Oceania Football Center

Wellington Phoenix start the year against Mariners

Wellington Phoenix will have their first challenge of the new year when they enter the pitch to play against Central Coast Mariners for the Hyundai A-League. Phoenix did not lose match in their last seven encounters – four wins and three draws.

The new sponsored name stadium – Sky Stadium – will see the former Wellington Phoenix player Gianni Stensness to take the pitch for Mariners against the New Zealand side. The All Whites member Michael McGlinchey also is part of the CCM squad.

Resultado de imagem para gianni stensness — Stensness (right) is being a regular startes for Mariners – *FTBL*

After the contract extensions of four players in Wellington – Tim Payne, Jaushua Sotirio, Steven Taylor and Alex Rufer – Phoenix come to the pitch with a lot of confidence with a very good run in the league so far.

Alex Rufer, that missed the last games for Kiwi side, is available to be back to action, but he is not likely to start: Cameron Devlin is doing a fantastic job in the midfield since he entered to replace the injured Rufer and his partnership with Matti Steinmann seems to be very productive for the Nix.

Image may contain: 2 people, people playing sports and outdoor — Davila keeps doing great for the Nix – *Phoenix Media*

Ulises Davila scored again for Phoenix in their previous match to have eight in the season so far. Callum McCowatt also scored his first goal for the club in the 3-1 win against Western United.

Despite the good moment, the regular starter Reno Piscopo will be missing the next matches of the club as he joined Australian U23 side to compete at continental level for a spot in the Tokyo Olympic Men’s Football tournament. It opens another possibility for English marksman Gary Hooper to have his so waited second start of the season.

Image may contain: 1 person, crowd and outdoor — Phoenix players celebrate the win against Western United – *Phoenix Media*

The New Zealanders are still in the 6th position in the table. However a win against Mariners can put them closer to the top spots in the league. Avoiding a defeat in this match will keep Phoenix in their undefeated run extending it to eight games in a row.

The match will be telecasted by SkySport and can be watched on internet at MyFootball YouTube channel for all fans overseas that do not have the opportunity to watch it on TV.

Felix Komolong: what happened to him?

Felix Komolong is one of the most promising footballers from Papua New Guinea. The 22 years old defender is one of the top players from his country alongside with his brother Alwin.

After a good season with Canterbury United in 2016-17 ISPS Handa Premiership, Felix moved to United States to study and play at NKU Norse, the same university that his brother attended years ago.

Felix spent two years there before moving back to his homeland. According to local sources, he is currently studying at Unitech Lae, Papua New Guinea and he is not attached to any football team. He was also called-up for OFC Olympic Qualifier in 2019 but he pulled out due to personal reasons. He last played in July at Pacific Games held in Samoa where Papua New Guinea National Football Team faced some problems due to players’ indiscipline.

It is unknown if Felix will keep his career as a footballer on. Anyway it is very sad to see one of the most promising defenders from Pacific staying far from football at 22.

Joe Bell finishes as runner-up in NCAA award

New Zealander Joe Bell was one of the most important players of 2019 NCAA Soccer Season. He played a major role in Virginia Cavaliers by helping them to reach the NCAA College Cup Final against Georgetown Hoyas.

He was named for 2019 MAC Hermann Trophy alongside with Robbie Robinson (Clemson) and Dylan Nealis (Georgetown). This award is given to the best player of NCAA Football Season.

Joe Bell was one of the MAC Hermann Trophy finalists

The award’s winner was revealed on this Friday at the MAC’s annual banquet in Saint Louis, USA. Joe Bell and Dylan Nealis standed as runners-up as Robbie Robinson received the trophy.

Bell scored seven goals and delievered four assists for Virginia Cavaliers in 2019 NCAA Football season.

Lea’alafa and Maritzburg win in South African top league

Maritzburg United won their first game of the season in the KZN Derby against Golden Arrows in the Harry Gwala Stadium, the goal of Daylon Claasen and a late own goal gave the win for the home side. Micah Lea’alafa and Daniel Morgan started for the team coached by Erik Tinkler.

A imagem pode conter: 1 pessoa, praticando um esporte e atividades ao ar livre — Lea’alafa defending Maritzburg colours – *MU Media*

Micah Lea’alafa was once again a starter for Maritzburg in this match and just in the start of the game he created a good opportunity to score, but one of his teammates lost a golden opportunity.

Despite playing at home, it was Golden Arrows who took the lead with a goal of Danny Venter still in the first half. In the second half the New Zealander Daniel Morgan was subbed in the 46th minute and the Solomon Islander Lea’alafa gave place to Bongokuhle Hlongwane at the 63th minute of play.

With the two Oceanians out of the game, Daylon Claasen find the nets for Maritzburg as he levelled the game at the at the 86th minute of the game. Maritzburg with some luck got their winner after an own goal of Nkosinathi Sibisi to give final numbers to the scoreline: 2-1.

It was the 10th match of the season for Lea’alafa while Daniel Morgan already played 16 times for the South African side. The other New Zealander of the team – Jeremy Brockie – kept on the bench as an unused substitution.

Despite Lea’alafa not scoring yet for his new team, the Oceanians fans can be happy with his team performance since they are now at the 5th position in the league with 21 points – just three behind the 3th spot that gives qualification for the CAF Confederation Cup, the second most important club competition of African continent.

