Oceania Football Center

Telekom S-League second round begins this weekend!

Half of the season is past and now S-League is coming to its end. The transfer window is open and all teams are looking for new players to strengthen their squads. This gameweek also marks the return of U17 National Team players that came back home this week after playing World Cup in Brazil but they probably will not play this weekend because they need some rest after a long trip way back home.

Let’s check the weekend matches!

MARIST vs SOLOMON WARRIORS

Marist ended the first round of the league in the fifth position and it may be disappointing for their supporters. They now have a very difficult match against Solomon Warriors and the expectations are really high among the current leader’s players. “Win” – that was the answer of John Alick when asked about Warriors’ expectations for this match. Solomon Warriors has a very strong side and they really need to win and win if they really want to end the season as the league champions but they are also aware that Marist can be a hard challenge for them – “Second round starts this weekend, it is a must win for us against Marist to remain on top of the table. But it is not easy to beat them. So this week we really worked hard for this match […] All teams work hard to keep Warriors from not to score. So it is not easy to beat them. We must work really hard to beat them.” said Gibson Daudau.

Jerry Donga (in red) playing against Kossa

MALAITA KINGZ vs REAL KAKAMORA

Malaita Kingz made one of the biggest deals of this transfer window when they announced Nigel Dabinyaba as their new player. Dabinyaba is one of the best players from Papua New Guinea and he will play with his countrymen Emmanuel Simon and Michael Foster. Real Kakamora lost all their seven matches so far in the league and they probably will not win against Kingz.

GUADALCANAL vs LAUGU UNITED

Laugu United is back to the top of Solomon Islands’ football after some years in absence. They had a competent first round winning three of their eight matches to be the sixth placed team in the table. Laugu signed many players for the league’s continuity. Guadalcanal won only one match in the first round and they need to add some quality to the squad if they want to be a competitive side in the S-League. Despite the difference of level between both teams, Laugu United topscorer Atkin Kaua advised “We are not going to take this game lightly. We have some new inclusions in our current squad and our preparation for this match is fine. We aim three points from this match.“

Laugu United (in black) players celebrating a goal

KOSSA vs HENDERSON EELS

Henderson Eels is another team that comes stronger for the second round with some players coming back from U17 World Cup and some great players joining the club like Raphael Lea’i and Leon Kofana that are on vacation from school. Anyway these young players that defended Solomon Islands in the World Cup are not supposed to face Kossa initially – “We are not training yet, we are having a little rest […] We start training next week” said right back Derick Taebo. They will face a good Kossa FC that had many players involved in the U17 World Cup. Despite the good opponent, Henderson Eels’ players know this match is very important and they need to win if they want to keep up with Solomon Warriors on the top of the table – “We believe in each player that we can do it this weekend” said Patrick Taroga but they are prepared for this weekend’s challenge “I am confident of a positive result tomorrow. While the title is the ultimate aim, we prefer to think game by game“. said Eels’ coach Eddie Marahare. Kossa played only six matches so far because they had some matches postponed due to U17 World Cup so they will have the opportunity to take the third position with some distance to the fourth and fifth placed teams if they win the catch-up games.

Henderson Eels (in green) playing against Isabel United

Oceania Football center wishes good luck to all teams!

Clash of titans shakes Port Vila Premier League weekend

Port Vila Premier League is arriving to its fifth gameweek and there will be some important matches this weekend, including a huge clash of titans between Tafea and Galaxy. Scroll down and read Oceania Football Center’s preview for this round!

MAUWIA vs ERAKOR GOLDEN STAR

Erakor Golden Star comes to this game with high expectations after drawing against title contenders Galaxy and Tafea while Mauwia must bitter another loss to remain on the bottom of the table with zero points. That is a good opportunity for Erakor to boost their goal debit to fight for the league’s title. Despite the favouritism, Erakor’s coach Kalo Noel Benjamin is aware of the importance of respecting the opponent: “Our current team is young. Our aim is helping them into real games and progress. The lads improved a lot in the past few games. We always treat every game as a final. Mauwia is a football team and we are prepared as always” he stated.

