Oceania Football Center

Dennis Ifunaoa: the best is yet to come

Dennis Ifunaoa had an amazing season playing for Labasa in Fiji. The 27 years old player from Solomon Islands was a key player for Babasiga Lions in this unforgettable year in the history of the team. His international experience meant a lot for Labasa throughout the season specially in crunch times and big matches.

Ifunaoa played for some important clubs in the Pacific Islands like Hekari United (Papua New Guinea), Henderson Eels and Solomon Warriors (Solomon Islands) playing in OFC Champions League for many seasons – Playing for these teams brought more experience to my football career” he said. With this experience in many national leagues, he also pointed some differences between the football structure in these countries “In Fiji they have a National League and three other tournaments (Fiji FACT, Battle of the Giants and Inter-District Championship) while Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea only have the league. If these countries had more tournaments like in Fiji players could play for more times throughout the year. It would help them to develop more”.

He won two trophies for Labasa during the season: Battle of the Giants and Inter-District Championship. His biggest moment in Fiji took place in the Inter-District Championship when he scored an amazing goal at the extra time in the final against Suva to give Labasa the win and the trophy – “I have already scored in many finals but this one meant a lot to me because I promised myself I would score a goal in this final […] People always expect more from foreign players” he stated.

Dennis Ifunaoa after winning 2019 Inter-District Championship for Labasa. Source: FBC News

After a notorious season in Fiji, Dennis Ifunaoa was deservedly called up for Solomon Islands National Football team, scoring five goals in five matches so far. Despite living a good moment in his career he assures that the best is yet to come “I am so happy to join the National Team and I hope they can call me up again. I think it is not the best moment of my career yet. I still need to improve a lot, that is how I see“. When asked about the recent successes of Solomon Islands in Futsal, Beach Soccer and Football, he answered “It is because the trainings and hard work that each player and staff put day in day out. That is the reason of these recent successes […] I think they should build some good training places and good facilities so players can use it and improve more“.

Ifunaoa having fun with some kids in Netherlands during Solomon Islands tour in the European country

Infrastructure is clearly one of the biggest problems at the islands but it demands some time to be solved. However there are some issues that can be solved in easier ways like the strange calendars of football in some countries. Recently Oceania Football Center released an article talking about the bad schedule in Fijian tournaments. Ifunaoa played a year in Fiji and he could feel it himself “I think it is wrong playing day-by-day games because human body needs to rest before playing another match […] but it is always like that in Fiji when it comes to tournaments” he said.

Currently playing for Solomon Warriors in Telekom S-League, Ifunaoa has plans for the upcoming years but he is totally focused on his current team goals by now “I intend to return to Fiji. I have just arrived in Solomon Warriors and I will stay here if we go through Oceania Champions League”. He also knows that he still has some potential to improve and make the next level by going into a bigger league “I also would like to play in a bigger country like New Zealand again. I played for Nelson Suburbs in the beginning of this decade”.

Solomon Warriors is currently leading the Telekom S-League and they will probably qualify for Oceania Champions League. If it really happens everyone will have the opportunity to see Ifunaoa playing at the highest level of Oceanian football once again.

Sarpreet Singh begins to shine in Germany

Bayern Münich II won Magdeburg by 2-1 in the 15th round of 3.Bundesliga, the third tier of football in Germany. Both goals were scored by Sarpreet Singh. The young New Zealanders is beginning to show why he was signed by Bayern Münich, one of the greatest football teams of the world.

After taking part of Bayern’s main squad earlier in the season, Singh was moved to the second team on August to have more opportunities to show his potential. He already played 11 matches for Bayern II, scoring four goals and delievering five assists according to Transfermarkt.

Singh knows the importance of playing at a good level in Bayern II if he wants to be promoted to the first team –“If you’re in the second team of Bayern you want to push up and try and get an opportunity with the first team. But in order to do that it’s not easy. They’re Bayern Munich for a reason. They’re one of the world’s best teams so you have to be consistent every single day and be the best player you can be. If you’re doing that then I think opportunities will come for sure. But it’s easier said than done.” he said to Stuff NZ.

