After it was reported that Benjamin Totori will leave Solomon Warriors to play for Ba, winger Dennis Ifunaoa has confirmed to Oceania Football Center that he is going to stay with Warriors for 2020 OFC Champions League.
Ifunaoa came back to Solomon Islands in November after a sting in Fiji playing for Labasa.
Vanuatu international Mitch Cooper scored for Hume City in a 4-1 win against Brisbane Strikers in a friendly match that took place on Saturday. Danny Dixon, Josh Bingham and Steven Hewitt also scored for Hume City.
SEE MORE
Mitch Cooper: a great surprise for Vanuatu
Hume City squad is getting ready for 2020 season. They are going to play the Victoria Premier League, one of the National Premier Leagues from Australia.
It was previously reported by Oceania Football Center that Jason Thomas could join Lautoka in 2020 as he played for the Baby Blues in the 2019 Pacific Cup but he is joining Ba. According to Fiji Football Association official social media, Solomon Islands legend Benjamin Totori is also set to play for Ba this year.
SEE MORE:
Benjamin Totori: OFC Champions League legend
Totori is ready to play OFC Champions League for the 12th time while Thomas will play for the fourth time. Ba will also count on Samuela Drudru and Beniaminio Mateinaqara. Drudru and Totori were teammates in Lautoka during the 2019 season.
Forward Samuela Drudru and goalkeeper Beniaminio Mateinaqara left Lautoka. Both players will play for Ba and they are already training with their new team. Both players might play the Champion vs Champions against Labasa this week.
Ba are strengthening their squad for 2020. The Fijian side will have one of the strongest squads in the Champions League
It was reported by Vanuatu Sports News that Isabel United will travel to Vanuatu to play two friendlies against Malampa Revivors and Galaxy. The information is confirmed by Galaxy’s owner Andrew Leong.
Isabel United are currently playing their first Telekom S-League season, the national football league of Solomon Islands. They will face Revivors on February 5 and Galaxy on February 8. Both matches must be played at Port Vila Stadium.
Both friendlies are part of Galaxy and Malampa Revivors preparations for 2020 OFC Champions League.
It was recently reported that there is a Papua New Guinean player called Terry Stephenson playing at Middlesbrough U18 team in England. Oceania Football Center had a brief conversation with him to talk about his eligibility to play for Papua New Guinea National Football Team.
Stephenson already took part of English National camps at U15 level but it does not affect his eligibility – “I am eligible to play for Papua New Guinea” said Stephenson. According to FIFA rules he is eligible to represent PNG because he has never played for England National Football Team.
Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA) should act in order to count on him for 2020 OFC Nations Cup that will be held in New Zealand. Recently, Oceania Football Center talked to PNGFA and got access to the answer of Terry Stephenson to the FA – see his answers here.
The seventh episode of Islanders Observer arrived! Oceania Football Center keep talking about the foreign islanders that are playing in 2019-20 ISPS Handa Permiership, the top national football league in Oceania. The penultimate episode is going to talk about a Papua New Guinean forward that is living a good moment at Hamilton Wanderers: Tommy Semmy.
Semmy arrived in New Zealand in 2017 to play for Hamilton Wanderers. It is the third season of the Papua New Guinean forward in the ISPS Handa Premiership. Semmy and Wanderers both had a slow start in the current season but things got better.
Wanderers are now in the third position in the league and Semmy is playing at a high level. He was named for ISPS Handa Premiership Team of the Week for two straight weeks: In the eighth and the ninth matchweek. He was also named the Player of the Week 9.
Semmy scored four goals in nine matches so far. He is the Papua New Guinean with most goals scored in the Premiership’s history.
The usual suspects, Hekari United and Lae City FC, continued their unbeaten runs in the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League this weekend, but young guns Tusbab Stallions continue to impress, moving into third with a 3-0 victory over pointless Gulf Komara at the Laiwaden Oval in Madang.
In the 1pm kick-offs, FC Bougainville took on unbeaten Vitiaz United in Port Moresby, while Morobe Wawens hosted eight-time former champions Hekari United in Lae at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium.
