Oceania Football Center

Auckland City has to fight to beat brave AS Vénus at Stade de Mahina

The nine-time champions Auckland City had to battle hard to surpass by the minimum scoreline the good side of AS Vénus at Stade de Mahina for the second matchday of OFC Champions League – Group D. The New Zealanders had chances to score more goals, but also had to defend well to avoid the good striking force commanded by Teaonui Tehau.

Myer Bevan had a chance in front of Teave Teamotuaitau just at the starting of the clash, but the Tahitian goalkeeper could manage well to avoid the goal. Teamotuaitau was one of the best players in the clash, helping his side to manage well the New Zealand-based club pressure and making some very decent stops.

Vénus also had some opportunities; Conor Tracey tangled with Teaonui Tehau just at the edge of the box, the ball was kept by the forward that went to an empty-net goal, but the goalkeeper managed to bouce back in the play and send the ball to a corner.

The defensive line of Auckland City was solid, providing opportunities to explore the creativity of its midfielders. Clayton Lewis and Emiliano Tade combined well and the ball found Myer Bevan at the 41th of play, the striker just finish behind Teave Teamotuaitau to score Auckland first goal in the encounter.

Image may contain: 2 people, people playing sports and outdoor — Bevan touches the ball to AS Vénus nets – *Christophe Fotozz*

AS Vénus wanted to make history in front of their crowd; in the second half the Mahina-based site went forward looking for an equalizer. Teoanui Tehau made a fantastic play passing by two Auckland City defenders, but his shot hit the wrong side of the net. Tamatoa Tetauira had a great chance with a free-kick, but the shot went wide.

Samuel Garcia continued to urge his player to go upfront; Auckland City was offered the counter-attack, but could not connect one good play in order to double their advatange. The Tahitians continued to press, testing the defensive system created by José Figueira until the last minute of the game. Stanley Atani crossed several balls to box, but the defensive players of Auckland could manage well the danger.

Myer Bevan had the best opportunity of the second half for Auckland City, after the goalkeeper using his hands outside the box – but not being sent off. The free-kick was close, but ended up only with a corner for the visitors. Auckland wasted a lot of time in the final moments of the game, but AS Vénus still managed to get one last chance to find their goal. Tauhiti Keck had a wide free-kick in the right flank, but he decided to fire directly to Conor Tracey goal and the goalkeeper did not have any trouble to hold the ball.

The 1-0 victory for the New Zealand representatives is enough to put them already in the knock-out stage of the competition with still one match to be played against Lupe o le Soaga. Vénus will have to get a win against Ba to not depend on any other results in the final matchday to proceed to the quarterfinals.

Vénus shown a lot of quality, fight and technique; they could really test the strongest team in Oceania at Stade de Mahina. The defensive system of Auckland City worked really well, dealing with the pressure of the home side to grab the win. The Ni-Vanuatu international Brian Kaltak had a fantastic game and helped a lot his team to secure a clean sheet – AS Vénus will be happy with their performance despite the bad result, the likes of Pothin Poma, Marama Amau and Tamatoa Tetauira had very good individual matches, but those could not be enough to surpass the mighty Auckland City.

Unrecognizable Ba defeated by Lupe o le Soaga in historic result

Do not let the final score trick you, Ba had an awful performance. Lupe o le Soaga took advantage of a ridiculous Ba in the first half to score four goals. The Men in Black tried to recover in second half but it was not enough to tie the match as they were just an amount of players inside a football pitch. The final score is historic for Lupe and shameful for Ba.

Lupe o le Soaga humiliated Ba in the first half. The Samoans took advantage of Ba’s apathy to score four goals in 45 minutes. Jamie Mason headed to the net in the 11th minute after a cross from the left wing to open the scoreboard. This goal destabilized Ba that got completely lost in the pitch while Lupe started to have lots of opportunities.

Tom Mosquera extended Lupe’s lead in the 29th minute and Vaa Taualai put Ba in trouble by scoring the third after receiving the ball inside the box in the 38th minute. The Samoans still had time to score another goal when defender Ritchievoy Ueligitone had a successful finish that found the net.

The first half’s result was a shame for Ba and showed that something strange could be happening there as they were being thrashed even having a better squad. The 4-0 score in the halfitme was a shock and caused hysteria in the social media.