You can watch all Sarpreet Singh goals in 3.Liga in the videos below:

VIDEO 1 (FROM 1:40 TO 1:54)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuxCNW_QUY0

VIDEO 2 (FROM 1:27 TO 1:40)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bVLLsq0fs0

VIDEO 3 (FROM 0:45 TO 1:18 – FROM 1:37 TO 2:09)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpKX_iIwix0

Auckland City and Team Wellington draw; Waitakere take the lead in ISPS Handa Premiership

The second round for ISPS Handa Premiership was very lively in the Sunday, plenty of goals and with talent to watch. The most important national league of Oceania starts to get shape and the second matchweek already could present to the fans a great clash between Team Wellington and Auckland City played in Kiwitea Street.

Wellington Phoenix Reserves 3-4 Hawke’s Bay United

Wellington Phoenix Reserves almost made a fantastic comeback at home against Hawke’s Bay United. Both sides lost their initial matches at ISPS Handa Premiership and were looking for their first points in the league. Hawke’s Back pulled upfront with the Canadian midfielder Dylan Sacramento, the number 10 scored a hattrick in the match to help his side to secure their first three points. The other scored by HBU was by the United States striker Ahinga Selemani.

What seemed to be an easy victory for the club based in Napier almost turned into a nightmare. In five minutes the 17-year old striker Blake Driehuis scored a hattrick to show some fragile signs in the Hawke’s Bay defense. Despite the fantastic effort of Driehuis, the side from Wellington could not complete the comeback and ended up falling short, losing by 4-3.

Striker Ahinga Selemani scored one of Hawke's Bay United's four goals in a 4-3 win against the Wellington Phoenix Reserves. Photo/File — Selemani scored one of the four goals of HBU in the clash – *NZ Herald*

Canterbury Dragons 2-1 Southern United

Canterbury could recover from their defeat against Eastern Suburbs in the last round completing a vital comeback against Southern United in Christchurch. The early lead taken by Southern with their star striker Garbhan Coughlan promised a second win in a row for the team from Dunedin, but the Dragons could bounce back.

Just five minutes later from Coughlan goal, George King could equalize for the some side. The winner for Canterbury United just came in the 83th minute with a finish of the Australian Reece Dalton. The match would end with a 2-1 victory for the home side, showing that Canterbury keep very strong while playing at home.

A imagem pode conter: pessoas praticando esportes e atividades ao ar livre — Cantebury United vs Southern at English Park – *CU Media*

Hamilton Wanderers 3-0 Eastern Suburbs

The current ISPS Handa Premiership title holders could not keep their form from their first match in the season and were dominated by Wanderers in Hamilton. This match marks the first goal of the season by Papua New Guinean international Tommy Semmy.

Hamilton lost heavily their first match in the season by 5-1 against Team Wellington in David Farrington Park, but at home in Porrit Stadium the story was very different. Jake Butler and Derek Tieku scored at the 33th and 35th minute of match while Semmy would put his club in a confortable lead just before the break at the 44th minute of play.

Eastern Suburbs give sights they are not so strong as they were in last season where they could count with the likes of Elijah Just, Andre de Jong and Callum McCowatt. They suffered to win their first match at home against Canterbury United Dragons and now were totally outclassed by a Hamilton Wanderers in form.

A imagem pode conter: 2 pessoas, pessoas praticando esportes e atividades ao ar livre — Derek Tieku scored his second goal in the league – *Wanderers Media*

Tasman United 0-2 Waitakere United

After various seasons ‘sleeping’, the giant from Auckland seems to be promising a much better season than the previous ones. The former national champions and Oceania champions are battling to find their good days back under the coach of Paul Hobson.

The start of the season seems very promising for the red and white team. They are the unique side to win both matches in the competition – beating 3-1 the Wellington Phoenix Reserves at home and 2-0 Tasman United away from home. The two goals from the striker Alex Connor-McClean in the second half sealed the victory of the away team.

