The Solomon Islands international Benjamin Totori made his first game for his new club in Fiji, Ba FC. The striker previously defended the colours of Lautoka in Fiji and reached significant success. His first game was against Labasa in the Champion vs Champion series first leg at Churchill Park.
Totori (first from left down) for Ba FC – FFA Media
Wearing the jersey number 10, the Solomon Islander was a threat for Labasa defense and helped Ba to control the game, but his team was unable to find the goal and ended the match leveled in 0-0 – you can watch the highlights of the match here. Both sides will met next week in order to decide the winner of the series in Ratu Cakobau Park.
His countrymen Darold Kakasi also returned to Ba after a stint with Laugu United in Telekom S-League – also featuring in this match. The Ni-Vanuatu Micah Tommy also is back to Ba after a short stint in his home country; the very important signings Beniaminio Mateinaqara, Laisenia Raura and Samuela Drudru also debut for Ba in this clash against Labasa.
The most important football league of New Zealand will have a very important clash in this weekend that may confirm the dominance of Auckland City over the league or put questions to it. Team Wellington will play the current leaders in their domains in Wellington having a rare chance to cut the six-point margin they have for the top-tabled team.
Dragons will need from the experienced Clapham to recover in the league – NZF Media
It will be pretty interesting to see how Southern and Canterbury United will behave in their clash: both teams were destroyed in the previous round – Tasman smashed Southern by 5-0 while Canterbury lost at home by 6-1 against the title defenders Eastern Suburbs.
Both sides sit close each other in the table and their bad records coming from their last game might be a differencial for this match, that can make the things much more exciting. Aaron Clapham, Calum Ferguson and George King will need to step-up to help Canterbury in this duty away from home, while Southern will hope to have a better defensive performance and allow the likes of Abdulla Al-Khalisy and Garbhan Coughlan to lead their attack – couting a lot with the home support.
Dane Schnell is being key for Waitakere in the season – NZF Media
Tasman will face Waitakere at Seddon Fields in Auckland and the home side come from a hard-fought win against Phoenix Reserves grabbed in the last minutes of the match with a winner from Alex Connor-McLean. The talented Dane Schnell also scored in this match – the midfielder is being brilliant for Waitak this season so far.
Tasman lives their best moment of the season after a fantastic 5-0 win over Southern in the previous week. The young Jesse Randall is receiving a lot of praise from the New Zealand football community with very strong performances, the striker Jean-Phillipe Saïko seems to start to find his track scoring already three in the season and the always strong defender Fox Slotemaker earned a lot of confidence from the previous two clean sheets of the team. The match promises to be very interesting from two teams that comes from important wins.
HBU will need on Ahinga Selemani – Steph Gunter
Hawke’s Bay will hope to recover from their two defeats in a row against Team Wellington and Auckland City, when they play in Napier against the Wellington Phoenix Reserves. The local side will hope to count with the striker Ahinga Selemani that already scored seven times this season.
WeeNix suffered a heartbreaking defeat against Waitakere United after equalizing the match in the injury time and allowing another goal for the opponents at Porirua Park. The team coached by Paul Temple will hope to guide their talented young side to an upset victory against Hawke’s Bay.
Eastern Suburbs recorded a fantastic win away from home – NZF Media
After six matches in a row without a row, Eastern Suburbs finally found their way back to wins as they smashed in Christchurch Canterbury United by 6-1. Adam Thurston brace was very influential for the visiting side, the new signing of the current ISPS Handa Premiership champions was chosen the player of the week in the league by New Zealand Football.
Eastern Suburbs will be playing at home and they will have a very hard challenge as they face the a very much improved side of Hamilton Wanderers. Guided by Jake Butler, Tommy Semmy and Derek Tieku, Hamilton entered the top four of the league as they secured a very much celebrated win over Team Wellington at home by 1-0 thanks an early goal of Tieku.
Can Auckland City continue their unbeaten run? – NZF Media
The most exciting match of the weekend will see the big rivalry clash between Auckland City and Team Wellington, played at TeeDubs home pitch David Farrington Park in Wellington. The team coached by Scott Hales will have a massive challenge to stop the attacking firepower of Auckland City commanded by Myer Bevan, Clayton Lewis and Logan Rogerson. As they lost their previous match, the former OFC Champions League champions will need to face this match as a do-or-die one if they want to take the 1st place from the Navy Blues.
