The SIPA Championship starts on Saturday. Eight futsal teams from Solomon Islands will fight for the title. They are divided in two groups of four teams each and the top-two teams from each group will advance through the semifinals.
Current Telekom S-League champions Solomon Warriors announced their 18-men squad for OFC Champions League. All eighteen players represented the team in the national league and now they are ready for the continental challenge.
However, Warriors still have a strong squad with lots of quality including two foreigners from Vanuatu: 2019-20 Telekom S-League MVP John Alick and striker Tony Kaltack.
Contrary to reports from around a month ago, Alwin Komolong will be plying his trade for Fijian side Ba in the OFC Champions League in a couple of weeks, throwing into doubt his availability for Lae City for the remainder of the 2019/20 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League season.
Alwin Komolong in 2018 on trial with Czech club FK Pardubice. Photo: FK Pardubice
We previously reported that both Alwin and his brother Felix had moved to Lae City ahead of Lae’s OFC campaign, but the pair were not registered in time to play in the continental competition, and Lae were subsequently eliminated after coming third in their group.
However, news from today’s Fiji Sun suggests that Alwin has been training with the Fijian side for a week or so, and that he will be part of the side’s squad for the crucial group games against Auckland City, AS Venus and Lupe o le Soaga.
The announcement will concern Lae City fans, who believed both Alwin and his brother were secured to play in the remainder of this year’s NSL to shore up the side’s defence, which conceded six goals in three matches in the Champions League earlier this month.
Telekom S-League board announced that they are looking for applicants for a new team to make a 10-club league in the next season of the national football league from Solomon Islands.
The current season of U19 Telekom S-League counts on ten teams: nine teams that played the Senior S-League (Guadalcanal, Henderson Eels, Isabel United, Kossa, Laugu United, Malaita Kingz, Marist, Real Kakamora, Solomon Warriors) and Renbel FC.
The 2019-20 senior edition counted on nine teams including two newcomers. Isabel United and Laugu United had great debut seasons and now it is time to look for one more team to increase the number of Telekom S-League participants.
Telekom S-League logo.
Western United did not play the last season after finishing 2018 Telekom S-League in the fifth position.
It is not known if the next edition will really count on 10 teams but it would be good to see more and more teams taking part of the major football competition from Solomon Islands.
Malampa Revivors won Lae City by 3-0 in the last matchday of 2020 OFC Champions League Group B to advance through the knockout stage. All three goals were scored by Andre Batick that returned from suspension to make history.
Forward Andre Batick saw the red card in the opening matchday against Lautoka after fouling his countryman Jason Thomas in the first half. Despite playing the whole second half with ten players, Revivors managed to hold Lautoka to a 1-1 draw.
The Group B hosts had to deal with Batick’s absence in the second match against Henderson Eels from Solomon Islands. After suffering a lot, the Ni-Vanuatu side found a goal in the last minutes to draw another match.
The third and final match was decisive for Malampa. After drawing two matches in a row, the Ni-Vanuatu side needed to beat Lae City to qualify for the quarterfinals as Henderson Eels won Lautoka by 3-2 in the previous match.
It was supposed to be a very difficult match for Revivors as Lae City scored ten goals in two matches and they were the favourites to win the game while the team from Luganville was trying to win their first international official match of all time. After missing the clash against Eels, Andre Batick returned to the starting eleven to make history.
Andre Batick celebrates a goal against Lae City
The Papua New Guinean side did not have a great match and they saw Andre Batick return from suspension score one, two… three goals! Just like a hero, the 26-year-old forward found the net for three times to score a hat-trick and seal Revivors’ win by 3-0.
It was the first international win of Malampa Revivors’ history and the three goals scored by Batick put the team in the knockout stage of OFC Champions League for the first time ever. This fact becomes more and more unforgettable once it was done in front of their fans as the Group B was hosted by Revivors at Luganville.
Every tournament has its own history and Andre is now part of 2020 OFC Champions League’s history. Now he has the opportunity to keep making history as his team will play the knockout stage in April.
Tasman United won Auckland City by 2-1 in the 15th matchweek of 2019-20 ISPS Handa Premiership. New Caledonia international Jean-Philippe Saïko scored a late goal in the stoppage time to give the win to Tasman.
Saïko keeps doing fine in his first ever season in New Zealand as he scored seven goals in thirteen matches so far. He is being one of the most important players in the team as he has been playing an important role in Tasman’s attack. He scored six goals in the last six matches and he also had many other opportunities to score in these games.
Jean-Philippe Saïko. Source: NZF Media
Tasman is currently in the fifth position and fighting for a spot in the play-offs.
The 2020 PVFA Opening Cup is coming to its end. The two semifinals were played this weekend and now the finalists are known: Tafea and Ifira Black Bird are ready to clash to decide who will take the trophy home.
Ifira Black Bird won a young sided Erakor Golden Star by 4-2 to seal their spot in the final while Tafea has beaten Tupuji Imere by 1-0 with a goal scored by John Thomas.
Tafea starting elven against Tupuji Imere. Source: Tafea Media
According to reliable sources the final match will be played on Saturday. The Opening Cup is the first football competition in Port Vila this year as the 2019-20 Port Vila Premier League is expected to return in March. Tafea and Ifira Black Bird are currently leading the league with eighteen points each
Auckland City FC visited Tasman United at Trafalgar Park in the 15th matchweek of 2019-20 ISPS Handa Premiership, the main football league in New Zealand. It was a remarkable result as the Navy Blues lost in the Premiership for the first time since 2017.
Current league leaders Auckland City FC had a difficult day in Nelson. They saw Tasman’s captain Fox Slotemaker score in the first half to open the scoreboard but Tom Doyle netted for the Navy Blues in the 42nd minute to tie the game.
After a balanced second half it seemed that the match would end drawn but New Caledonia international Jean-Philippe Saïko found the net in the last minute to give the win to Tasman. It was the first Auckland City’s loss in the Premiership since December 2017 when they lost by 3-0 to Tasman United.
Saïko celebrates his goals against Auckland City. Source: Stuff.co.nz
The Navy Blues remain on top with 34 points while Tasman United is now in the fifth position with nineteen points in fifteen matches.
In the other two matches of the round, the bad moment of Canterbury United continued as they lost at home by 2-1 against Team Wellington, while Hamilton Wanderers could complete a brilliant commeback againt Waitakere to collect all points from the clash by winning the clash by 3-2 at Porrit Stadium.
Ba played three friendlies as part of their preparation for OFC Champions League. The Men in Black faced Rewa, Nadi and Suva and won all three matches.
Nasinu visited Nadi at Princes Charles Park in the fourth matchweek of 2020 Vodafone Premier League, the top-tier of Fijian football. This match was very important for both teams – Nasinu won in the previous matchweek and they were trying to keep the streak while Nadi lost two matches in a row after winning in the opening round.
After missing the previous match against Rewa, former Ba midfielder Avinesh Suwamy was on fire and scored four goals in the match to lead Nadi in the 5-0 win against Nasinu. This match also marked the return of Josua Tawake to the team after being sent off in the 6-0 loss against Lautoka in the second matchweek.
Avinesh Suwamy (left) scoring against Nasinu. Souce: Fiji FA Media
Nasinu did not count on Solomon Islands international Atkin Kaua in this round but Luke Savu made his debut in the season. However it was not enough to hold The Jetsetters. Nadi’s fifth goal was scored by Rusiate Matarerega.