Connor-McLean scored a brace in the Waitakere win – *NZF Media*

Auckland City 2-2 Team Wellington

The most awaited match of the round took place in Kiwitea Street, Auckland, where Auckland Cityf faced Team Wellington. Both revamped teams with news faces and head coaches made a thrilling match that any of them could emerge as winners.

The first goal of the game was scored by Myer Bevan through a penalty spot in the 24th minute of play. The former North-Ireland youth international Ollie Bassett scored his second in the league and equalized for Team Wellington still in the first half.

Team Wellington seemed more dangerous in the second half and their offensiveness paid off when Hamish Watson scored through a penalty kick to complete the comeback and give the Wellington-based club the lead. The new addition of Auckland City would score and equalize the match at the 78th minute – the OlyWhites captain Logan Rogerson scored his first goal for Auckland City since joining the team.

Rogerson celebrates his goal for Auckland City – *NZF Media*

Waitakere United with their two wins in the season for now stands at the top of the stadings with six points. Team Wellington stands second with four points and four in goal difference, while Auckland City is just behind them with also four points but with only one in goal debits.

Tasman United and Wellington Phoenix Reserves are the teams still did not score any points in the league, having the Nelson based club in the bottom of the rank with -6 in goal debits while the reserve squad of Wellington Phoenix stands in 9th with -3 goal debits – both of them surely with 0 points in the table.

Myer Bevan of Auckland City remains at the top of the golden boot race with four scored in the season so far, having behind him with three Blake Driehuis of Wellington Phoenix Reserves and Hamish Watson of Team Wellington.

Phoenix collects first point in A-League season

Wellington Phoenix almost celebrated a win in their trip to Melbourne after playing against the local side of Melbourne Victory. A quality finish from Ola Toivonen after a defensive mistake prevented the New Zealand club to collect all points from this clash.

If Phoenix could not avoid the defeat, they would break a record none team in the league would want to: they would turn in to the first team ever to start the A-League with five defeats in a row. After losing against Western United, Sydney FC, Perth Glory and Melbourne City, this match against Victory was very important for Phoenix to finally kick-off in points their season and really reach the potential this squad have.

Despite not having their top striker Gary Hooper in the match, Phoenix shown a good offensive production and could score early in the game thru a penalty kick well taken by the Mexican Ulises Davila. The VAR helped Phoenix after calling central referee attention to a handball in the area after a corner – the ball was accidentally blocked by Victory star Toivonen with the arm and it ended up putting the ball in the spot for Davila that scored his third in the season – currently second tied with various players in the golden boot race.

Davila penalty that put Phoenix upfront

After scoring, Phoenix put their lines deeper and got their attentions to defend their lead. Stefan Marinovic made a fantastic stop still in the first half to avoid an equalizer for Victory. The break saw the Phoenix upfront in the scoreline for the first time in the season by 1-0 margin.

In the second half the speedsters forwards of Phoenix could create some trouble: Jaushua Sotirio, David Ball and Callum McCowatt had decent runs and created some opportunities, but always Melbourne was more dangerous than the Nix attacks. Ola Toivonen was always a danger, combining well with Kenny Athiu and Elvis Kamsoba.

Unfortunately for Phoenix, Tim Payne clearence was blocked and the ball was gifted to Toivonen inside the box. The Swedish international dribbled Steven Taylor and with a classy finish put the ball out of Marinovic reach to equalize the match for the home side.

Toivonen scored his 20th goal for Victory

Wellington Phoenix introduced the young Ben Waine in the match just after the ball in place of the English forward David Ball, hoping that the speed of the player would help them in the counter-attacks. Toivonen had a fantastic chance to score again after a set up play by Storm Roux and Elvis Kamsoba, the finish was denied for the goalkeeper that most stops made in the A-League season since now, the All Whites first choice Stefan Marinovic.