Erakor Golden Star starting eleven against Tafea

IFIRA BLACK BIRD vs TUPUJI IMERE

After conquering their first win of the season Tupuji Imere may finally find the right path to fight for the first positions and now they have a tough challenge against unbeaten Ifira Black Bird on Saturday. Ifira has the possibility to take the lead of the championship after this weekend if they win so they also need to cheer for a Tafea loss or draw against Galaxy and winning the league is a goal for them “We want to qualify the for Oceania Champions League […] Tupuji is not an easy opponent. We know they want to win and we are prepared to face them” said Ifira BB player Jonathan Spokeyjack.

SIA-RAGA vs YATEL

Sia-Raga contradicted the predictions after beating Galaxy by 1-0 last weekend showing that they can be a very competitive team and fight for something this season – “Confidence, strength, pride and joy are the feelings that grew out inside each and everyone of us after beating Galaxy. This win gave us power, raised our morale!” said Sia-Raga player George Wassington . They now have an important match against Yatel that is also trying to prove themselves as a competitive side in this championship. Sia-Raga staff is happy because they won Galaxy but they also know the championship goes on and they need to be focused on every game “The win against Galaxy FC last weekend was not an accident and it was big step forward for us in this league. The boys trained really hard defensively to face them. We carried out the training necessary to play a well organised and experienced Galaxy side. We are not only wanting to win games, but we train hard and change the table tally in a big way. We respect Galaxy FC as they are preparing towards the 2020 Oceania Champions League matches that are coming up so we wanted to give a good challenge to them. The preparation for this weekend’s game was good as Sia-Raga FC will be looking forward to face Yatel FC. We will play the game for 90 minutes, we don’t underestimate any team as they are also fighting strong for points. Despite having majority of students in the team which are sitting their exams through out last week and this week, we believe in all our boys to carry out duty as trained for.” said Vaagahu Harper, Sia-Raga assistant coach. Will Sia-Raga keep the good moment and beat Yatel? Can Yatel finally win their first match in the league?

TAFEA vs GALAXY

The weekend ends with an enormous clash between Tafea and Galaxy. Tafea is the current leader with ten points in four matches while Galaxy did not win their last two matches (drew against Erakor and lost to Sia-Raga). Galaxy really needs to recover the table and they know the importance of having a good result against Tafea – “We are working hard to improve and correct our mistakes […] We did not manage to score against Sia-Raga” – said brazilian player Gabriel. Kensi Tangis, current leader topscorer with eight goals in four matches got injured last weekend and he may not play. This match is also important for Ifira Black Bird because they have the possibility of taking the league’s lead. Tafea’s manager Robert Calvo also knows the importance of this match for them and pointed: “Every team plays to win. But the priority will be not losing this game to keep the little margin to Galaxy we have on the table. As we know, Galaxy is the favourite to win the league but the matches between Tafea, Erakor, Ifira, Tupuji and Galaxy will determine Premier League’s outcome because all these team are at a similar level this season”.

Oceania Football Center wishes good luck to all teams!

Solomon Islands 0-8 Mexico: a performance analysis

Solomon Islands played its last match in U17 World Cup against Mexico. Despite the 8-0 loss there are still some positive things to be said about this game. Oceania Football Center brings another performance analysis just like we did after the match against Paraguay.

As we said in the last performance analysis article, Solomon Islands had three big problems in the first two matches:
1- Through ball behind the full backs;
2- Crossing situations when players look at the ball and forget to look at the opponents;
3- Insisting on short passes in the defense

Solomon Islands really improved at these three issues to face Paraguay, specially in the first half. Derrick Taebo and Stanford Fakasori did a good job defending the Mexican wingers and they did not find too much space to play behind the full backs but they still managed to scored in these situations. Geseni and Ropa also did a competent job helping the full backs defensively.