Samoan players celebrating one of their four goals in the first half. Source: Christophe Photozz

Things have changed in the second half as the Fijian side put a lot of unorganized pressure on Lupe’s defense. The Men in Black seemed just eleven boys running with a ball while the Samoans tried to hold their advantage. The apathy was replaced by willpower.

Despite the disorganization, Ba managed to score three goals in four minutes (Malakai Tiwa at 73, Saula Waqa at 74 and Samuela Drudru at 76) during the second half to come back to the game. They had some other opportunities to score and tie the match but they did not manage to put the ball into the net but it was not enough and the justice was made: Ba have never deserved to win this match.

The 4-3 win is historic for Lupe as it was the first time of OFC Champions League’s history that a Samoan side score four goals in a Group Stage clash (which does not include Preliminary Round games). It surely satisfies the Samoans as they have already completed their mission as head coach Paul Ualesi told Oceania Football Center that Lupe’s goal was to win one match in the group stage.

Ba will face AS Vénus in the last matchday while Lupe o le Soaga will fight against Auckland City. Both matches will be played on March 7th.

Hosts AS Vénus will have a hard challenge against Auckland City

The hosts AS Vénus will not have an easy task against the nine-time champions Auckland City in the second matchday of the group D at Stade de Mahina, Tahiti.

The Tahitian champions started well the competition with a dominant 6-0 win over Lupe o le Soaga, but certainly this game will much more harder for them. Auckland also started the competition with a strong performance against Ba from Fiji; a brace from Emiliano Tade helped the New Zealand-based side to beat the Fijians by 6-0 at Stade Pater in both sides debut in the 2020 edition of the regional tournament.

Auckland will expect a win from this clash despite playing against Vénus and their home crowd at Stade de Mahina. The likes of Myer Bevan, Logan Rogerson and Emiliano Tade will be certainly names that Samuel Garcia and his men will want to shut down in order to avoid a defeat in front of their supporters.

Image may contain: 4 people, people playing sports and outdoor — Auckland will hope for another win over AS Vénus – *OFC Media*

Vénus will expect his defensive line led by the New Caledonian international Pothin Poma can stop the strong attack of the team coached by José Figueira. In attack, the duo Teaonui Tehau and Tamatoa Tetaiura will hope to cause trouble for the very well organized defensive system of Auckland City.

Auckland will expect to hold Tetauira that scored a hattrick againt Lupe o le Soaga in their latest match in the process to win and guarantee their spot in the knock-out stage of OFC Champions League one more time.

Image may contain: 1 person, standing, outdoor and nature — Tamatoa Tetaiura scored three times for AS Vénus against Lupe o le Soaga – *OFC Media*

A win for any of the two sides will almost guarantee them a spot in the knock-out stage of the competition – a thrilling match in front of the Tahitian side home crowd, against the most prominent team ever from Oceania, a decisive match that shows the quality of Oceania football.

Algarve Cup: Ferns beat Belgium to proceed to semifinals

The New Zealand women’s national team is competing at Algarve Cup, a traditional women’s football friendly tournament hosted in Portugal. The Ferns are competing in the tournament alongnside some of the most important football teams of the planet, as Germany and Norway.

The Ferns battled hard in their first match in the tournament – quaterfinals stage – against the 17th placed team at FIFA Women’s football rankings Belgium – see here New Zealand starting XI. In the first half, Olivia Chance player from Bristol City in England scored for New Zealand – his first international goal for her country.

Olivia Chance (center) scored for New Zealand – *NZF Media*

New Zealand could not secure their lead until the final whistle; at the 90th minute of play Chloe Velde scored the equalizer for Belgim to force the decision to be at penalty shootout. Since the 72th minute New Zealand were playing with only ten, as the central defender Claudia Bunge was sent off.

Both sides scored all their first five penalties in the process. In the decisive penalty series, Belgium missed its 6th penalty but CJ Bott could not capitalize her penalty and kept the series tied. The goalkeeper Erin Nayler came up as hero after saving the final penalty of Belgium and Daisy Cleverley scored the goal that sent New Zealand to the semifinals.

The Football Ferns will take on Italy that defeated the hosts Portugal in the quarterfinals by 2-1 for a spot in the grand final. Germany and Norway will make the other semifinal of Algarve Cup.

Lae City vs Hekari United: a match that deserves national live coverage

The PNG National Soccer League is eager for its next matchday; the two-national powerhouses will face each other in one of the most interesting matches of Oceania in the year so far. Lae City will take on Hekari United at Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium, Lae – a rematch from the national league final in 2019 where Lae City ended up with the title after beating Hekari in the penalty shootout.