The game also marked the debut of the young Australian Cameron Devlin and the New Zealand international and former Auckland City defender Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi. Victory look always dangerous, but the best chance in the final minutes came from a mid-range shot of Phoenix midfielder Alex Rufer, that forced Victory goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas to make a fantastic save to avoid Rufer first A-League goal.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw but certainly this is still not enough for Phoenix in the season. The fans keep hoping for the comeback of Gary Hooper – the striker still did not play a full match since coming to New Zealand. The next opportunty for Phoenix to leave the last place in the A-League standings will be next 23rd November when they play at home against Brisbane Roar.

Eels draws to be farther from Warriors

The second round of Telekom S-League started this weekend with lots of new players. Some of them already debuted and even scored goals. Let’s check what happened in this gameweek!

SOLOMON WARRIORS 3-1 MARIST

Solomon Warriors won again after losing the first half by 1-0. As Oceania Football Center already reported Benjamin Totori (2) and Dennis Ifunaoa (1) came from the bench to seal Warriors’ win. “Feeling good to be back to Warriors” said Ifunaoa. They now have 25 points and lead the league with some margin to second place Henderson Eels. Marist goal was netted by Steward Toata.

Warriors players after scoring a goal. Source: S-League media

MALAITA KINGZ 6-0 REAL KAKAMORA

Real Kakamora loses again to remain on the last position of the table with zero points. Malaita Kingz goals were scored by Edward Huniuehu (4), Michael Foster (1) and John Mark Seni (1). Huniuehu is back to the Golden Boot race with nine goals scored in this S-League, he is just behind Tony Kaltack who netted 14 times for Solomon Warriors.

Malaita Kingz (blue) and Real Kakamora (black) players fighting for a ball. Source: S-League media

LAUGU UNITED 4-1 GUADALCANAL

Laugu is one of the teams that added more new players for the second round of the league. Some of them already debuted against Guadalcanal and two of them even scored to help Laugu to win their fourth match in this season. Dunstan Quanafia and Mathias Iani netted on their debut while the other two goals were scored by Atkin Kaua and Allan Peter. Just like Huniuehu from Malaita Kingz, Atkin Kaua also scored nine goals in the league and is one of the contenders for the Golden Boot Award. Guadalcanal goal was scored by Sanga Misitana and they remain in the 8th position with just three points.

Laugu players (in black) running into the ball. Source: S-League media

KOSSA 1-1 HENDERSON EELS

Henderson Eels opened the scoreboard with Joses Nawo in the 7th minute but Adrian Mara scored for Kossa to tie the match some minutes later. This match marked the debut of Raphael Lea’i for Eels who played 90 minutes and the debut of Charles Mani who came off the bench for Kossa. This result was not so good for Henderson Eels because they are three points behind Solomon Warriors in the title race. Kossa is in the fourth position and they must fight for the third place until the end against Malaita Kings and Laugu.

Raphael Lea’i taking a free kick for Eels. Source: S-League media

You can check the league standings and the top goalscorers by clicking here.

Phoenix faces Victory in Melbourne hoping for first points

The Wellington Phoenix is having a very bad start of season: four games and all of them were lost. Despite showing some good signs of an entertaining football, the New Zealand side lost all their matches. Surely, the biggest problem for the Phoenix currently is their defense, being also worried about the amount of goal chances wasted.

This is the feeling the team and fans goes for their fifth match of the seaosn, away from home against Melbourne Victory. Last season, both sides faced each other in the playoffs in the same stadium of today’s match and the home side emerged victorious by a 3-1 margin ending Phoenix hopes in the postseason.

Phoenix players plead with referee Ben Abraham after he incorrectly awarded City a penalty. — Phoenix players complain with referee in their last match against Melbourne City – *Stuff*

In their last match, the Nix suffered a 3-2 defeat also in Melbourne but for Melbourne City. A very controversial match when a penalty was awarded to the home side with the help of VAR that for many of those, it was a clear mistake. The match also marked the first goal of the season for the marksman Gary Hooper and the first A-League goal for the youngster Ben Waine. The bad news for Phoenix is that Hooper had a minor injury in the trainings during the week and will be missing this match – Waine starts on bench.