The first goal of Mexico came from a long pass to the winger behind Taebo’s back:

Long ball behind Taebo led Mexico to score their first goal

And then he mastered the ball and crossed to Efraín Alvarez who was completely free between Solomon Islands’ defensive lines. Look at the huge space between the defenders and midfielders:

Too much space between the lines and Mexico scored

There were also some problems in the defensive line with through balls between the centre back and the full back and it can be clearly seen in the third goal:

Mexican player received the ball between Solomon Islands defenders

Defensive players also came up to this match more aware of the crossing problems they faced in the other matches so they really had a better performance defending Mexican crosses. But it was not enough to avoid the Mexican goals as you can check it below:

In Mexico sixth goal, the offensive player crosses and no one marks the Mexican player. Goalkeeper Davidson Malam tried to run and avoid the header but he missed the timing and ended failing.

The seventh goal also came from a marking failure in a crossing situation. Mexican forward was free to head the ball but he did not score. The goal happened after a 6-yard box scramble where Solomon Islands’ players did not manage to kick the ball forward.

The U17 still insisted on passsing the ball in the defense field but they were not afraid to kick the ball forward when necessary to avoid bigger problems. Javin Wae and Richie Kwaimamani really helped the team in the midfield so they could have a little more control of the ball but wrong passes in defense were a problem again.

A good example comes from Mexican second goal: After a wrong pass and a terrible defensive mistake, Solomon Islands defender fouled Mexican player. In the free kick the ball was shot directly to the goal and goalkeeper Davidson Malam could not hold it (but he should have caught the ball). His mistake culminated in the second Mexican goal.

The biggest problem against Mexico was the lack of physical preparation. Solomon Islands players were not fit enough to play 90 minutes so they got tired before their opponents. This tiredness led them to make some terrible individual mistakes in the second half, allowing Mexico to score as you can check in the eighth goal. Leon Kofana lost the ball to the opponent and then the Mexican player scored after dribbling the goalkeeper.

Kofana can not control the well the ball

And then he dribbles the goalkeeper to score

Despite the mistakes and the space between the lines, it was their best match offensively. Richie Kwaimamani, Geseni, Lea’i, Ropa and Limoki had the opportunity to run with the ball through Mexican defense and make some shots. The biggest opportunity came in the final minutes with a Leon Kofana shot defended by the Mexican goalkeeper.

They are very young players and they will surely improve. It was also a big experience for coaching staff and they need to be more aware of these situations. Anyway the biggest issue came from physical preparation. SIFF should care more about this if they want to have better results at world level. They should learn from Solomon Islands National Futsal Team that has a great physical preparation.

Benny Hungai: the international farewell of a legend

Vanuatu finished the OFC Futsal Nations Cup in the 6th place. This may not be a result to be celebrated but this tournament will be always remembered with some good memories by the fans: it was the last international competition played by Benny Hungai.

Hungai is greatest ni-van futsal player of all time. He is also the player with most caps (35 official matches) and the all time topscorer of Vanuatu National Futsal Team with 22 official goals scored in eleven years defending the Gideons. The team’s captain ends his brilliant career at international level with no regrets.

Hungai (number 5) with the Vanuatu’s squad for 2019 OFC Futsal Nations Cup

Despite his retirement from National Team, he keeps on playing at club level for Huka Futsal Club. He has been playing futsal for almost twenty years. He first played for Era United Futsal Club back in 2002 and he was always involved with futsal or football since then.

With so many experience in futsal, Hungai told Oceania Football Center that the level of futsal in Oceania is increasing year by year. The first edition of OFC Futsal Champions League is expected to be held in New Zealand in December. When asked about Vanuatu Futsal League in comparison to other national leagues in Oceania he stated “The leagues in New Zealand, Tahiti and Solomon Islands are more competitive than Vanuatu’s. Court facilities are the main cause for this lack of competitiveness”. Hungai’s club Huka FC was the Vanuatu National Futsal Super League runner-up so the Vanuatu’s spot in OFC Futsal Champions League will be filled by D’York Street – the National League winners.