Auckland is still unbeaten in the season so far and recorded another victory against Hawke’s Bay United coming from behind with a 4-2 final result. The team of José Figueira will have the chance to increase their point-distance from the second placed side to nine points if they can overcome Team Wellington away from home. In addition to their powerful team, Auckland may have the debut of two very important players: Tom Doyle and Emiliano Tade, both players that already played previously for the club and now are back to the New Zealander powerhouse.
Telekom S-League last matchweek is set to happen this weekend with five matches. Henderson Eels still dream about winning the league but they need a miracle to be crowned as league champions. They need to win Real Kakamora on Saturday and cheer for a Solomon Warriors’ loss against Guadalcanal. However both teams are already qualified for 2020 OFC Champions League.
Solomon Warriors do not count on Benjamin Totori anymore. The legendary forward has moved to Fiji to play for Ba. He made his debut for Ba on this Friday against Labasa in the 2020 Fijian CVC.
Kossa still want to finish the league in the third position and they will have two opportunities to win and overtake Isabel United in the final standings: one against Marist and another one against Real Kakamora. Isabel United are currently two points ahead Kossa but they have a difficult match against Laugu United on Saturday.
Laugu and Marist are still fighting for the sixth position but Laugu can move to the fifth position if they beat Isabel.
You can check the currently standings and the top scorers by clicking here.
Left back Freeman Giwi will play his last match for Tusbab Stallions this weekend against Hekari United.
The 19 years old player is leaving Madang to take up studies at the Don Bosco College at Chimbu. It is going to be a heavy loss for Stallions once Giwi has been playing an important role in the team this season.
The 2020 edition of the OFC Champions League is about to start; to let you know everything you need about each team taking part in the competition we are pleased to announce the Guide of 2020 OFC Champions League. The guide consists to inform all info you must know about the clubs in the present edition and It will be split in two versions: the first will mention the three clubs taking part in Preliminary Stage while the second will embrace all teams from the Group Phase – 16 in total.
The trophy of OFC Champions League – OFC Media
The preliminary stage of the OFC Champions League is a tournament played by four teams from the ranked bottom nations of FIFA Rankings. Every year the national champions of Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga and Cook Islands take place in round-robin competition to give two slots in the group stage. In 2020 the American Samoa representatives Pago Youth decided to withdrew of the competition due health concerns with the measles outbreak that affect the South Pacific – only three clubs will be taking place in the first round.
The competiton will take place for the first time since its creation in a neutral venue, the Ngahue Reserve in Auckland, New Zealand. To see the full schedule of the competition, visit our OFC Champions League section. To watch the matches there are good news for the fans of Oceanian football: OFC will stream all matches of the stage in mycujoo platform.
The three teams taking part of the competition – Lupe o le Soaga (SAM), Tupapa Maraerenga (COK) and Veitongo (TGA) – will be battling for two spots in the OFC Champions League group phase. Oceania Football Center made articles presenting the teams and containing the most important info regarding all participants of this edition – just click in one of the banners to be redirected to the club’s info page.
Jean-Gilles Hnamuko, gardien de but né en Nouvelle Caledonie en 1996, a firme avec le Junglinster qui actuelment joue dans la Ligue 2 en Luxembourg. C’est un important transfert de carrière pour le jouer cagous qui jouait actuellement dans l’Esperange II, la deuxieme equipe de l’Esperange, autre club de Ligue 2 luxembourgeoise. JJH c’etait un des gardiens de la nationale de Nuovelle-Caledonie qui a tres bien fait pendant le dernier Pacific Games qui ce sont deroule en julliet 2019 a Samoa.
Hnamuko nous a fait une brève déclaration sur ce transfert: “je suis très content d’être aujourd’hui à Junglinster, l’effectif et le staf mon tout de suite mis à l’aise dans le vestiaire, à moi maintenant de montrait le meilleur de moi même“.
Nous souhaitons le meilleur pour cette nouvelle aventure à Hnamuko.
The fifth weekend of action in the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League is almost upon us, but most of the news this week has been about the eligibility of Lae City and Hekari United’s new foreign players, and whether we’ll see them taking the field alongside their new teammates tomorrow.
