Lautoka faces Nadi eyeing OFC Champions League as Labasa need to recover from the loss against Suva

The second matchweek of 2020 Vodafone Premier League is scheduled to be played this weekend. Three matches will be contested as Ba vs Suva clash was postponed because Ba is travelling to New Zealand as part of their preparation for OFC Champions League.

Labasa will face Navua at Subrail Park this Saturday and they need to recover from the 2-1 loss against Suva in the first week. The Babasiga Lions are the favourites to win but newly promoted Navua showed that they can be a good challenge for their opponents. Labasa will count on some good offensive players like Ratu Anare, Siotame Kubu and Ashnil Raju. However we can not forget Atonio Tuivuna’s importance as the midfielder plays a crucial role in the team.

Atonio Tuivuna (right) playing for Labasa in the 2019 CVC series. Source: FFA Media

Navua pin their offensive hopes at Taniela Rakariva. The 23-year-old striker scored in his official debut for Navua in the 2-1 loss against Nadi. There are lots of expectations on him as he was the top scorer of Vodafone Senior League in 2018 and 2019.

After thrashing Nasinu by 6-0, Lautoka will host Nadi at Churchill Park in their last official match before their debut at OFC Champions League on February 15 against Malampa Revivors from Vanuatu. The fans will have a good opportunity to support the Bluez before their depart in a match that will be very interesting as both teams have good forwards. Dave Radrigai and Alex Saniel scored two goals each against Nasinu and they are ready to score and score.

Lautoka can also count on some players like Arami Manumanubai and Jason Thomas that were cleared to play for the Bluez.

Radrigai (left) and Saniel (right) playing for Lautoka against Nasinu. Source: FFA Media

Nadi won their first match against Navua and they want to grab three more points. The biggest news for Jet Setters comes from Avinesh Swamy as he is cleared to play this weekend. His quality and experience must be a great boost for the team as they already count on good forwards like Tito Vodowaqa and Rusiate Matarerega.

Nasinu is expected to face Rewa at Ratu Cakobau Park in an important match for both teams as they lost their opening matches. After being thrashed by Lautoka, Nasinu announced that they have signed three players from Solomon Islands including Solomon Islands international Atkin Kaua that has recently been in Europe on trials with clubs from Malta.

Atkin Kaua playing for Solomon Islands National Football Team. Source: SIFF Media

Rewa will not count on Anish Khem that was sent off against Ba in the first matchweek. Despite having some good players like Simione Tamanisau, Savenaca Baledrokadroka, Setareki Hughes, Jale Dreloa and Gabriele Matanisiga, the Delta Tigers are stronger now as they signed with Marika Rodu to be Rewa’s head coach afrer playing the opening match against Ba with an official head coach.

You can check the current league standings and the top scorers by clicking here. Oceania Football Center wish good luck to all teams.

Wellington Phoenix is back to action in Distance Derby

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.

Image result for Reno Piscopo
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.

What is going on with Kensi Tangis?

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

It is known that Tangis suffered an injury in the 1-0 loss against Sia-Raga in the fourth matchweek of PVFA Premier League. After missing some matches he returned to Galaxy’s starting eleven and scored one goal in the 4-1 win against Yatel.

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.

Nadi trio cleared to play

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.

Which foreign players will Hekari use in OFC Champions League?

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

Recently it was stated the Solomon Islands goalkeeper Anthony Talo might not defend Hekari colours in the competition – the situation is still not resolved, Hekari United and the player seem to want the questions to be put away from the spotlight – so the remaining foreigners apart from Erick and Vinicius are the Solomon Islands defenders Robert Laua and Junior David and the Samoan international Vito Laloata, that plays as forward.

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 back to Chicago Fire

After being named for Chicago Fire preseason squad as a trialist, New Zealand forward Elliot Collier has officialy signed with Fire. The contract is valid for 2020 with club options for 2021 and 2022.

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)

All Whites defender Winston Reid is also being linked to MLS teams and he can be another Kiwi in the league soon.

Collier is 24 years old and he has already played two matches for New Zealand National Football Team.

Malampa Revivors win 2020 VFF National League Championship

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.

Ni-Vanuatu duo set for Lautoka move

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.

Lautoka is also reported to be negotiating with another Ni-Vanuatu player, the defender Jason Thomas, also looking for another addition to their squad for the upcoming regional tournament.

Rewa still in talks with Brazilian talented striker

Recently, Oceania Football Center disclosed that the traditional Fijian side Rewa were in talks with a Brazilian striker to reinforce their squad for the 2020 season in Fijian league and cups. The move is still not complete, but there are still possibilities for the side to acquire the services of Matheus Medeiros – what, by his profile, could be one of the most prolific footballers in action in the country.

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“.

Rewa lost their first match in the VPL for Ba in the last weekend; they seem to really a player of the caliber of the Brazilian striker to help them bounce back from their first defeat.

Jason Thomas to switch Ba for Lautoka?

In the start of the month, questions were raised if the prolific Ni-Vanuatu central defender Jason Thomas was going to miss the OFC Champions League this year – the player was yet to announce his new team for the year, having chances to lose this year competition. After some rumours, the defender was linked to Ba from Fiji in order to represent the Fijian powerhose in the OFC Champions League. All was set for Thomas to defend Ba, but another rumour is surrounding the Ni-Vanuatu international.

Thomas representing Lautoka in Pacific Cup

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.

Thomas already played for Lautoka in one opportunity, in the Pacific Cup 2019 held in New Zealand – where he and his countryman Alex Saniel helped the team to be crowned champions of the competition.