Despite the comeback of Liberato Cacace, the other starting full back Louis Fenton had a shoulder injury and will not be taking place in this match. For its place Ufuk Talay chose the All Whites member Tim Payne.

Victory will count with their most important player Ola Toivonen in the front side. The former Swedish international has plenty of quality to disturb the Wellington Phoenix defense. Phoenix will also need to care of the Albanian midfielder Migjen Basha, the former Denmark international Jacob Poulsen and the very quick winger from Burundi Elvis Kamsoba.

Imagem relacionada — Toivonen already scored twice for Victory this season – *ESPN*

Without their most important player in the attack, Phoenix will really need to see a good game from the English forward David Ball, alongside the speedster Jaushua Sotirio. Callum McCowatt also returns to the first eleven and hopes to keep impressing in his first professional stint.

The match will be telecasted by SkySport and also can be watched at MyFootball YouTube Channel.

Roy Krishna scores a brace and ATK wins in Indian Super League

Atletico Kolkata received Jamshedpur FC in the Vivekanada Yuba Bharati Krirangan stadium for the fourth round of Indian Super League.

After a 0-0 draw in the first half, ATK scored the first goal in the beginning of the second half. Roy Krishna was fouled inside the box. He took the penalty kick and netted. Ten minutes later Krishna was fouled again and he scored another penalty kick.

Highlights

Jamshedpur FC scored in the 85th minute from a penalty kick but ATK still managed to score a third goal with Edu García after a Roy Krishna assist.

Krishna had a maximum rate at Sofascore and he was the “Player of the Game” and he is one of the league top scorers with three goals. ATK is currently leading the league with nine points in four matches.

Auckland City faces Team Wellington in ISPS Handa Premiership

Already in the second round of ISPS Handa Premiership in New Zealand we are going to have the biggest rivalry currently in play at Kiwitea Street: Auckland City vs. Team Wellington. The both sides are turned into the two biggest forces of football in New Zealand competing for the national title for several years – having their dominance broken in the last season with the title won by Eastern Suburbs then coached by current All Whites coach Danny Hay.

Both sides won in their first match in the competition: Team Wellington at home shown all of their quality when beating 5-1 the good team of Hamilton Wanderers. Hamish Watson scored a double to help TeeDubs to start the season in fashion. The Navy Blues played away from Auckland and travelled to Napier to play against Hawke’s Bay United. The seven-time New Zealand champions had some difficulties but could win away from home by 3-2, the debut of Myer Bevan was a success since the former Vancouver Whitecaps striker netted a hattrick.

A imagem pode conter: 1 pessoa, sorrindo, texto — Bevan was the Player of the Week 1 – *NZF Media*

The clash of the two current most important teams will be certainly the most entertaining match of the round; who wins will create a three point-advantage from their opponent what can mean a lot in the table at the end of the season. This match will be telecasted by SkySport.

In the other four matches of the day, Wellington Phoenix Reserves and Hawke’s Bay United will be looking to bounce back from their first round loses. Canterbury United will be looking to have their first win in the season after being defeated away from home to Eastern Suburbs – Southern United recorded a very impressive win by 4-0 in Otago against Tasman United.

In the Porrit Stadium, Hamilton Wanderers will hope for a good performance of Tommy Semmy and Derek Tieku to surpass the current champions Eastern Suburbs. The Lilywhites had a very hard win against Canterbury United with a goal coming from the youngster Jake Mechell while Wanderers suffered a dissapointing defeat against Team Wellington at David Farrington Park by 5-1.

The young talents of Waitakere United displayed a good performance against Wellington Phoenix Reserves winning them by 3-1; they will be facing Tasman United in Nelson in the both sides second match in the league. Tasman United will be looking to have a better performance in front of their fans after suffering a heavy defeat in Otago against Southern United.

Tafea draws and shares first position with Ifira Black Bird

The PVFA Premier League’s Week 5 is over. Four matches were played in Port Vila top division and Oceania Football Center brings a review of each match for you! The biggest news come from the top because Ifira Black Bird is now tied with Tafea in the first position.