Roy Krishna and ATK want to take the lead as they face Mumbai City

ATK will have their first challenge of the year on this Saturday against Mumbai City. Fijian forward Roy Krishna and his team mates have can retake the lead of 2019-20 Indian Super League if they beat Mumbai.

Currently in the third position with 18 points, ATK can reach 21 – the same number of points than current league leaders FC Goa – if they win. FC Goa lost to Bengaluru by 2-1 yesterday. Howver ATk have a better goal debit so a win would take them to the first position.

In the first round of the season ATK received Mumbai City at Salt Lake Stadium and the final score was 2-2 with a late goal scored by Roy Krishna in the 96th minute.

Batram Suri rejoins Galaxy FC

Batram Suri is back to Galaxy FC! The 48 years old Suri is one of the greatest footballers of all time in Solomon Islands and he started his career as a football head coach this decade.

Suri is not new in Galaxy – he already has some history inside the club. His partnership with Moise Poida already brought great results for the Ni-Vanuatu team. They were working together when Galaxy won 2019 Port Vila Premier League Top Four to qualify for 2020 OFC Champions League.

Suri was away for some months to get his OFC Senior B Licence. He also coached Solomon Islands U23 in OFC Olympic Qualifier during this time away – taking his country to the final where they lost to New Zealand.

Now he is back to Galaxy for 2020 OFC Champions League and people can expect good things from Suri and Poida working together.

Lea’alafa and Maritzburg have their first challenge of the year

The Solomon Islands international Micah Lea’alafa is set to be part of the first game of the season of his club Maritzburg United in the top-tier of football in South Africa. The Solomon Islander will have by his side the former All Whites international Jeremy Brockie and the former Auckland City fullback Daniel Morgan in its first challenge of 2020.

Lea’alafa (blue) playing for Maritzburg United – *MU Media*

Maritzburg United is having a decent season so far, losing in the grand final match of Telkom Knockout Cup – South African Cup – and currently sitting in the 8th position of the ABSA Premiership. On this Friday (03/01) they will be playing Golden Arrows at home in Harry Gwala Stadium.

Lea’alafa played nine matches so far for his new club in South Africa combining the League and Cup and he is still to score a goal for the South African side. Maritzburg United is the first full-professional team of the Solomon Islands international forward.

Benjamin Totori: OFC Champions League legend

Every tournament has its history; their historical teams, players, the trophies won by each club and certainly those who write the most important moments of each competition will be remembered for history. When it comes to a continental club championship, as the OFC Champions League, it is vital to remember the past achievements to set new goals for the upcoming editions of the tournament.

When we mention the records of the revamped OFC Champions League – that had its first edition in 2005 – a specific Solomon Islander steps upfront to show his importance for the competition: Benjamin Totori.

The Solomon Islands international represented teams from his homeland, Fiji and New Zealand in the OFC Champions League – being the top goalscorer of the 2006 edition when playing for New Zealand side YoungHeart Manawatu. In the 2007/08 edition Totori reached the peak of Oceania football when he and his side Waitakere United won Kossa in the final matches to be crowned champions of the continental tournament – in 2018 he and Lautoka lost for Team Wellington in the decision of OFC Champions League ending as runners-up.

What gives a perfect impression of the quality of the player are his stats in the competition: he scored 27 goals in 54 matches played since he first appeared in the OFC Champions League. He is the all-time top goalscorer of the competition and also the player who most matches played in the tournament – a true legend for Oceania football.

Totori will certainly play the next edition of the OFC Champions League, but it is still unknown which club he will represent. In this season, he helped the Fijian side Lautoka to end 2nd in the Vodafone Premier League table to qualify for the competition and then returned home to play for Solomon Warriors. Warriors is about to win the Telekom S-League title – just needing a draw in their final game to win the league – and is also already qualified for the next edition of the tournament.

The history Benjamin Totori has in the competition makes him a player to watch in the next Champions League. The now 33-year old striker is still a very important footballer of the region and some clubs might be interest to have his services for the most important club tournament of the South Pacific.

Govind Park: almost ready…

Govind Park is one of the most important football stadiums in Fiji. Officialy opened in 1976, it is Ba FA’s home. In 2016 the stadium suffered major damages due to Tropical Cyclone Winston and since then it is being rebuilt.

After a long delay in the works, Govind Park is finally getting ready to come back to life once the works are currently in the final stages. You can check it in the video below that was recorded in last September:

The stadium is going to be reopened sometime this year once it is already confirmed that Govind Park will host 2020 Inter-District Championship in October.

Anthony Talo joins Hekari United

Anthony Talo is joining Hekari United for 2020 OFC Champions League. The 23 years old goalkeeper will fight for the position against Ishmael Pole.

SEE MORE:
Hekari United sign Portuguese and two Brazilians ahead of OFC campaign

Anthony Talo playing for Western United in 2017.

Talo is more known for being a fantastic futsal goalkeeper. He helped Solomon Islands to win 2019 OFC Futsal Nations Cup and he also played for Kooline in 2019 OFC Futsal Champions League. He was taking part of Henderson Eels squad in 2019-20 Telekom S-League.

Left Back Robert Laua also joined Hekari United.