Brazilian defender Erick Joe made his debut for Hekari United in the 4-1 win against Kutubu in Goroka for the sixth matchweek of 2019-20 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League. His countryman Vinicius also travelled to Goroka but he did not play.
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Erick Joe: we will win OFC Champions League
Hekari kept their unbeaten run as they are leading the league with six wins in six matches. You can check the current league standings and the top scorers by clicking here.
Papua New Guinean winger David Browne played another match for HJK in Finland. He played 72 minutes in the 2-1 win against HIFK in the 2020 Finnish Cup.
That was Browne’s third match for HJK. He played one friendly match against RFS from Latvia and another cup match against TPS.
Former Shepherds United player Charley Alick Tupac passed away in Vanuatu. He is a legendary player of Shepherds and lots of people went to his funeral.
Oceania Football Center send condolences to all fans, friends and relatives.
ATK travelled 300km from Kolkata to Jamshedpur to face Jamshedpur FC in the 15th matchweek of 2019-20 Indian Super League. Fijian player Roy Krishna was named for ATK’s starting eleven one more time and he ruled the match by putting an end at his goalless streak.
Krishna was on fire and he opened the scoreboard in the second minute of the game after a Jamshedpur’s defensive mistake to give the 1-0 lead to ATK and that was the half time score. Things got easier for ATK when Jamshedpur’s Jitendra Singh was sent off in the beginning of the second half so Krishna and his teammates had more space to play. It helped them to find the goal for two more times as Krishna delievered an assist to Edu Garcia score in the 59th minute while Krishna scored by himself in the 75th minute. You can check the highlights by clicking here.
The final score was 3-0 and Krishna netted a brace and dashed an assist. He currently has ten goals and five assists in fifteen matches while ATK keeps leading the league with 30 points in fifteen matches. He should be considered as a big contender to win the 2019-20 Indian Super League MVP award.
Vito Laloata is one of the newest players of Hekari United from Papua New Guinea for 2020. He has recently made his debut for the club and showed a good level of play in the match.
Despite arriving this year, the negotiations started six months ago – “The Pacific Games were played in Samoa last year. I scored a goal against New Zealand and that was the game that Hekari United picked me up because of the skills I had,” he said. Laloata scored three goals in four matches and he was one of the most important Samoan players in the tournament.
He is not the first player from Samoa to play for Hekari United as Andrew Setefano played there in 2011. However Setefano was not linked to Laloata’s transfer to Papua New Guinea – “It was our vice president of Football Federation Samoa Lai Tautiaga,” said Laloata – “I am proud and thankful for receiving this opportunity. It is a way to increase my skills and develop my talent […] There are many Samoan players looking for this kind of opportunity, he added.
The 23 years old player is one of the most talented players from his country and this is a huge opportunity for him to progress in his career – “My desire is to always have a chance to play by putting all the energy into the game for the sake of the club and providing a good place to host my beloved country Samoa,” he pointed.
It is not known if Laloata will make it to Hekari’s squad for 2020 OFC Champions League or not as Hekari currently count on many foreign players and only four of them can play for a team in the Champions League according to the tournament rules.
The OFC Nations Cup is played every four years and the 2020 edition is scheduled to be played in New Zealand this year. However many national teams are not so active throughout the years so Oceania Football Confederation might be adding a new competition soon to make the national team more active.
The creation of the OFC Nations League was proposed by the OFC president Lambert Maltock as he confirmed in an exclusive interview with Oceania Football Center – “It was my idea for improving football performance in the region. It is to be played every year or two years, rather than waiting four years to play a minimum of four international matches,” he stated.
Nations Cup is already played in UEFA (Europe) and CONCACAF (North/Central America) and it is being a very successful tournament in these confederations. It is a nice idea to help the development of the national football teams from Oceania, specially for the four polynesian nations (Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga and Cook Islands). Let’s wait to check if it is going to become a reality or not.
New Zealand international Michael Woud played his first official match for Willem II main squad in the 2019-20 season. The goalkeeper played 90 minutes in the 1-0 win against Heracles Almelo in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football.
Woud had already played some official matches for Willem in the last season but it is the first time that he plays for the main team this season after spending many months in the bench. He played a key role in the win against Heracles.
Woud said in an interview that he found out that he would be the starting goalkeeper on Friday as usual starting goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther was set to missthe match due to an injury. It was his first clean shees in five official matches for Willem main squad – “I am not sure how long he is going to be out for but for me I am just focusing everyday and I am still so young and now I am just trying to get better and better and prove myself everyday” said Woud in a post-game interview.
Willem II is one of the sensations of the season in Netherlands. They are in the fourth position with 40 points tied with third placed Feyenoord and ahead of the giants from PSV Eindhoven.
The 2020 Vodafone Premier League is on! Four matches were played this weekend in the first matchweek of the season. Scroll down and check what happened in each match!
LABASA 1-2 SUVA
After beating Ba to win the Champion vs Champion series, Labasa hosted Suva at Subrail Park but they could not manage to win. Christopher Wasasala scored a brace for Suva while Antonio Tuivuna netted for Babasiga Lions. Labasa goalkeeper Akuila Mateisuva also saved a penalty kick taken by Shahil Dave.
LAUTOKA 6-0 NASINU
Lautoka received and thrashed Nasinu at Churchill Park. Debutant Alex Saniel scored twice to lead the team to the 6-0 win. Dave Radrigai also scored a brace while Samuela Gavo and Shazil Ali scored one goal each. The Bluez are currently leading the league because of their goal difference.
NAVUA 1-2 NADI
Newly promoted Navua showed Nadi they will be a competitive side this year but it was not enough to take some points. Nadi’s captain Rusiate Matarerega scored twice to lead his team to the win while 2019 Vodafone Senior League top scorer Taniela Rakariva netted a goal in his official debut for Navua.
REWA 0-1 BA
Even without a head coach Rewa managed to make a tough match against current league champions Ba. Malakai Tiwa scored in the first half and it was the only goal of the match. Things got worse for Rewa when Anish Khem was sent off in the beginning of the second half.
You can check the league standings and the top scorers by clicking here.
After some delay the Ecuadorian midfielder Abdias Aguirre finally debuted for Lae City. He was part of the team’s starting eleven in the 3-2 win against Bougainville in the sixth matchweek of 2019-20 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League.
These three points helped Lae City to keep their position in the league table. They won five out of six matches so far and they are in the second position with fifteen points just three points behind league leaders Hekari United.
Vanuatu international Alex Saniel arrived in Fiji this week to play for Lautoka and he has already made his debut. He was part of Lautoka’s starting eleven against Nasinu in the first matchweek of 2020 Vodafone Premier League.
He could not have a better start. Saniel opened the scoreboard in the 14th minute to give Lautoka the 1-0 lead. He still had time to net another goal in the first half. The 23 years old forward finished the match with two goals scored and the Blues won Nasinu by 6-0.
Dave Radrigai also scored twice for Lautoka while Samuela Gavo and Shazil Ali scored one goal each.
Oceania Football Center