Image may contain: 1 person, playing a sport and outdoor — The grand final last year – *PNGFA Media*

The fans all over Papua New Guinea are complaining regarding the poor media coverage of the matches: the fans and independent media do not have official access to team sheets, match results and stats from the FA and surely the matches are not streamed or telecasted national-wide.

Currently, only Tusbab Stallions from Madang is making a big effort to stream their home matches at Laiwaden Oval in partnership with a local TV station – differently from what happens in the matches in all other venues, Lae, Port Moresby and Goroka.

Both Lae and Hekari had their matches of OFC Champions League streamed in the last month; despite not proceeding to the knock-out stage, both sides are still at the top of PNG National Soccer League battling direct for the 1st spot in the standings.

The interest in the national-derby is high among all football fans and media in the country and in the region: Hekari United and Lae City have foreign players in their squads, what would increase the interest in the match from even outside Papua New Guinea.

For the development of the game in the country and to keep increasing the interested in football, It is pretty important to have this match with a big coverage, well marketed and attracting new fans to the game – to inspire the young generations to follow the steps of players as David Muta, Koriak Upaiga and Raymond Gunemba, or make their eyes shine with the quality of players as Vinicius Reis from Brazil, the midfielder of Hekari United.

Oceania Football Center continues to focus its efforts to popularize the sport in Papua New Guinea and Oceania, providing the most important news, results and interviews our media group can have access. We are indepently maintaining the standings, full results and top scorers of the season updated in the PNG NSL session in this website – but, of course, it would be much better for all journalists and fans to be able to watch the live match to make its own analysis and keep football running in the region.

Ba and Lupe o le Soaga have decisive clash at OFC Champions League

The group D of the OFC Champions League is back to Stade de Mahina in its second matchday. Ba from Fiji and Lupe o le Soaga from Samoa will play for their lives in the first match of the day as both sides suffered harsh defeats in their debuts against Auckland City and AS Vénus.

The Fijians are certainly the favourites to win the clash, but lots of questions are on their shoulders after the smashing 6-0 defeat against Auckland City with many problems in their squad – they will need to find their way back to the good football to beat Lupe o le Soaga. The Samoans know the hurdles they will have to overcome against Ba, but they are ready to grab an upset and keep their chances alive in the regional tournament.

The team coached by Paul Ualesi will expect a different match from what happened in their debut against AS Vénus where they were defeat by 6-0. Lupe will hope its captain Andrew Setefano can guide his defensive to a better performance to hold the powerful attack of Ba. The New Zealand goalkeeper Zane Green did not have a good match against the Tahitians, but he is still a big hope for Lupe to avoid a defeat against the current Fijian champions. Tom Mosquera and Jamie Mason are the offensive imports of Lupe in attack, that will hope to combine well with the Samoan international Vaa Taualai and Albert Bell upfront.

Image may contain: 1 person, playing a sport, grass and outdoor — Lupe o le Soaga will expect a lot from its captain Andrew Setefano – *OFC Media*

The Fijians probrably will see the debut of the Papua New Guinean international Alwin Komolong in the back, but their biggest hopes are in attack – especially with the Solomon Islands legend Benjamin Totori and the Fijian international Samuela Drudru.

Ba will also count with the impressive young talent from Vanuatu Micah Tommy, alongside the U23 Solomon Islands national team member Darold Kakasi. Team captain Saula Waqa is finally back to Ba after a long-term injury and will hope to combine well with his new teammates in attack to provide the dominant win Ba will need to keep their chances alive for the final matchday in the pool.

The match is decisive for both sides: the winner will keep their chances to proceed, while the loser will be knock-out of the tournament with still one match to be played. A draw will not be a good deal for any of the sides, despite it will keep their chances alive in the process, but depending a lot on their final matches against Auckland City and AS Vénus.

Thrilling match sees AS Magenta beat Tiare Tahiti to proceed to knock-out stage

The Tahitians of Tiare Tahiti tried hard to impose a defeat to New Caledonian powerhouse AS Magenta, but the green and white side could not resist the pressure of the talented attack led by Kevin Nemia. The brace of Manarii Porlier was not enough for the brave Tahitians to keep their dream alive in their first participation at OFC Champions League.