Most of futsal teams in Vanuatu train in grass fields because there is no futsal courts available for training. The difference of the floor obviously makes a big difference in the style of a futsal match and it harms the game’s quality. It is a clear obstacle for the sports’ development in the country “we need more futsal courts, more competition, more regional exposure”, said Hungai.

He retires from Vanuatu National Futsal Team but he leaves a huge legacy for the next generations in his country. Hungai will never be forgotten by ni-van people. He is a true legend of Oceanian Futsal!

Dead end for Oceania in U17 World Cup

New Zealand is eliminated in the 2019 U17 World Cup. They were the fifth best third placed team in the World Cup but only the top four third placed teams qualified for Round of 16, so New Zealand ended its participation in the championship in the 17th position.

New Zealanders celebrating a goal in 2019 U17 World Cup

They could have done more to qualify for the next stage. The lost against Angola in the debut match was the most disappointing game because they had opportunities to at least take a point from the African side. Losing to Brazil was something perfectly expected even facing a 10-player brazilian team.

Solomon Islands lost all their three matches but they are still doing their first steps through the top level of football.

Thanks for both team for representing Oceania in the world level.

Solomon Islands and football: the first steps are made

Solomon Islands ended their participation in FIFA U17 World Cup with a 8-0 loss to Mexico. Despite the heavy loss there are positive things to be pointed specially in the first half.

The biggest defensive problems remained, but it was clear that they were trying to make their best during the whole game. Left Back Stanford Fakasori had the mission to stop Gustavo Armas and he did a great job in the first half. Taebo also played a nice game in the right back.

Solomon Islands players before going to the pitch

Solomon Islands also tried to play with the ball. They tried to set some passing game specially with Javin Alick and Richie Kwaimamani. Raphael Lea’i, Philip Ropa and Barrie Limoki had more opportunities to touch the ball and Solomon Islands were able to create some interesting offensive movements. There must also be highlighted the pression that they tried to impose to Mexico defenders and midfielders.

The biggest problems were clearly the physical lack and the individual mistakes that led Solomon Islands to this heavy loss. On the other hand, this might have been their best offensive match so far, with a clear goal opportunity from a Leon Kofana’s shot at the end of second half that made the whole crowd scream in the Kleber Andrade Stadium.

Raphael Lea’i had some interesting offensive moves against Mexico

That is the first time ever Solomon Islands appearenced in 11-a-side FIFA World Cup. There are lots of things to be learnt from this tournament and they will surely become more competent players because of this experience. The Young Bonitos made their small country in Oceania become worldwide known and this should be enough to make Solomon Islands’ population proud.

Eels and Warriors thrash their opponents

This weekend was a catch-up round in 2019 Telekom S-League with only two matches played in Lawson Tama Stadium. Oceania Football Center brings to you a review of what happened in these two games.

SOLOMON WARRIORS 8-0 GUADALCANAL

After beating Real Kakamora in the last weekend, Guadalcanal came back to reality with a big loss against Solomon Warriors to remain in the 8th position. Warriors remains unbeaten on top with 22 points in eight matches.

Solomon Warriors keeps pounding their opponents

LAUGU UNITED 0-7 HENDERSON EELS

Another harsh week for Laugu United. After a 5-0 loss against Solomon Warriors last weekend they now lost by seven. Henderson Eels keeps on following Warriors in the title race being just one point behind them.

Henderson Eels won another match and remains closer to Solomon Warriors

The match between Real Kakamora amd Kossa was postponed because Kossa has many players and their head coach currently involved in Solomon Islands National Teams. The other match of this round was Marist 2-4 Isabel United that was played three weeks ago.

You can check the standings and top goalscorers by clicking here

Hienghène draws and title battle goes for last round in New Caledonia

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Hienghène Sport just needed one more win to seal the Mobil Super Ligue – the top tier of football in New Caledonia – title. The current OFC Champions League winners faced Tiga Sport in the Stade Numa Daly. Despite having lots of good goalscoring opportunities, the team from the north of New Caledonia could not score the decisive goal to give them the title.

