Maritzburg United drew by 2-2 against Bloemfontein Celtic in the tenth round of South African Premier League. This match marked the return of Micah Lea’alafa who has been injured for a month missing four matches.
Micah was in the starting eleven and played the first half before being replaced by Bandile Shandu in the halftime. He is not completely fit so he could not play the 90 minutes. New Zealanders Jeremy Brockie and Daniel Morgan also featured for Maritzburg in this match.
Micah Lea’alafa in Maritzburg United
Maritzburg United was losing by 2-0 until the 87th minute when Daylon Claasen scored a penalty kick. The draw came with Judas Moseamedi who scored a heroic goal in the 92nd minute. Maritzburg is in the eighth position in the South African Premier League.
One of the most traditional football clubs in Solomon Islands are promising a good fight in the second round of the Telekom S-League, the top tier of football in the country. Laugu is a club created in 1987 but they did not take part in the most important league of Solomon Islands for several years, making their comeback in the 2019 season.
The first round for Laugu was not so good what their fans could be expecting: the team could just earn 10 points and is currently sitting 6th in the table eleven points away Henderson Eels that is 2nd and inside OFC Champions League qualifying zone.
Atkin Kaua scored eight goals in the first round for Laugu United – Futbol Guy
The Solomon Islands international Atkin Kaua was by far the most important players for Laugu United. The attacking midfielder scored eight goals for his side in the competition and is currently contesting for the golden boot of the tournament.
For the second round, the traditional black team will be adding very important players and will promisse a good fight against the teams currently topping the table of S-League.
One of them is goalkeeper Davidson Malam that recently played for Solomon Islands in the U17 World Cup held in Brazil. Another very promising sign that can combine very well with Atkin Kaua is the former Ba FC in Fiji Darold Kakasi, that also recently played with Solomon Islands colours but for OFC Olympic Qualifiers.
Another very interesting signing is the former Suva FC and Hekari United Matthias Iani that will be reinforcing Laugu United in this second round the Telekom S-League.
Davidson Malam and Darold Kakasi can be key players for Laugu Untied
Check all the new players for Laugu United for the rest of the Telekom S-League season:
🇸🇧 Darold Kakasi – 🇫🇯 Ba FC 🇸🇧 Matthias Iani – 🇫🇯 Suva FC 🇸🇧 Davidson Malam – 🇸🇧 Laugu United Youth 🇸🇧 Leslie Kivolyn – 🇳🇿 Melville United 🇸🇧 Dustan Quanafia – 🇻🇺 Ifira Black Bird 🇸🇧 Benji Junior – 🇫🇯 Nasinu FC 🇸🇧 Jared Rongosulia – 🇸🇧 Sunbeam FC 🇸🇧 Leslie Ramo – 🇸🇧 Marist FC 🇸🇧 Clayton Menapa – 🇸🇧 Kossa FC 🇸🇧 Junior Ashley – 🇸🇧 Henderson Eels FC
After two matches that the club from north of New Caledonia could not confirm their lead in Mobil Super Ligue and seal their third in the season, the final round could see finally the current champions of OFC Champions League and Coupe de Calédonie to conqueer the national glory after beating Horizon Patho in Maré by 4-1 margin.
The club created in 1997 is enjoying their best moments ever turning into the first New Caledonian club to win OFC Champions League, Mobil Super Ligue and Coupe de Calédonie in the same season. Hienghène still will compete at Coupe de France and FIFA Clubs World Cup this year.
This is the second time the club based in Hienghène lifts the trophy of Mobil Super Ligue – in 2017 was their first national championship won. The coach Felix Tagawa is certainly one of the most important figures for the team, one of the biggest responsibles for the fantastic season Hienghène Sport is having.
Hienghène Sport celebrating OFC Champions League title – OFC Media
Now with the trophy in the hands of Hienghène Sport, the most exciting clashes of Mobil Super Ligue in its final matchweek will be the battle against the direct relegation with ES Wacaele and Trio Kedeigne.
As we reported earlier, Kofana could join Henderson Eels for Telekom S-League second round.
The 17 years old defender is confirmed in the Eels squad. Head coach Eddie Marahare has just released the team list for round two with 25 players and Leon Kofana is in the list as you can check below:
Just like Raphael Lea’i, Kofana is on a scholar break. He has a scholarship at Scots College in New Zealand.
James Egeta is an important players of Solomon Islands National Futsal Team. The 29 years old player already played three Futsal World Cups (2008, 2012 and 2016) and will probably play his fourth in 2020. He started his career more than ten years ago and he played his first Futsal World Cup with just 18 years old in 2008.
