OFC Champions League 2020, when they face Morobe United in Lae on Saturday (8th Jan).
Collier is already known by Chicago Fire fans as he played there in 2018 after being selected in the 49th pick of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.
Elliot Collier returned to Fire. Source: Chicago Fire Media
The 2020 MLS season will probably count on a good amount of New Zealanders. There are seven Kiwis under contract with MLS teams: Bill Tuiloma (Portland Timbers) Deklan Wynne (Colorado Rapids) Elliot Collier (Chicago Fire) James Musa (Minnesota United) Kyle Adams (Houston Dinamo) Michael Boxall (Minnesota United) Noah Billingsley (Minnesota United)
After some controversy the 2020 VFF National League Championship reached its end. As it was previously reported, the Group B (Northern region) was not played but the Group A was contested by six teams and finished on Wednesday.
Current VFF National Super League champions Malampa Revivors faced five other teams that represented each Member Association from the Northern region of Vanuatu – Luganville, Malampa, Penama, Sanma and Torba.
Revivors finished the tournament in the first position with four wins in five matches. They had only one bad result in the 1-0 loss against Penama. Despite winning the Group A, it was not as easy as it seems once Revivors had a good challenger in the fight for the first position: Malampa FA team.
Malampa FA squad against Torba. Source: VFF Media
Malampa FA took the lead in the third matchday after Revivors’ loss to Penama. However they did not lead for so long as they lost by 4-2 to Revivors in the fourth day of the tournament. In the fifth and last match of each team Malampa FA won Luganville FA by default and they needed to cheer for a Revivors’ loss against Torba to win the Group A.
However Revivors thrashed Torba by 18-0 to retake the lead to finish the tournament in the first position.
Malampa Revivors squad. Source: VFF Media
This tournament was a great opportunity for Malampa Revivors to prepare for 2020 OFC Champions League. They will debut in the continental championship on February 15th against Lautoka from Fiji at Luganville Soccer City Stadium in Vanuatu.
Despite the initial problems the first edition of the VFF National League Championship was successful in the Northern Region. Oceania Football Center congratulate everyone that was involved in the tournament. You can check the final standings and scores by clicking here.
After signing the Ni-Vanuatu international Alex Saniel in order to reinforce their squad for the upcoming OFC Champions League, the current Fijian national league runners-up Lautoka is set to sign another two Vanuatu internationals to the squad: Raoul and Michel Coulon, coming from Tupuji Imere in the Port Vila Premier League.
The Coulon twin brothers after winnig Port Vila Independence Cup 2019
The twin brothers represented the local side Erakor Golden Star in the previous edition of the OFC Champions League. When asked, Michel Coulon said: “We are still in talks, but it was told to us to fly to Fiji next week in order to prepare for OFC Champions League“. Both Michel and Raoul already represented their country internationaly; the 24-year-old players are already experienced in international level, something that could be useful for the newly made-up Lautoka squad. Raoul mostly plays as full back, while Michel can also be used in defensive duties, but the player mostly plays as midfielder.
Rewa before a match in 2020 Vodafone Premier League – FFA Media
Oceania Football Center got in touch with the agency that represents Matheus Medeiros looking for info regarding his possible transfer for Rewa. The represatants of the player said: “We are still in talks with the club, still under negotiation. But it seems everything will go fine“.
Jason Thomas is now rumoured to join Lautoka that is also aiming to reinforce their squad for the upcoming OFC Champions League. According to realiable local sources, It is still unsure whether Thomas will play for Ba or Lautoka. The player was ready to sign for Ba, but he was approached by an official of Lautoka FA and is still to decide for which side the player will represent in the regional tournament. It was also added the player ITC (International Transfer Certificate) is currently with Ba, what may suggest the player is closer to sign for Ba than for Lautoka – info also provided by our sources in Fiji.
Clubs will head to a small recess in football action for two weeks after this coming Saturday’s action in the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, which will see three matches in Lae and two in Port Moresby.