Magenta took control of the match since its start, but Tiare Tahiti was always very dangerous in the counter-attack with the Benin youth international Bio Odo Chabi. The bad news for the Tahitian side came when the young Odo Chabi sustained a muscle injury and could not keep in the match; in his place the Tahitian international Manarii Porlier was introduced – and he would have a fantastic match.

Already inside the 20th minute mark, Junior Tiaoao gets ball in the flank and finds Porlier inside the box, the attacker slides fast and touches the ball to the nets of Nicodem Hmaen to open the scoreline in favour of the Tahitian side.

Image may contain: 1 person, outdoor — Porlier celebrates his goal – *OFC Media*

Porlier and Tevairoa Tehuritaua would continue to disturb the defensive system of AS Magenta. Tevairoa Tehuritaua had one great shot saved by Hmaen and clear chance in front of the keeper, but saved in the goalline by Damien Wanapopo.

The dangerous attacks of Tiare Tahiti and their good defense so far in the match, seemed to be enough to make them have a narrow advantage at the break; but in the final moments, a lapse of concentration in the back allowed the through ball of Fonzy Ranchain to find Kevin Nemia that with a strong finish leveled the score just before the half time.

The second half with Magenta battling for the second goal, but they would not imagine it would come so early and through an opponent player: Kevin Nemia crossed a ball after a free-kick in the box, the AS Tiare Tahiti defender Rico Haring headed it back to his goal, the goalkeeper Michel Manea could not reach in time and the ball went to his nets. Magenta upfront.

The match could have been done and dusted for Magenta, but Tevairoa Tehuritaua entered the box and was brought down by Damien Wanapopo. The New Zealand referee Mathew Conger pointed to the spot in sealed a penalty kick for the visitors. Unfortunately for Tiare Tahiti, Tevaihau Tehuritaua missed the chance sending the ball over the bar.

But there was still more to come: just one minute later the missed penalty, Ricky Mou received a good ball in the right flank; he delivered a quality assist for the super-sub Manarii Porlier to score his second in the clash, to seal a 2-2 in the scoreboard.

Image may contain: 1 person, child, outdoor and nature — A great individual performance by Manarii Porlier – *OFC Media*

Magenta knew they needed a win: they urged their forwards upfront and started to pressure the Tahitian defense. Kevin Nemia and Nathanael Hmaen had goalscoring chances, but both of them went wasted. The decisive goal of the encounter only came at the 87th minute of play, when Jean-Christ Wajoka found Kevin Nevia free in the box, the attacker head the ball to the nets to give the win to AS Magenta.

The final result could have different than 3-2: in the final moments of the clash, AS Tiare Tahiti had a series of corner-kicks and wasted chances. The first one was a direct attempt by Tevaihau Tehuritaua and it was saved by Nicodem Hmaen, the second attempt was the closest one as Manarii Porlier could have scored his hattrick, but his header hit the bar and was clared by the New Caledonian defense. AS Tiare Tahiti had another clear opportunity in the following corner, a defensive mistake allowed the ball to be headed towards the goal, but it was saved by Damien Wanapopo once again just on the goalline.

Magenta could deal with the pressure and collect the much-needed three points from the clash, a hard fought win enough to make them proceed to the next stage of the regional tournament alongside the Solomon Islands champions Solomon Warriors.

Image may contain: 3 people, grass, stadium and outdoor — Kevin Nemia makes AS Magenta go ahead – *OFC Media*

As the Cook Islands side Tupapa Maraerenga withdrew from the tournament and the Tiare Tahiti lost their two matches in the process, both Solomon Warriors and AS Magenta are qualified for the quarterfinals of the tournament. Both sides will met in the final matchday of the group C to decide which team will top the group and play at home their quarterfinal match.

Ba needs to find their way against Lupe o le Soaga

The only remaining Fijian team at OFC Champions League surely did not have the start they want in the tournament. The current Vodafone Premier League champions Ba were trashed by the New Zealand-side Auckland City by 6-0 in their opener in Tahiti for the group D of the regional tournament.

With only 16 players available for the debut, the coach Ricki Herbert was forced to make several changes in the team, including to use the attacker Darold Kakasi as a right back. From the 11 players that started the match, six were naturally forwards. Beniamino Mateinaqara – that recently recoverd from injury – would cause a huge blow for the team if he had any injury in the match, as Ba did not have a reserve goalkeeper in the bench.