Currently living in Brisbane, Egeta plays futsal in Australia, a country that has a good futsal culture. Kurukuru also made its preparation for 2019 OFC Futsal Nations Cup in Australia where they played against local teams and faced Futsalroos (Australia National Futsal Team) twice. The difference of level between Australia and the best OFC countries in futsal are not that big but it can be felt not only in the players’ quality but also in the infrastructure – “Futsal in Australia got high quality in terms of good facilities, international court size and players training under good coaches […] in Solomon Islands there is no proper court to train in and there is no good facilities to support the training” said Egeta.
James Egeta playing for Solomon Islands National Futsal Team in 2016
He took part of the Kurukuru squad that won OFC Futsal Nations Cup for the sixth time ever after beating New Zealad in penalties to qualify for 2020 World Cup. Egeta scored two goals in the competition, one against Fiji in the group stage and the another one in the final match against New Zealand. “I felt excited because it is going to be my fourth time in World Cup. I made my country proud and we put a smile on people’s face and we really need it. Our nation is being through a lot of things and this title is something that brings joy to every single person in the country and it makes me happy. I am not talking that people is suffering, what I mean is that our federation has been through hard times in terms of national football teams. We lost Pacific Games, beach soccer lost in World Cup qualifying and U17 National Team lost all three matches in FIFA U17 World Cup. So our victory brought a smile and hopes to people” he stated.
Egeta (left holding the trophy) celebrating 2019 OFC Futsal Nations Cup title
Egeta has an unique opportunity to play his fourth Futsal World Cup and he is very excited because of it but he also pointed that the journey has not been easy “New Zealand improved a lot and we need to work the extra mile to remain as Futsal Kings in Oceania. The final match against them was a great challenge. We missed lots of goal chances during the regular time so we had to end up with penalties”.
With all this experience and titles, Egeta is surely one of the greatest futsal players of Solomon Islands like George Stevenson and Elliot Ragomo. A true legend!
After seventeen rounds the Mobil Super Ligue will have its decisive matches this Saturday (09/11) and Sunday (10/11) to decide which club will lift the trophy of the top-tier of football in New Caledonia and which ones will be relegated to the second tier.
The current champions AS Magenta has real chances to defend their honour this season and end the season in fashion after failling to beat their rivals Hienghène Sport in the OFC Champions League grand final and in the Coupe de Calédonie quarter-finals. Hienghène Sport looks to complete their seaon of dream with a treble, after lifting their most important title ever – OFC Champions League – and the Coupe de Calédonie for the third time in the club history.
Unfortunately for Hienghène, they lost two opportunities to seal the title in the previous two matches they had in Mobil Super Ligue: they lost their first and unique match in the competition for rivals Magenta and draw against Tiga Sport in the last weekened to maintain a chance for Magenta to reach them in the table.
The current standings and 18th round matches for Mobil Super Ligue – MSL Media
FCF – the Football Federation of New Caledonia – decided to not test the hearts of the fans in this decisive round: we will already know whether Magenta will have a chance to lift the trophy or not at Saturday noon after Horizon Patho faces Hienghène Sport in Maré. If the the locals can beat Hyehen in the Stade de la Roche, Magenta will need to win also away from home, but in Stade de Hnasse in Lifou on Sunday, Trio Kedeigne. If the current Oceania champions can avoid a defeat, they will be celebrating their third title in the season.
Despite managing to keep to alive in the title run, the historical club from Nouméa still have a very hard to task to complete if they want to have the national glory once again. All odds are against Magenta: Horizon Patho, the opponent of their rivals Hienghène Sport, has nothing to battle for – they can not reach the 3rd place and they are already guaranteed in the top tier next season since they can not be reached by any club in the relegation playoff or direct zone. Differently, Trio Kedeigne will have their last shot to avoid direct relegation against AS Magenta in front of their fans and they will be desperately seeking for a win, hoping their top scorer Jordan Wetria can put some magic for the Lifou based team.
Hienghène will have their full force against Horizon Patho – MSL Media
Tiga Sport and AS Wetr will be both trying to reach the 3rd placed club SC Ne Drehu – hoping to finish the season as the best club in New Caledonia if we agree AS Magenta and Hienghène Sport are at a very higher level than any other side in the country. The same battle will be in contest when SC Ne Drehu plays at home AS Mont-Dore, the Mont-Doreans could finally grab all points in their last match and are hoping to finish the season in fashion. The white-orange club from Lifou, SC Ne Drehu, is doing a very good season by their expectations and their chance to guarantee their third place in the league will be this last match against Mont-Dore counting with the support of their fans.