Hekari United midfielder Michael Foster and new recruit Vinícius deep in discussion in training this week. Photo: Hekari United FC – Red Army Nation
However, as reported earlier this week, Lae City have had some problems registering their new foreign players, due to the lack of information provided on the international Transfer Matching System (TMS), which has in turn meant the PNGFA has been unable to provide the two players with an International Transfer Certificate (ITC), which would allow them to officially register with the club and play in the National Soccer League, as well as the OFC Champions League.
According to FIFA, the TMS is “an online system that makes international transfers of players between clubs quicker, smoother and more transparent.” Furthermore, according to playfootball.com.au, an ITC is “a certificate provided from one national association to another to facilitate the transfer of a player between countries.”
This means that whenever a player transfers from one club to another, it must be registered in the TMS, and both clubs, the selling and buying club, must complete the necessary information in order to secure the ITC. While it appears Hekari United have done their due diligence here, the process at Lae City FC seems to have been mishandled.
The official line from the PNGFA, and their General Secretary Dimirit Mileng, is that Lae City failed to provide all the necessary information about the two players, which is why the PNGFA has been unable to clear the players for on-field duty since receiving a letter from the club on December 12th.
However, Lae City Recruitment Officer Edris Kumbruwah blamed the PNGFA for not providing enough information as to the due process required when bringing foreign players into the league, and also accused the PNGFA of sitting on their hands by failing to inform the club that more information was required until earlier this week.
The reaction on social media has been mixed, with some supporting the PNGFA’s stance, while others feeling Lae City have been unfairly treated.
Port Moresby Soccer Association President Joseph Ealedona said: “In my view the fault will be with Lae City, but if PNGFA did not seek this info quickly, then that’s a communication problem from the PNGFA, who must seriously improve in this respect.” However, Ealedona continued that he believed there was time for the issue to be resolved before the OFC Champions League kicks off.
Several Lae City FC fans have expressed their anger at the process, and accused PNGFA President John Kapi Natto of exercising bias towards his own team, Hekari United. Journalist Sylvester Gawi brushed off these reports, saying. “John Kapi Natto is an honest guy. Don’t blame him. Edris Kumbruwah should know better the process in which to obtain ITC for the two Ecuadorian imported players. I am die-hard Lae City FC supporter and I dont blame PNGFA for this blunder.”
It’s also unclear whether we will see the Brazilians taking the field for Hekari United this weekend either, with coach Jerry Allen saying yesterday that “we are waiting for the process to be completed and when it is done, hopefully they can take the field this weekend.” This suggests that the eight-time former champions are also still awaiting clearance from the PNGFA.
Both Lae and Hekari have tough home games this weekend, with leaders Hekari taking on third-placed Tusbab Stallions in Port Moresby, while Lae City play fourth-placed Vitiaz United in Lae. Elsewhere, Morobe Wawens host FC Bougainville in the early kick-off, Gulf Komara and Star Mountain will both be looking to secure their first win of the season, while Morobe United will be hoping that they can make the most of their home advantage against FC Kutubu from the Highlands.
Nothing separated the two sides contesting in Champion vs Champion series. The stellar squad of Ba with the likes of Samuela Drudru and Benjamin Totori making their debut could not pass the strong defense of Labasa, captained by the experienced defender Taniela Waqa.
Samuela Drudru found the net in the first half, but the goal did not count as the referee disallowed what would be the first goal of Drudru for Ba.
Labasa and Ba squads – FFA Media
The rainy day in Lautoka was a barrier for both sides to create chances to score. The pitch of Churchil Park had some puddles that did not allow the match to be as fast as they players wanted it to be.
The match ended in a 0-0 draw and the title for the first competiton of the 2020 calender of Fiji Football Association will be decided at Ratu Cakobau Park. You can check the highlights by clicking here.
The bad news for Ba fans is that the new signing from Lautoka Beniamino Mateinaqara needed to leave the pitch in the final moments of the clash due an injury. The player was subbed by the reserve goalkeeper Misiwane Nairube.
Wellington Phoenix is back to the winning ways after they beat at home Newcastle Jets; a very hard match for the New Zealanders as the visitors created the most opportunities of goals, but were stopped by Marinovic in a splendid night.
Jets had the best opportunities in the first half and should have scored in certain moments. The first 45 minutes were completely controled by the visitors. Matthew Millar created the best opportunity of the first half, as he broke into a counter-attack and found Jason Hoffman free inside the box, but the winger shot above the bar of Marinovic, missing a golden opportunity. Despite the dominace of the bottom ranked team in the ladder against Phoenix in the first half, the match went in a 0-0 draw at the break.