The two-week break is designed so that Hekari United and Lae City can take part in the Group Stages of the OFC Champions League, of which six games, from Hekari’s Group A, will be played in Port Moresby on 16th, 19th and 22nd of February.
This weekend, then, is the last chance for the sides to flex their muscles before either a three-week break, in most cases, or for Hekari and Lae, before a big continental test.
Lae, who have not been looking their supreme selves in the last couple of weeks, will be hoping for a slightly easier ride this week against Star Mountain, whose sole victory of the season came last weekend thanks to a Wawens forfeiture, and who currently sit 9th. There is no news about captain Raymond Gunemba, who appeared to push the referee after the defeat against Vitiaz two weeks ago, and his availability, while imports Gustine Icaza and Abdias Aguirre are thought to be settling in a little slower than anticipated. That said, City will probably have enough to overcome Star Mountain, especially at home. The game kicks off at 1pm.
Raymond Gunemba post-match last Saturday in Port Moresby. Photo: PNGFA
Hekari will take on Morobe United at 3pm in what could be a trickier game than it looks on paper. Morobe United sit 8th with just one win so far, but seem to have been playing a higher standard of football since long-time coach Jack Jonathan was replaced by Samson Steven after the second week of action. Under Jonathan, the side lost both of their opening matches, but with Steven at the helm, they have drawn two, won one and lost one – the defeat coming against champions Lae. Morobe were also semi-finalists in last year’s competition. With home advantage, and with Hekari already focused on the OFC action in the coming days, could Morobe United spring a surprise?
The early kick-off in Lae this weekend is Morobe Wawens against Tusbab Stallions, at 11am. Both sides are reeling after last weekend, with Wawens’ forfeiture and Stallions’ toothless defeat to Vitiaz being their second defeat in two. Both sides will be itching to bounce back, but Stallions should be favourite, given that their three defeats so far this season have all come against the three teams ahead of them in the table. Wawens, despite good wins over Morobe United and FC Bougainville, have looked poor defensively, having shipped five and three goals against Lae and Hekari respectively, and will need to tighten up if they’re to contain the league’s top goalscorer, Stahl Gubag.
In Port Moresby, the 1pm kick-off sees Gulf Komara host Vitiaz United, in what is essentially a home fixture for both sides. Vitiaz will see a chance to extend their excellent form against Komara, who are currently bottom of the table on four points, but the third-placed side will not be underestimating their opponents. After also changing their coach ahead of Round 5, new Komara coach Steven Mune, who replaced legendary PNG goalkeeper David Aua at the helm, will be pleased with a win and a draw from his first two matches, but will be concerned at his side’s lack of goals – with just five, they have scored the least in the competition so far. However, striker Jordan Kaven, who has scored two in his last two, could be a danger to the Vitiaz defence. But with Vitiaz boasting three players on three goals for the season – Eliud Fugre, Russell Nirik and Joel Tiampo – the newcomers’ firepower could be too hot for the Komara defence to handle as well.
Gulf Komara’s Donovan Murray (#5) clears the ball during their 2-1 victory over Star Mountain two weeks ago. Photo: PNGFA
At 3pm in Port Moresby, FC Bougainville will host FC Kutubu from the Highlands. Kutubu have only visited Port Moresby once so far this season, securing a huge 4-2 victory over Star Mountain on 18th January, so they have every reason to feel confident ahead of their second visit. Veterans Andrew Apo, who has four goals so far, and Samuel Kini, will be key to Kutubu’s success. Meanwhile, after last week’s valiant defeat to Lae City, Bougainville will be hoping to pick up only their third win of season. Despite four defeats, they are the only side to have picked up a win against red-hot Vitiaz United so far, so if everyone is at their best, they could well win this at a canter. Much is being made of Basil Jofari’s performances in the middle of the pitch, while young winger Jonathan Allen has three goals to his name so far.
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