The 2019 Pacific Cup is over. The finals were played on this Sunday at Bill McKinlay Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
In the first semifinal Labasa faced AUFFI All Stars and won with a goal scored by Siotame Kubu in the last minute of the extra time to advance through the final match. It is not the first time that Kubu scores a decisive goal in the late minutes of an important game – he did it in Battle of The Giants final earlier this year. The other semifinal was contested by Lautoka and Nadi and the Bluez won by 3-1.
The 2019 Pacific Cup final was a reedition of 2019 Battle of the Giants final played between Lautoka and Labasa. It was a huge opportunity for Lautoka to revenge the loss in BOG and lift their first trophy in the year while Babasiga Lions was aiming the treble – BOG, IDC and Pacific Cup.
The eighth gameweek of Port Vila Premier League brought many surprises that can change the league’s conjecture. Scroll down and check what happened in this matchweek!
ERAKOR GOLDEN STAR 1-1 TUPUJI IMERE
In a very tough match that both teams tried to win, Erakor and Tupuji drew by 1-1. Toukone opened the scoreboard for Erakor in the second half but Jason Tari managed to tie for Tupuji.
Erakor’s goalkeeper Daniel Alick missed this match due to work commitments. Team captain’s Jackson Tasso also did not play. On the other hand, Elkington Molivakarua managed to arrive in the stadium during the second half to strengthen Tupuji Imere.
Tupuji Imere is now in the last position with just five points in eight matches. Erakor is in fourth with eleven points.
Tupuji Imere players after scoring. Source: Vanuatu Sport News
GALAXY 4-1 YATEL
After missing some games due to an injury, Kensi Tangis came back to Galaxy FC and scored a brace to help his team to overcome Yatel in Port Vila Stadium. His return is an important thing for the team because they have been struggling to score in the past weeks – “He is very strong and plays well inside the box” said brazilian player Gabriel about Tangis.
Gabriel and Roberson scored the other Galaxy’s goals in the match while Mansen Jacob netted for Yatel. Galaxy is now with fourteen points in the third position.
Kensi Tangis scored a brace. Source: Vanuatu Sport
IFIRA BLACK BIRD 0-1 MAUWIA
Ladies and gentlemen, Mauwia finally won and Ifira finally lost in Port Vila Premier League. Vulu Esau scored the winning goal for Mauwia. The bad news for the Reds comes from the defense: Alfred Adams, a key player for Mauwia, got injured in this match.
Ifira Black Bird fought bravely but they could not avoid the loss. They had two goals canceled by the referees and it may have affected them in the match. Anyway they managed to put some pressure on Mauwia but it was not enough.
This result pulled Mauwia away from the last position in the league standings.
Vulu Esau gave the win to Mauwia. Source: Vanuatu Sport
TAFEA 1-1 SIA-RAGA
Tafea stepped on the grass aware that a victory would put them in the lead because Ifira Black Bird lost to Mauwia. Tafea opened the scoreboard with a goal scored by Malakai Andrew in the late minutes of first half but Nadji Simon tied the match in the second half.
The difference to Ifira is just two points now, but players know that they should have scored one more goal this Saturday – “We missed some of our chances […] We should won to get closer to Ifira” said Tafea’s defender Junior Felix.
Sia-Raga remains in the sixth position with nine points.
ATK faced Mumbai City in the sixth gameweek of Indian Super League. Fijian forward Roy Krishna took part of the ATK’s starting eleven and he had an important role in the game.
Krishna’s team opened the scoreboard with Michael Soosairaj but Mumbai City managed to net twice to take the lead.
With the match coming to its end it was predictable that Mumbai would win. However Roy Krishna appeared and scored in the 96th minute to save ATK from losing. Click here to watch his goal.
Roy Krishna is doing fine in ATK
ATK is currently leading the Indian Super League with 11 points in six matches. Krishna is one of the topscorers of the league with four goals.
After four days of intense football, the Pacific Cup semifinalists are finally known. The group stage is over and three clubs from Fiji are in the semifinals.