The starting of the second half had the same story: Newcastle upfront controlling the game, Phoenix could not keeping possession of the ball and wasting it in the final third. The things were not good for Phoenix, so the coach Ufuk Talay decided to sack Callum McCowatt to introduce the speedster Jaushua Sotirio.
The substitution could not have worked faster: Gary Hooper found the playmaker Dávila in the midfielder, he speeds the play and puts a fantastic through ball to Sotirio, that with his first touch in the ball of the game puts the Nix upfront with a clinical finish.
Sotirio scores for Phoenix – Phoenix Media
Things seemed to be lucky in favour of Phoenix – not a good day for the team, Jets were dominant. The tactics chosen by the visitors really seemed to work, not allowing much space for the runs of Liberato Cacace and for the creativity of Ulises Dávila in the midfield. The 1-0 could change the whole story of the game, if It was not for Abdiel Arroyo: the striker found the nets in the 66th after a mistake of Phoenix defense – the first attempt Marinovic could hold, what seemed to be controlled ball was wasted after David Ball was tackled and after the shot of Petratos was deflected, the ball was offered for the Panamanian to find the low corner of Marinovic, to equalize the match.
The drama was back to Sky Stadium, but only for three minutes: Alex Rufer made his first game after a knee injury – making a surprise enter in the game after Talay announced the play was still out during the week – and made also a direct impact. After a cross, Rufer takes the rebound and fires to the goal, the ball is deflect and Ulises Dávila just need to find the corner of Lewis Italiano to put Phoenix ahead. This was the 10th goal of the season for Dávila.
The ‘genius’ Dávila – Phoenix Media
After the second goal at the 69th minute of play, another character arised in the game: Stefan Marinovic. The All-Whites goalkeeper made several stops to keep his team upfront in the scoreboard – denying a free header of Nigel Boogard and a long-range shot of Angus Thurgate.
Marinovic made a total of four saves during the match, the most impressive of them all came in the final minute of the game, when after a cross the ball offered itself to Jets attacker inside the 6-yard box and Marinovic could have a powerful shot with his leg, saving all points for the home side.
Stefan Marinovic was crucial for Phoenix win – Phoenix Media
The goalkeeper was much celebrated after the final whistle by his teammates – they know his game was a first-class and Marinovic the responsible to keep all three points from this clash in Wellington.
Phoenix stands in the 4th position in the Australian Hyundai A-League ladder with 24 points after this 2-1 win over Newcastle Jets. The club has the same number of points of th 3rd placed Perth Glory, but the current premiers have a better goal difference and still two matches to be played in comparison with Phoenix.
Phoenix heads now to a bye-week and will just return to the pitch in the next 7th February, when they travel to Perth for the Long Distance Derby.
Unfortunately for Wellington Phoenix, they could not break their non-losing streak history record in the Hyundai A-League in the last week against Brisbane Roar as they were defeat by 1-0. The team was very unlucky as they hit the woodwork twice in the first half and suffered a heartbreaking goal in the final part of the game.
The Nix will be back to New Zealand this Friday to face Newcaste Jets, the bottom ranked team in the ladder, and they will be certainly looking for a convicing win to boost their confindece for the rest of the league – recovering from an unfortunate 1-0 defeat in the last match.
Nix was beaten by Roar at SunCorp Stadium – Phoenix Media
The good news for Phoenix is the club is still in the same place in the standings even with the loss against Roar. The 4th position – that assures a home playoff-game – is still there for Wellington Phoenix, but if they want to keep the process a win against Newcastle is very important.
The Englishman David Ball might be back to the starting team and possibly the Australian speedster Jaushua Sotirio will make room for the striker. The German midfielder Matti Steinmann will be missing his first game of the season after receiving his 5th yellow card in the previous match – there are still doubts which player will take his place in the game, the most possible option is the new signing Brandon Wilson that will make his debut if he is the chosen one. Steinmann will be the only problem for Ufuk Talay, as Louis Fenton is ruled out of the season and Alex Rufer is still not fully recovered from his knee injury.
The match will be telecasted by SkySports and streamed at MyFootball YouTube channel for foreign supporters.
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