FC Bougainville were looking to bounce back following consecutive narrow defeats to Hekari United and Tusbab Stallions in weeks two and three respectively, while Vitiaz were hoping to keep pace with the leaders after winning their opening three matches. However, it was Bougainville who struck first, with leading scorer Jonathan Allen drilling in his fourth goal of the season to temporarily lead the goalscoring charts, and to put his side in front after 12 minutes.
Vitiaz pushed back in the stiflingly hot conditions, and were denied an equaliser before half-time after their goal was ruled offside, meaning they would go into the dressing rooms at half-time trailing 1-0.
The level of football in the second half seemed to drop significantly, as both side suffered in the heat. Joint top scorers Eliud Fugre and Russell Nirik were unable to make an impact in front of goal, and eventually the match was settled in the 75th minute when substitute Gregory Togubai capitalised on a defensive mistake from the Vitiaz backline to seal the win.
It’s only Bougainville’s second victory of the season, following their opening-day win over Gulf Komara, and it sees them stay fifth, one place behind Vitiaz, who drop to fourth.
Having made the journey to Lae for the first time in several years, Hekari United were keen to impress the large crowds that had gathered for the double header at SIKS. Morobe Wawens were host to Hekari this weekend, and the game seemed fairly even in the opening exchanges, with the match still goalless after half an hour. However, in the 37th minute, a Kolu Kepo cross bounced off Wawens defender Donatus Bandi, past the despairing goalkeeper and into the goal, putting Hekari in front – an unfortunate circumstance which, had it been avoided, may have made for a more interesting second half.
As it was, Hekari came out for the second half already leading, and their confidence showed, and grew throughout the second half. Fitter and more disciplined, the former champions wore Wawens down, with Nathan James scoring the Reds’ second on 65 minutes, and Patrick Aisa clinching a third with not long to go.
The win sees Hekari remain top on goal difference, with Wawens dropping a single place to 7th.
3pm saw games taking place in Port Moresby, Lae and Madang in a serious football fest. Somewhat unusually, the match in Port Moresby between Star Mountain and FC Kutubu was the least talked-about: Morobe United v Lae City is a massive local derby, while Tusbab Stallions v Gulf Komara was streamed live on Tumbuna TV.
In reality, though the match in the capital was arguably the most entertaining: winless Star Mountain took the lead in the first half thanks to a goal from William Yumb in the 34th minute, before veteran Andrew Apo equalised five minutes later for the visitors. Pettyshen Elijah scored a second for Star Mountain just before half-time, sending the Tabubil-based side heading to the dressing room leading 2-1. However, Kutubu came out in the second half with a vengeance, with veteran Andrew Apo scoring the equaliser just after half-time, Herry Gulf hitting Kutubu’s third on 69 minutes, and Apo completing his brilliant hat-trick just before full-time to spur the Highlands-based side to a 4-2 comeback victory.
The result sees Kutubu move up one place to 6th in the league table, while Star Mountain remain 9th, and Mountain coach will be concerned about the side’s defensive record of 12 goals conceded in four games, which is the worst in the division.
In Madang, the young guns of Tusbab Stallions secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Gulf Komara in the first live-streamed game of the season. Stallions were led by Stahl Gubag, who scored a brace either side of the break to put the Madang-based side in front. Gubag’s first came from a ball lifted over the top of the sluggish Komara defence, after which Gubag had acres of time and space to bury the ball in the back of the net.
Towards the end of the match, Komara conceded a penalty, which substitute Ephraim Leo tucked away with ease. The win sees Tusbab move into third place, while Komara sit rock bottom after four defeats in their opening four matches.
Perhaps the match of the day was between local rivals Morobe United and Lae City. Morobe played host this time around, and were well on top in the first half, pressuring the Lae players on and off the ball and having the lion’s share of possession and shots on target. However, the finishing touch was not there, and they will have been disappointed to go into the break at 0-0.
Undeterred, Morobe came out strongly in the second half too, terrorising the Lae defence, but it was the reigning champions who opened the scoring against the run of play, an Emmanuel Simon shot taking a wicked deflection and finding the back of the net. Thereafter, the sting was taken out of the tail of the Morobe side, who looked flat and dejected. A clumsy foul in the box then led to a Lae penalty, which Nigel Dabinyaba duly dispatched, and after dominating the game, Morobe somehow found themselves heading for a 2-0 defeat.
