Stade Numa Daly will host the group C of the OFC Champions League, where the current runners-up of the regional tournament AS Magenta will expect to continue their good form when they take on Solomon Warriors, Tupapa Maraerenga and newcomers from Tahiti, AS Tiare Tahiti.
The captain of the four teams in the contest – OFC Media
The first two matches of the group will see the Solomon Islands champions face Tiare Tahiti, while the Cook Islands side coming from the preliminary stage will have a hard task against the hosts of Magenta.
You can check all you need to know about the sides playing in New Caledonia by reading our OFC Champions League Guide – Groups C & D. Oceania Football Center will make a comprehensive coverage about both groups in play to decide the last four teams to proceed to the knock-out stage of the most important club football tournament of Oceania.
The Solomon Warriors are ready to debut in 2020 OFC Champions League and they have a clear target in this tournament: make the knockout stage. The Solomon Islands side was eliminated in the group stage in the last edition by finishing the Group D in the third position in 2019.
Despite not being allowed to sign new players due to Solomon Islands’ transfer rules, Warriors have a strong squad that has enough quality to advance through the next stage including Vanuatu international midfielder John Alick.
Alick representing Solomon Warriors. Source: SIFF Media
He has also expressed his confidence for the continental tournament – “The team is stronger this year. We have a good team and good coaching staff,” he pointed.
Warriors will debut on OFC Champions League in a few hours. They are going to face AS Tiare Tahiti at Stade Numa Daly in New Caledonia.
Henderson Eels had a good performance in 2020 OFC Champions League as they are now qualified for the knockout stage. However things were not so easy to the Solomon Islands side as forward Joses Nawo scored a goal in the 96th minute against Lautoka to give Henderson Eels a spot in the quarterfinals.
It was a very difficult match for Eels. They were losing by 2-0 when head coach Eddie Marahare made some changes that really made the difference – “I made tactical changes to drop Joses Nawo as a free player as we were having only three defenders which allowed more players to attack. The addition of Kennedy Watemae who replaced Hudson Felani was very important once he opened the gates for the win by scoring the first goal,” said Marahare.
Nawo scored a late goal to qualify Henderson Eels for the quarterfinals. Source: OFC Media
The changes were risky but they were worth – “I am happy with the performance of two players that did a good job against Lautoka: Rollence Misitana in central defense and Obed Ofea who replaced Leon Kofana in the second half,” explained Eddie. Eels finished the group stage unbeaten as they won one match and drew another two and it made Marahare satisfied with the team’s performance in the tournament so far.
Eels’ opponent in the quarterfinals is not known yet but they are already getting ready for the clash that is scheduled to be played on April 25/26 – “We have five weeks for the team to work on areas that need improvement like team defending and positional play. Improvements on these areas will make things tougher for our opponents in the quarterfinals,” – pointed Eddie.
Eddie Marahare coaching the Eels in the OFC Champions League. Source: OFC Media
Marahare is proving his quality as a head coach. He recently won the Best Coach Award of 2019-20 Telekom S-League, the main football league in Solomon Islands. Now it is time to prove himself in the next level: the OFC Champions League knockout stage.
Hume City faced Dandenong City in the third matchweek of 2020 NPL Victoria, the top-tier of football in Victoria, Australia.
Dandenong opened the scoreboard in the first half but Hume managed to score twice and win the match. Vanuatu international Mitch Cooper scored the second and last goal of jos team to seal the 2-1 win.
Cooper (circled) with Hume City squad. Source: Hume City Media
Hume City leads the NPL Victoria with nine points in three matches.
Port Vila Municipal Stadium hosted the 2020 PVFA Opening Cup finals this Saturday. Two matches were played to decide the champions and the final positions in the tournament.
In the opening match Tupuji Imere faced a young Erakor Golden Star squad in the third place match. Tupuji built a good advantage in the beginning of the match by scoring two goals but this advantage was blown as Erakor found the net twice to tie the game in the late minutes of the first half.
Tupuji managed to score two more goals in the second half while Erakor scored only one. The final score was 4-3 for Tupuji Imere that finished the tournament in the third position. Azariah Soromon was a key player in this match as he scored two important goals to help his team to win the clash.
Tafea and Ifira Black Bird clashed in the final contest. Jordy Tasip opened the scoreboard for Tafea in the first half but they saw Ifira reaching the top as Samuel Kaloros and Sam Kalter found the net to seal the 2-1 win.
Ifira and Tafea captains before the match. Source: Vanuatu Sports News
Now it is time to turn the attention to the Port Vila Premier League that must resume in March. Ifira Black Bird and Tafea still have a lot to prove if they want to win the league as both teams are tied in the first position with eighteen points in nine matches.
The second part of the group stage of OFC Champions League 2020 is set to start in Tahiti and New Caledonia. After lots of excitement from the groups A and B – where Eastern Suburbs from New Zealand, Galaxy and Malampa Revivors from Vanuatu and Henderson Eels from Solomon Islands qualified for the knock-out stage – it is time to get back to the pitch and learn more about the eight teams taking place in the final groups of the competition.
In the group C held in Nouméa, New Caledonia we will have the current runners-up AS Magenta hoping to proceed and represent his country in the quarterfinals as their countrymen of Hienghène Sport were knocked-out of the tournament in the group A. Alongside the New Caledonian powerhouse, the debutants of Tiare Tahiti from Tahiti will look to show their quality, while Solomon Warriors will hope to make the same of Henderson Eels and qualify for the decisive stage of the continental tournament. The fourth team in the group was the Cook Islands champions Tupapa Maraerenga, but the team withdrew of the competition moments before the kick-off.