SIA RAGA 1-1 YATEL

Sia-Raga and Yatel drew in a controversy match on Friday. The goals were netted by Mansen Jacob (Yatel) and Sine Jesino (Sia-Raga). Sia had two goals disallowed by referees but according to local sources one of the goals was wrongly disallowed. “Yatel FC has a totally new team compare to the past 4 games it played. We played our game for 90mins and converted two other goals that were disallowed. We leave that aside and will train harder for next game” said Sia-Raga assistant coach Vaagahu Harper. Yatel is still looking for their first win in the Premier League while Sia remains in the fifth position with seven points.

IFIRA BLACK BIRD 4-0 TUPUJI IMERE

Ifira Black Bird won to remain unbeaten in the league. They are the new league leaders with eleven points alongside Tafea. This match marked the debut of Mahit Ollie and John Welwel that came on loan from Vaum United. The goals were scored by Sam Kalter, Maso Tasso, Aron Spokey and Talipo Taiwia. “Despite the result, the match was challenging and tough” said Jonathan Spokeyjack. Tupuji Imere still struggles to win games and they are losing important points that are letting them far from the top teams – “We are still trying to shape our team, eight of our players went for RSE in Australia and New Zealand […] New players arrived but we need to play more games together” said Tupuji player Elkington Molivakarua.

Ifira Black Bird squad against Tupuji Imere

ERAKOR GOLDEN STAR 2-0 MAUWIA

Mauwia lost again and they remain on the bottom of the table with zero points. This result helped Erakor to overcome Galaxy and they are now in the third position with nine points. Despite the win it was expected that Erakor could score more goals “We missed many changes” said Jackson Tasso, Erakor Golden Star’s captain. It was a harsh game for Tasso once he left the game with a injury in his right foot after a tough foul committed by a Mauwia’s player. The referee pointed the foul but he did not show yellow card to the fouler. Kaltfer Kaltack scored a beautiful free kick for Erakor while Ellie Thomas netted the other goal to seal the 2-0 win.

Jackson Tasso (first player in yellow) got injured against Mauwia

TAFEA 0-0 GALAXY

The most awaited clash of the weekend ended with a 0-0 draw. Tafea lost Waiwo Kalmet who was sent off in the beginning of the second half so Tafea had to play with 10 men for a long time “After Waiwo Kalmet’s red card Tafea had to defend almost the whole second half and had few attempts on counter attack with Jordy Tasip giving some scares to Galaxy defense” said Tafea’s manager Robert Calvo. Even with one more player in the pitch, Galaxy did not manage to score “Galaxy had many opportunities but we missed them. There was a penalty for Galaxy that was not awarded by the referees after a Tafea player’s handball inside the box” said Gabriel. Tafea did a good job by holding Galaxy to a 0-0 draw “The match was not easy for both teams, Galaxy had few attempts saved by Tafea’s goalkeeper James Iamar” pointed Calvo. It is also important to note that Galaxy had a disallowed goal, according to the referee the player who sent the ball to the nets was in offside position.

It was the last match of a rainy gameweek. Port Vila Stadium already has a bad grass and the rain made everything worse “The pitch was terrible” said Calvo.

Galaxy is currently in the fourth position while Tafea is sharing the lead with Ifira Black Bird.

You can check the league standings and top goalscorers by clicking here

Benjamin Totori and Dennis Ifunaoa debut for Solomon Warriors

Solomon Warriors is the current leader of 2019 Telekom S-League. After an unbeaten second round they came even stronger for the second half of the season with some big additions in the teamsquad. Benjamin Totori and Dennis Ifunaoa came from Fijian football to strengthen the Warriors’ roster.

Totori was playing for Lautoka while Dennis Ifunaoa was in Labasa, both from Fiji. Both players made their debuts today against Marist coming from the bench.

Totori (left) and Ifunaoa (right) came from Fiji to strengthen Warriors squad

Solomon Warriors won by 3-1 with a brace scored by Totori and a goal netted by Ifunaoa. Warriors remains on the top of the league with 25 points in nine matches.