Playing without their central midfielder Cédric Sansot that was sent off against AS Magenta in the previous matchweek, Hienghène suffered to create opportunities to score in the first half, but in the final part of the game many chances were wasted: the New Caledonian international Joseph Athalé had a fantastic chance but could not find the target in the injury time of the second half.

Image result for HIenghÃ¨ne Sport — Hienghène Sport could not register their so needed win this weekend – *OFC Media*

With their 0-0 draw against Tiga, AS Magenta could keep in the run of the league title. Hienghène was looking to complete the treble after the continental glory and winning the Coupe de Calédonie, despite not guarenteeing the Mobil Super Ligue title in their match against Tiga Sports, Hyehen still just need a win against Horizon Patho away from home to confirm their new trophy in the next round.

AS Magenta needed a win against AS Wetr in their match to keep in the contention: the goals of Shene Wélépane and Leon Wahnawe gave Magenta a 2-0 lead. The game seemed very calm for the title holders of Mobil Super Ligue, but in the final minutes Eugene Sakilia scored for Wetr to give them a hope to equalize the match – what if happened would give the title Magenta rivals Hienghène Sport. Despite the final pressure of Wetr, Magenta could manage to hold their narrow lead and end the game with the 2-1 win.

Image result for AS Magenta New cAledonia — Magenta kept their hopes alive in Mobil Super Ligue – *Football in Oceania*

Magenta plays in the next round away from home against Trio Keidegne – the club from Nouméa needs to win their match and hope that Hienghène Sport does not earn all points against Horizon Patho in the other game.

Both sides have battled the whole season – Magenta just won one of the four matches played against Hienghène and the club-based in Hienghène won the rest three of the encounters. The title of Mobil Super Ligue would be a great ending of the season for Magenta that failled at Coupe de Calédonie and OFC Champions League, while for Hienghène it would sound as a big frustration to finish second for a league they topped the whole season.

The results and the current standings of Mobil Super Ligue – *MSL Media*

In the other three matches of the round, Trio Kedeigne and ES Wacaele suffered dissapointing defeats in their fight against relegation to AS Lössi and SC Ne Drehu, respectively. Ne Drehu took the AS Wetr place in the table and now sits in the 3rd place of the Mobil Super Ligue. AS Mont-Dore could grab an important win for their fans to get the 4th place in the standings after beating Horizon Patho at home by the 4-3 scoreline.

A very entertaining matchweek kicks-off ISPS Handa Premiership

ISPS Handa Premiership is back! The top tier of New Zealand football had its first matches played this weekend. Oceania Football Center brings to you a review of what happened in these five clashes!

WAITAKERE UNITED 3-1 WELLINGTON PHOENIX RESERVES

After a disappointing 2018-19 season, Waitakere United comes with a promising squad for this ISPS Handa Premiership. The two times OFC Champions League winner tries to revive the good moments they lived in the last decade and they began the season beating Wellington Phoenix Reserves by 3-1 at Fred Taylor Park. Sam Sutton opened the scoreboard for Nix Reserves at the third minute with a free-kick goal. Waitakere United turned the game in the late first half with Dane Schnell (played U20 World Cup thise season for New Zealand) and Lachie McIsaac scoring one goal each. Jake Porter scored the last goal of the match in the late second half. Nix Reserves had eight absent players for this match because they are in Brazil playing U17 World Cup for New Zealand. On the other hand they counted on two Wellington Phoenix main team players: Callan Elliot (played U20 World Cup for New Zealand this year) and Liam McGing.

Dane Schnell playing for New Zealand U20 National Football Team

SOUTHERN UNITED 4-0 TASMAN UNITED

Southern United comes up with a stronger team this season. Joel Stevens returned to his former club and scored a brace for Southern United. Irish defender Stephen Last also scored but he scored the first goal of the match, not the last one. The last goal was netted by Garbhan Coughlan. Tasman United reinforced their attack for this season with Jama Boss and Jean-Philippe Sako but they did not manage to score in this opening round.