OFC Champions League trophy – OFC Media
Stade Mahina in Tahiti will host the nine-time champions Auckland City that will be hoping to retain the title after two years of absence in the grand final. The hosts of AS Vénus expect to make their supporters proud, but surely they will not have an easy task to surpass Auckland City and the Fijian champions Ba. Lupe o le Soaga from Samoa is always there to disturb the big sides, hoping to be a giant killer in Tahitian soil.
To learn everything you need to know about the teams taking place in the groups C and D of the OFC Champions League 2020, just click in one of the banners below; to read a complete guide that only Oceania Football Center brings to you.
After helping Henderson Eels to proceed in the group B of the 2020 OFC Champions League, the youngsters Leon Kofana and Raphael Le’ai are set for a very good opportunity in Australian football. The 17-year-old defender Kofana and the 16-year-old forward Le’ai are set to trial at the top-Australian side Melbourne Victory. The information was recently confirmed by Solomon Islands Football Federation.
“The trial is made possible through Basi Football Agent Group which run by Australian based Solomon Islander Keith Sanga“, said SIFF Media.
“The young lads will be drafted straight into the Victory U-23s during their week-long stay with the club“, added SIFF Media. Both players will have a rare opportunity to test their skills and impress overseas technical staff. The players are stil unavailable to sign any professional contract with a foreign side – they need to be at least 18-years-old -, what does not made this opportunity less atractive for talented players.
Leon Kofana and Raphael Le’ai helped Solomon Islands to qualify for the first FIFA football tournament – the U17 FIFA World Cup. The young footballers represented their country in Brazil last year at world stage.
New Caledonia international Jean-Philippe Saïko was named the player of the week of the 15th matchweek of 2019-20 ISPS Handa Premiership. The 29-year-old forward played a very important role at Tasman’s 2-1 win against Auckland City.
Saïko’s great performance was crowned with a goal in the 95th minute that awarded the three points to Tasman United. It was the first time that he was named the player of the week in New Zealand.
Saïko won the player of the week 15 award. Source: NZF Media
Saïko has scored seven goals in thirteen matches and he is being a key player for Tasman to keep their hopes of qualifying for the play-offs alive.
New Caledonia international Georges Gope-Fenepej suffered another injury on this Friday. The 31-year-old player left the pitch in the first half after being touched by an opponent in the 2-1 win against EA Guingamp.
Fenepej playing for Le Mans. Source: Le Mans Media
Fenepej was named for Le Mans’ starting eleven for the second straight match but he was not so luck in the clash against EA Guingamp as he got injured in the beginning of the match. He was replaced by Vincent Créhin in the 18th minute when Le Mans was already winning the game by 1-0.
There is no news about the severity of this injury however it is known that Fenepej has been suffering from injuries recently. Le Mans is in the 19th position in French Ligue 2 and they are very close of being relegated to the third tier of French football.
The weekend of football in the New Zealand top-tier league will have once again only three matches, this time the current champions Eastern Suburbs will be back to action in the national league after a succesful campaign in the OFC Champions League in Papua New Guinea, but Auckland City already travelled to Tahiti to play the regional tournament being this the reason for the split round at ISPS Handa Premiership.
The 2-1 defeat of the Navy Blues against Tasman United in the previous round will allow Team Wellington to have a rare chance to cut the deficit from the current premiers. A win for the team coached by Scott Hales will put them back with only three points difference from the top-tabled side.
Ahinga Selemani is the key man for Hawke’s Bay – NZF Media
Hawke’s Bay will finally be back to action at Bluewater Stadium as they face Southern United on Saturday. A win for the Napier-based club can put them back for the contest in the top four. The team coached by Chris Greatholder will hope the likes of Ihaia Delaney and Ahinga Selemani can score in the weekend to help them in this challenge.
Southern also needs the win to approach the top-four sides in the standings; their asset for this contest will be certainly the Irish striker Garbhan Coughlan that is back to his good form. A away win will put the team from Dunedin very close to the top-four.
Waitakere will rely on Dane Schnell – NZF Media
Waitakere United will face once again Hamilton Wanderers, but this time at Seddon Fields. After a 3-2 defeat in their rescheduled match in the previous weekend, Waitakere will really need a win if they want to keep inside the top-four sides in the regular season. The former OFC Champions League winners will hope the quality of players like Sam Burfoot and Dane Schnell can be a differential for Waitakere in the clash.
Hamilton will hope to have another win over their rivals to be placed inside the top-four of ISPS Handa Premiership. The likes of Derek Tieku, Xavier Pratt and Tommy Semmy might be instrumental for the team coached by Kale Herbert.
Team Wellington needs a win to cut the deficit from Auckland City in the table – NZF Media
The 2nd placed side Team Wellington will have a difficult task at David Farrington Park against the current title holders Eastern Suburbs. The likes of Jack Henry-Sinclair and Sam Mason-Smith might be important for the home side if they want to cut the deficit in the standings towards Auckland City.
Eastern Suburbs, after securing a spot in the knock-out stage of the current edition of the OFC Champions League in Port Moresby, will switch their attentions to the national league in order to improve their records – the Lilywhites are placed only 4th so far in the season. The influential Martin Bueno will need to keep his form if his side wants to collect all points from this very hard clash.