However, there was to be some late drama: Lae conceded a late penalty, which was buried by Morobe’s Emmanuel Simongi, and with just minutes left, Morobe once again piled on the pressure, and very nearly scored an equaliser at the death. However, the subsequent counter attack led to Dabinyaba being brought down in the Morobe box, and a third penalty was awarded, this one in Lae’s favour. Emmanuel Airem duly obliged with the last kick of the game, sending the Lae fans into raptures.
Lae’s win sees them one place behind Hekari United on goal difference, while Morobe United remain 8th, although their performance this week would indicate that there’s far more potential in the team than their current points tally would suggest.
Results
FC Bougainville 2-0 Vitiaz United
Morobe Wawens 0-3 Hekari United
Star Mountain 2-4 FC Kutubu
Tusbab Stallions 3-0 Gulf Komara
Morobe United 1-3 Lae City
Con gioia pubblichiamo l’intervista che ci ha rilasciato Joseph Athalé, giocatore kanako nato l’11 luglio del 1995 in Nuova Caledonia. Uno dei migliori prodotti del calcio della sua nazione che si è trasferito dal Magenta, club in cui ha militato per 3 anni, ai rivali dello Hienghène Sport. Quella che leggerete qui di seguito è la storia di un guerriero prestato al calcio. Una grande storia da leggere tutta d’un fiato.
Intervistatore: Joseph ovviamente siamo molto contenti come Oceania Football Center di poter fare questa intervista con te.
Joseph Athalé : Sono contento anche io.
I: Partiamo subito con una domanda sul Mondiale per Club. Che cosa ti senti di raccontare ai nostri lettori dell’esperienza in Qatar?
JA: Ti posso dire che per noi, che siamo dei semi-professionisti, è stata un’esperienza unica. Io in particolare sono decisamente motivato per cercare di viverla nuovamente.
I: Tutto il mondo si è congratulato con voi per l’ottima partita che avete giocato contro l’Al-Sadd. Cosa ne pensi ora, a freddo, di quell’incontro?
JA: Prima di tutto mi preme sottolineare che ho giocato in una posizione diversa a quella mia abituale. Io sono abituato a giocare in mezzo al campo lì dove posso unire il gioco tra difesa e centrocampo. Però penso di essermela cavata comunque molto bene. Io sono un guerriero e ho dato tutto me stesso. Sono fiero di aver fatto vedere al mondo che in Nuova Caledonia sappiamo giocare a calcio.
I: Hai fatto molte azioni acrobatiche che hanno scaldato gli spettatori. Sono abituali per te?
JA: C’è chi pensava che fosse facile marcarmi. Io non ho certo paura col pallone tra i piedi.
I: Torniamo sulle questioni tattiche: come mai hai giocato in attacco? Il mister ha cercato di stupire con questa mossa innovativa,giusto? Come ci hai detto anche tu, il tuo ruolo naturale è quello di regista davanti alla difesa.
JA: In realtà non so quali fossero le vere intenzioni del mister ma sa che ho una mentalità vincente e quindi ha contato su quella.
I: Lo Hienghène Sport è riuscito a portare la partita con l’Al-Sadd ai tempi supplementari. Purtroppo poi ha concesso due goal ai qatarioti, goal che hanno permesso loro di portare a casa la vittoria. Come ci spieghi questa cosa? Non essendo abituati a certi ritmi la stanchezza ha avuto il sopravvento?
JA: Abbiamo dato tutto quello che potevamo dare. Penso che la fatica abbia avuto un ruolo cruciale sul risultato finale. Eppure continuiamo a essere contenti di quel che abbiamo fatto. Sono convinto che un giorno torneremo e vinceremo questo genere di match.
I: Quali sono state le principali differenze tecniche, tattiche e fisiche con il vostro avversario?
JA: La tattica. Su quello ci sono stati superiori ma se continuiamo a lavorare quest’anno su questo particolare potremo batterli. Non dimentichiamoci che loro sono calciatori professionisti mentre noi ci alleniamo solo 3 volte a settimana.
I: Ci stai confermando che voi giocatori cagous siete costretti a svolgere altri lavori perché il calcio non vi garantisce la sopravvivenza economica?