Pacific Cup Logo
Lautoka won three of their four matches in Group A to get a spot in semifinals to face Nadi that won three games in group B. The other semifinal will be contested by AUFFI All Stars (1st placed in Group A) and Labasa (2nd placed in Group B).
The semifinals and the final will be played this Sunday at Bill McKinley Park in Auckland, New Zealand. Nadi is the most successful team in Pacific Cup’s history with four titles.
Fiji Football Association (FFA) confirmed that the 2019 National Club Championship is postponed due to the measles outbreak in the country.
FFA logo
“The Health Ministry had earlier advised that Fijians should avoid all mass gatherings, where cross-infection between infected and unimmunized individuals can occur […] We sincerely apologize to the clubs and regret the inconvenience caused in the postponement of the tournament.” said Amitesh Pal, chief executive officer of FFA.
It was scheduled to be played between 6 and 8 December.
It is being reported by local sources that Maxwell Keana is suspended from all Solomon Islands Football Federaton (SIFF) football activities including Telekom S-League matches. The suspension began on Tuesday, 26th November. Local sources are also reporting that SIFF lodged a criminal complaint for falsification and fraud against him.
Maxwell Keana playing in the OFC U16 Championship
As it was reported by Oceania Football Center in the second episode, Joel “Puia” Konofilia said Keana is going to be in England next year. It is currently impossible to know if it is true or not but now Konifilia has the perfect reason to do it – and that is what he was waiting for.
The biggest remaining question that surrounds the situation is reaction of the English football academy when they receive a player with this bad background.
Wellington Phoenix finally could win their first match of the season after beating at home Brisbane Roar by 2-1. The New Zealand-based team will hope to contunie their good moment – they are two matches without a defeat – leaving in past their first four matches in the league with four defeats.
Coopers Stadium will be the venue for the seventh game of the season for Phoenix where they will face the home side Adelaide United. Adelaide comes from a win against Melbourne Victory in the last weekend and is currently in the third place in the laddar while Phoenix got back to the bottom of the standings after the good results of Newcastle Jets.
Riley McGree will be certainly the most dangerous players for Phoenix – the OlyRoos member has scored six times in six matches for Adelaide and is currently the second best goalscorer of the season just behind Jamie McLaren.
Riley McGree is on fire for Adelaide – Adelaide United Media
Phoenix is also in a good moment after their convicing win against Roar in the previous round – Ulises Davila scored his fourth goal in the competition while Steven Taylor had a brilliant game in the back four. Phoenix will still miss Louis Fenton due an injury in his shoulder, but his absence might not be a so big problem for Ufuk Talay due the recent very good performance of his substitute Tim Payne.
Gary Hooper might be back to the team this weekend after being out from the recent clash against Brisbane – adding firepower to a team that really need to score goals. Hooper already scored for Phoenix in the season – in the defeat against Melbourne Victory – but the fans are certainly expecting more of the marquee striker.
Taylor was instrumental for Phoenix in their first win in the season – Phoenix Media
Wellington Phoenix and Adelaide United match will kick-off at 8pm in Coopers Stadium with telecast of SkySports and worldwide streaming at MyFootball channel.
Georges Gope-Fenepej is a 31 years old footballer from New Caledonia who is playing in France since 2012. He played for Troyes, US Boulogne and SC Amiens. He is currently playing for Le Mans in Ligue 2 – the second tier of French football. He can play as a winger or a midfielder, specially in the left side.
Fenepej was hired by Troyes in 2012. He played just one match in the 2012-13 Ligue 1 season and Troyes was relegated to Ligue 2. After spending some more seasons with Troyes, including a period of time that he was loaned to US Boulogne, Gope-Fenepej came to SC Amiens in the Championnat National, the third tier of football in France.
He live some good moments with SC Amiens. They were promoted to Ligue 2 in 2016 and then promoted to Ligue 1 in 2017, a meteoric rise for Les Licornes. Gope-Fenepej did not have many opportunities in Ligue 1, playing just 44 minutes in three matches.