AS Lössi also expects that the mathematics help them to finish at 3rd, but they will be having a desperate ES Wacaele playing in Stade Numa Daly as their opponents. Wacaele knows the match Trio Kedeigne vs AS Mont-Dore is still in dispute in the FCF Referee Council and their rivals in the battle against relegation can have more points in the table than they have actually despite they can not grab a positive result against AS Magenta this round. A win would be instrumental for ES Wacaele in their fight, putting all pressure in Trio Kedeigne for their last match against a still possible title contender AS Magenta. The 9th placed side will play the relegation play-off against a club to be determined from the 2nd tier in New Caledonia, while the bottom ranked club will be directly relegated to the second tier.
A very exciting football weekend is about to start in New Caledonia, the last moments of the football season are coming and surely all fans are looking for their stars to bring the best possible income they can for their home grounds. The matches of AS Lössi – ES Wacaele and Tiga Sport – AS Wetr will be streamed by the local TV station TV Caledonia – you can watch these matches at their channel in YouTube.
Tupuji Imere, one of the most traditional teams from Port Vila, is not having a good start of season in the PVFA Premier League. Despite winning the Port Vila edition of Independence Cup before the start of the league, the team just won one of their four matches in the top tier of football in Vanuatu capital and it is certainly not what their fans are expecting. The quality of Tupuji Imere really can put them as one of the contenders for the title, but this is not what is happening: players as Michel Coulon, Elkington Molivakurua and Rodney Serveux – all with international experience, could surely help his side to do better.
The team Mele village decided to look for reinforcements for their squad and they found in Luganville: with the end of Luganville Premier League that had current Vanuatu National Soccer League winners Malampa Revivors as champions, many important players could make a move in the transfer window to Port Vila. Two important midfielders from Vaum United FC – one of the most important teams of LFA Premier League – are now joining Tupuji Imere: they are Mahit Ollie and John Welwel Dick.
Ollie and Welwel Dick presenting at Tupuji Imere – Vanuatu Sport
Mahit recently played for Malampa Revivors in their campaign at OFC Champions League in loan from his Vaum United. The 25-year old offensive midfielder can surely bring a lot of firepower to the team coached by Vanuatu football legend David Chilia – he was the captain of Vaum United before his departure. John Welwel Dick also plays at midfield position and also played an important role at Vaum in their recent participation at LFA Premier League in the second biggest city of Vanuatu, Luganville in Espiritu Santo island. The midfielder is 22 years old.
Both players come on loan from Vaum to the PVFA Premier League club and might return to the Luganville club after the end of the season in Port Vila. The transfer was accepted by VFF on 7th November according to source Vanuatu Sport. The players will already debut for Tupuji Imere in their next match in the league.
Solomon Islands U17 National Team ended their participation in 2019 U17 FIFA World Cup with three losses in three matches. They were criticized by many people in their homeland but they really did their best.
They were in a very hard group with Italy, Mexico and Paraguay, three strong teams that are currently in the quarter finals of the World Cup.
Italy U17 National Team
Italy is the current U17 European runner-up. They won Ecuador in a very tough match and now they are going to face hosts Brazil in the quarter finals. Paraguay overcame Argentina in a breathtaking match and now they will face current european champions Netherlands. Mexico has beaten Japan easily and they are going to play against South Korea in the next stage.
Three of the eight remaining teams are from the same group (Group F) and these three national teams have the possibility to advance through semifinals. It shows that Solomon Islands really had the opportunity to play three matches against the best teams in this World Cup.
While Solomon Islands made its first appearence in a 11-a-side football World Cup, Italy won four World Cups. Mexico already won U17 FIFA World Cup twice and Paraguay always reach the world stage even playing against top teams like Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
Mexican players celebrating their win against Japan in U17 World Cup
Solomon Islands players play in New Zealand or in local top teams like Henderson Eels, Solomon Warriors and Kossa, but it is a very low standard compared to top countries. Italy has players from Milan, Internazionale and Juventus academies, three of the best teams in the world. Mexico has good tradition when it comes to youth football and they have many players that already play football at senior professional level so they already play in a level that does not exist in Oceania. Some Paraguayan players also play at professional level. It is a huge gap between these three national teams and Solomon Islands.