JA: Noi non percepiamo alcun salario da calciatori. Ma questo non è un peso per noi perché quello che ci basta è di giocare per la nostra maglia che ci ricorda da dove veniamo. Sono fiero di essere un ragazzo kanako nato e cresciuto in Nuova-Caledonia.
I: M’immagino che molti giocatori sognino di firmare dei contratti professionistici?
JA: Questo è il sogno di tutti. Anche il mio. Il problema è che non è così facile raggiungere quel livello perché la Nuova Caledonia è lontana dal mondo calcistico professionale.
I: Com’è possibile che anche vedendo i vostri match nessun club professionistico dimostri interesse per qualcuno di voi?
JA: Non lo so. Non ci sono contatti.
I: Come Oceania Football Center quel che possiamo fare è realizzare dei video su di voi e caricarli sul nostro canale di YouTube. Facendo circolare le informazioni in una platea più ampi, magari l’interesse verso di voi aumenterà.
JA: E chi lo sa.. anche il mio club non fa tutto quello che dovrebbe per farsi conoscere.
I: In che senso?
JA: Non lo so di preciso. Quel che so è che dobbiamo pubblicizzare meglio il nostro calcio.
I: L’importante è che continuiate ad allenarvi e lottare. Amiamo molto il vostro calcio. Ad esempio conosciamo bene Jean-Philippe Saiko che è andato a giocare in Nuova Zelanda. Potresti farlo anche tu, no?
JA: Io vorrei andare in Europa.
I: Speriamo con tutto il cuore che il tuo sogno si realizzi.
JA: Lo spero anch’io. Il tempo passa e sono sempre qui.
I: Che ne dici se torniamo a parlare di calcio giocato?
JA: Fai pure.
I: Come vi siete sentiti dopo che Amy Roine ha segnato il vostro goal contro l’Al-Sadd?
JA: Niente di speciale, in realtà. Una gioia passeggera come tutti i goal. Siamo subito tornati concentrati per vincere il match.
I: Eravate davvero convinti di poter vincere?
JA: Sempre. La mia mentalità è quella di cercare di vincere ogni partita.
I: Secondo te, se foste partiti alla pari, avreste vinto?
JA: Io credo nella mia squadra. Incondizionatamente. Potevamo vincere quella sera, ma ci è mancato qualcosa. Ancora mi domanda che cosa sia stato.
I: Gli esperti internazionali hanno scritto che siete mancati sotto l’aspetto della preparazione fisica. Sei d’accordo?
JA: Potrebbero avere ragione, ma io non ero stanco. Forse c’è solo mancata la voglia di vincere.
I: Quello che possiamo dirvi è che bisogna partire da questi risultati per migliorare. I giocatori milionari dell’Al-Sadd hanno avuto paura di perdere. Questo è già un grande risultato. Veniamo all’attualità: siete già in preparazione per la OFC Champions League?
JA: Inizieremo proprio oggi.
I: Dobbiamo essere onesti. Il vostro è il gruppo più complicato del girone (ne parliamo qui). Cercherete comunque di ripetere il percorso della passata edizione che vi ha portato a vincere la competizione?
JA: Che domanda. Certo che ci crediamo. Se vogliamo possiamo.
I: Il club ha aggiunto qualche nuovo tassello alla rosa, per rinforzarla?
JA: No. Siamo lo stesso gruppo dell’anno passato.
I: Ultima domanda: Quale futuro vedi per la Nazionale?
JA: Non saprei. Speriamo di vincere qualcosa. Ci proveremo.
I: Grazie mille per l’intervista.
JA: A presto.
Port Vila Football Association (PVFA) from Vanuatu announced the groups of 2020 PVFA Opening Cup. The drawn took place at Korman Stadium yesterday.
The eight teams from Port Vila Premier League were split in two groups of four teams each. You can check the groups below:
GROUP A: Erakor Golden Star, Mauwia, Tafea and Yatel
GROUP B: Galaxy, Ifira Black Bird, Sia-Raga and Tupuji Imere
There will be a meeting between PVFA and the clubs’ presidents on January 21 to confirm the tournament’s schedule. It is expected to begin in the next week.
Oceania Football Center