The Fijians will need to win and win big against Lupe o le Soaga if they want to go for the final matchday against AS Vénus with clear chances to proceed to the next stage. The Samoans were also thrashed by 6-0 by the home side – the same margin of goals suffered by Ba – and theoretically they can not impose any real threat to the Fijian champions.

One of the most important signigs of Ba for the competition, Alwin Komolong, could not make his debut against Auckland City; the reasons are still not clear, as neither the club and player decided to talk about the situation. The Papua New Guinean international might be available for Ricki Herbert in the following match, as he was seem during the trainings for the upcoming clash.

Ba will need to find their way against Lupe o le Soaga, they will need to be focused and play hard against the Samoan side, always looking to move forward, moving constantly to make the Samoan defense – that proved to be fragile against AS Vénus – open up the gaps for players as Benjamin Totori and Micah Tommy to capitalize.

AS Magenta debuts in a do-or-die match for newcomers Tiare Tahiti

Due the withdrawal of Tupapa Maraerenga from the group stage of OFC Champions League, the current runners-up of the tournament AS Magenta is the only club that is still to debut in the competition after the first matchday of all groups in the process.

The first group C match result in Stade Numa Daly gives Magenta a clear picture of what they need to proceed to the next stage of the competition: a simple win over the Tahitian side of AS Tiare Tahiti in front of their home crowd. The team coached by Alain Moizan knows exactly what they need to do, but the Tahitians are still alive in the tournament.

Despite suffering a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Solomon Warriors in a very close match where any of the two sides could come up with a win, Tiare Tahiti knows that a defeat against the hosts will end their first participation in a OFC Champions League. A draw is enough to maintain the hopes alive, but still they would support for a two-goal win margin of Solomon Warriors against AS Magenta in the final group match. Mathematically, a win is also not enough to guarantee a spot in the knock-out stage for the Tahitians – they will depend on the result of the final matchday in any possibilities.

Magenta will need to watch closely the wingers Tevairoa Tehuritaua and Bio Odo Chabi if they want to confirm their favouritism in front of their supports in Nouméa; but the Tahitians will certainly have a lot of trouble with the talented attack of the New Caledonians.

The likes of Kevin Nemia, Shene Welepane, Nathanael Hmaen and Fonzy Ranchain will be real threat for the Tahitian side. Instead of Ranchain, all others players mentioned helped AS Magenta to reach the grand final match against their countrymen of Hienghène Sport in the 2019 edition of the OFC Champions League. The New Caledonians smashed the Tahitian AS Central Sport in the process, as well beating Auckland City by 2-1 in the semifinal to reach the final stage of the tournament.

Image may contain: 1 person, smiling, playing a sport — Kevin Nemia scored in the 2-1 win over Auckland City – *OFC Media*

AS Tiare Tahiti know they will have may hurdles to overcome to beat AS Magenta – but this is the perfect time to prove why they qualified for the regional tournament and why they are playing against the team of this caliber.

The New Caledonians have huge expectations on their shoulders; an improved side from 2019 is expected to do even better than in the previous edition of the most important club football tournament of the region: to win the Champions League.

Solomon Islands set to announce new staff soon

Solomon Islands Football Federation is set to announce soon their new staff heading for the OFC Nations Cup this June to be hosted by New Zealand. Recently, the football body announced a 30-men provisional squad to start trainings at Lawson Tama Stadium – being the sessions controled by U17 national team coach Stanley Waita and Henderson Eels’ Eddie Marahare while the new staff is not announce by SIFF.

Solomon Islands sanctioned by FIFA | Loop PNG — *OFC*

Solomon Islands national team is scheduled to play two international frindlies this March at Tri-Nations – a friendly tournament organized by Fiji – where the Bonitos will face the hosts and Tahiti national team.

The scheduled final date by SIFF to receive applications for several positions to compose its staff including the head coach spot is this Wednesday (04th March) – which means the term has expired and the Solomon Islands FA is now analyzing all profiles received.

It is known the governing football body wants a foreign coach to guide the national team in the OFC Nations Cup, being the friendly matches in Fiji this month the first commitments of the new coach and his staff. While the process is not finished, Waita and Marahare prepares the team at Lawson Tama Stadium, despite not couting on various players – Solomon Warriors is in New Caledonia playing the group C of OFC Champions League and players as Atkin Kaua, Raphael Lea’i, Gagame Feni and Leon Kofana are currently abroad. You can see full squadlist by clicking here.