Fenepej playing for Amiens.
After his second experience in Ligue 1 – he played the top flight of French football with Troyes in 2012/13 – Fenepej decided to take a step back and signed with Le Mans, a traditional club that was in the third division.
He was being an important player for Le Mans in the 2018-19 season until he got injured. Le Mans was promoted to Ligue 2 and Gope-Fenepej ended the season with two goals scored in thirteen matches.
In a kind of déjà-vu, he helped a team to be promoted to the second division just like he did in Amiens. After almost a year absent from Le Mans’ squad, he came back from injury to be one of the most important players of Le Mans in Ligue 2 with three goals scored in five matches.
Gope-Fenepej celebrating a goal for Le Mans.
Le Mans is currently in the 19th position of twenty teams in Ligue 2. His return can be a decisive factor to save Le Mans from relegation – they won twice and drew twice in the five matches that they could count on Fenepej.
While he is in a good moment in France, he has been far from the New Caledonia National Football Team for a while – He last played for them in 2016. Gope-Fenepej is one of the greatest top scorers of all time in New Caledonia National Football Team with 15 goals in 20 matches.
After losing to Isabel United in the last matchweek, Solomon Warriors needs to win to keep up with new league leaders Henderson Eels. This weekend’s match is very propitious for them as they face Real Kakamora who is in the last position in the championship – “Last match we played well but we missed lots of chances. We learnt from our mistakes and we are looking forward for this match” said Warriors’ Ni-Vanuatu player John Alick.
HENDERSON EELS vs ISABEL UNITED
Both teams are living fantastic moments! Henderson Eels won Malaita Kings by 9-2 on Tuesday and they are the new league leaders while Isabel United won Solomon Warriors to give the lead to Henderson Eels.
Isabel United is motivated for this match. If they can beat Solomon Warriors, they may beat Henderson Eels too. However they are facing some problems for this match – “Things are going well here but we have some injured players that may miss this match” said Isabel’s player Jordan Lea’alafa.
Eels counts on a powerful attack to take the three points home – Raphael Lea’i scored ten goals in four matches so far and there are some other players living good moments like Joses Nawo and Tutizama Tanito. It may be an interesting match but Eels will probably win.
LAUGU UNITED vs MALAITA KINGS
Currently in the sixth position, Laugu has a tough challenge against fifth placed Malaita Kings. Both teams have fifteen points but Malaita Kings played twelve matches while Laugu played eleven and both teams want to finish the league in the third position – “We had a very good week. At this stage we can not lose points if we want to finish in the top three” said Laugu’s player Michael Sira.
Laugu has some favouritism for this match. Malaita Kings was thrashed by Henderson Eels on Tuesday and they are not living a good moment in the league.
GUADALCANAL vs MARIST
After beating Real Kakamora by 3-1 on Wednesday, Marist comes to this match with high expectations. Guadalcanal won just one match in the league so far and it does not seem that they are going to put Marist in trouble. A win can take Marist to the third position.
Kossa is in a bye week so they are not going to play this weekend. Oceania Football Center wishes good luck to all teams!
The intriguing case of the midfielder Maxwell Keana was scheduled to have one important part of the investigations with his testimonial that would take place this Friday (29th November) in Honiara.
The hearing of the player was postponed by Oceania Football Confederation according to SIFF Media Release. There is not yet a fixed date for the testimonial of the player that is currently playing for Kossa at Telekom S-League.
Keana (first from right) in the U16 OFC Championship – Island Sun
The midfielder sent a letter to the confederation stating he was an overaged player while playing for Solomon Islands U16 national team at U16 OFC Championship – competition that sealed the participation of Solomon Islands at FIFA U17 World Cup held in Brazil this year.
It seems the case will need more time to be solved; Oceania Football Center made a series of two articles explaining the case of Keana and possible happenings inside this case that is letting the whole nation worried. Check the Episode 1 and Episode 2 of the series.
Oceania Football Center 