The difference is not only at club level, but at international level too. UEFA and CONMEBOL are far way stronger and more developed than OFC. Italy and Paraguay always play football at a high level because they are pushed into it against another great National Teams. CONCACAF is a bit weaker but Mexico also has the opportunity to qualify for many World Cups so it makes them much more prepared than OFC countries at world level.
Of course there are plenty of room for development in the country’s football but people must stop over-criticizing the U17 National Team.
FIFA U17 World Cup is over for Solomon Islands and the players are already back to their homeland. Despite the age most of them are playing in Telekom S-League like Derick Taebo, Javin Wae, Barrie Limoki and Pateson Tongaka. There will be some more U17 players in the Telekom S-League second round because Henderson Eels will count on Raphael Lea’i and for the rest of the championship.
He is living in New Zealand after receiving a scholarship to study in Scots College but he is currently on a scholar break. Oncehe just came back from World Cup he is already in Solomon Islands and ready to debut for Henderson Eels.
When Eels head coach Eddie Marahare announced that Raphael Lea’i would play for Henderson Eels, he was criticized by local people but he came up to the media to clarify: “Raphael Lea’i kindly asked if he could join Eels during this break to engage in competitive soccer while waiting to return for his scholarship. His engagement is only for the second round of Telekom S-League. We respect his scholarship and would not stand in any way to stop other offers that he may have secured during the world cup to further his career.”
Marahare also talked to Oceania Football Center about the recent signing of his side: “He did not score in the World Cup, so I am sure he is eager to score goals in S-League to prove his quality” he said. Le’ai is one of the most promising islanders players. He was 2018 OFC U16 Championship’s MVP and Top Scorer helping Solomon Islands to qualify for 2019 U17 World Cup.
Raphael Lea’i playing for his nation in U17 FIFA World Cup – FIFA
It is also being reported that Leon Kofana may join Lea’i and play for Henderson Eels in Telekom S-League’s second round but it is not confirmed yet. Oceania Football Center is investigating it to bring the most accurate information for you readers. Kofana is also in New Zealand studying at Scots College and he is the most important defensive player of Solomon Islands U17 National Team.
Leon Kofana playing for Solomon Islands U16 in 2018
It is also important to mention that, in accordance to the FIFA regulations, Lea’i can not play in any overseas based football club until his 18th anniversary – so he is still stuck with only domestic league options while his school football does not resume.
Henderson Eels is currently in the second position in the league just one point behind Solomon Warriors – “The title is the ultimate aim, we prefer to think game by game”, said Marahare. The addition of a very important player may boost their chances in the hunt of the first placed team that currently is Solomon Warriors.
Here we are! The Fédération Française de Football called the AS Venus for the 7th round of the Coupe de France. The game will be done saturday the 16th of November. The AS Venus, which is the current Champion of Ligue Vini 1, will face le Racing Besançon, which is actually 6th in National 3, the fift divion of french fooball. Their current coach is Jean-Marc TRINITA.
The Racing Besançon is the second most important team in France-Compte region, after Sochaux FC. It’s actually the team which holds the record of consecutives seasons in D2: 41 seasons with 1428 matches. The 1st of July 1986 the RCFC (Racing Club Franc-Comtois Besançon) became the actually BRC (Besançon Racing Club). It’s playing in the Léo Legrange stadium. This man needs some words. He was a very important man in french history. He was born in Bourg-sur-Gironde the 28th november 1900 and he grew in scouting associations. Then he took part in the Front Populaire governement (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_Front_(France) with the charge of deputy minister in Sport and leisure. He was a socialist who really belevies in young people and freedom. He died the day the nazists invaded french defending armed his land. So it’s very rimarkable that a stadium it’s entitled to him.
(Léo Legrange when he was Deputy Minister)
But let’s describe our preferred team, The AS Vénus. It’s a very old club, founded in 1945 in Mahina, in Ile du Vent which are of the 5 groups of islands of the Polynesians Islands. The As Vénus is the second most important tahitian club after AS Central Sport. It won 2 Ligue 1 Vini titles and 8 Coupe de Polynésie. It also won 3 times the OFC Champions League and its qualified for the 2020 edition. After 5 rounds of the Ligue 1 Vini, As Venus, it’s a the first position in the championship.
The game will be played at the Stade Pater Te Hono Nui in Pirae, Tahiti. It’s the tahitian national stadium and 15.000 can assist the match. We all really hope that AS Venus can bring home a win and go straight on in the Coupe de France!
Oceania Football Center 