Stephen Last with the ball against Tasman United

HAWKE’S BAY UNITED 2-3 AUCKLAND CITY

Hawke’s Bay United came back to this season with a strong side in comparison to last season. They signed many players from Napier City Rovers that won the last edition of Chatham Cup. Gavin Hoy (former Napier City Rovers) and Jack Parker scored but it was not enough to beat Auckland City. OFC Olympic Qualifier Golden Boot Myer Bevan scored a hat-trick in his first official match after his return to Auckland.

Myer Bevan scored a hat-trick for Auckland City. Source: Photosport

TEAM WELLINGTON 5-1 HAMILTON WANDERERS

Team Wellington smashed Hamilton Wanderers in their season’s debut. Hamish Watson scored a brace in his return to TeeDubs after a spell in Melbourne Knights in Australia Regional Leagues. The other goals were scored by Angus Kilkolly, Andrew Bevin and former Waitakere United Ollie Bassett. Wadenders goal was netted by Derek Tiaku with a long range shot in the first half. The large win was a big surprise because it was expected to be a close match.

Hamish Watson scored a brace for Team Wellington against Hamilton Wanderers

EASTERN SUBURBS 1-0 CANTERBURY UNITED

Eastern Suburbs had its squad dismantled after winning 2018-19 ISPS Handa Premiership but they still managed to win in their season debut against Canterbury United. The only goal of the match was scored by Jake Mechell, a 20 years old forward who last played for Waitakere United. This game marked the return of Canterbury United’s idol Aaron Clapham.

Eastern Suburbs players celebrating their goal against Canterbury United. Source: Photosport

See the league standings, results and top scorers by clicking here

Two exhibition matches for Tahiti to train for the Beach Soccer World Cup

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The Tiki Toka have played 2 exhibitions matches in this week againt the US. They have played to prepare the next Beach Soccer World Cup that its been take in Paraguay the next 21st of november.

FIRST MATCH: TAHITI – USA 5-4

In the first match, which was played at the Parc Aorai tini Hau, the tahitian team won the game 5-4 in the additional time. It was the US that scored first, at second minute, with its captain Nick Perera. At the 8th minute he also scored his second goal. And at the 10th minute US scored its third goal of this first half, with Lucas Roque. Few minutes later this first half finished with this astonishing partial result: US vs Tahiti 3-0.

But remember that these are exhibitions matches, so the Tiki Toa used them to try different solutions on the sand pitch.

In the second half Heimanu Taiarui, Tahiti captain, sounded the charge for his team and scored from the center field. Then Ariihau Teriitau reduced the distances between the 2 teams with his head on a corner kick then with Raimana Li Fung Kuee he took the draw.

But Lucas Roche scored his second goal and he put his team again at the top of the match. Tahitian players tried many times to score and made a very tough forcing to make it so when the end was approaching they gained the drae again with Taiarui. The score was a draw at the end of the regulare time and the 2 team started another additional half time of 3 minutes. Heiarii Tavanae setted on fire the crowd of the Aorai Tini Hau Arena scoring the winning goal. Heimanu Taiarui, talked with the press after the match: «The most important in this game it’s the mentality. You can go down 3-0 but it’s never over because you can score 3 goals in a minute. This is beach soccer.» continued Taiarui. «We had a bit of pression, it’s normal. This was our first match with all the players. This is a new team, with a a lot of young people, and i’m very proud how we win this game.»

SECOND MATCH: TAHITI – USA 5-2

The second match was taken off on Fryday the 1st at Parc Aorai Tini Hau à 16h. This was the last exhibition match for the Tiki Toa before they go to the Beach Soccer World Cup. This time the Tiki Toa won 5-2. The first half tiem tiers was played well by both teams and the US scored first with Alessandro Canale. Ariihau Teriitau scored for Tahiti a the 10th minute. In the second half time Tahiti finally began to impose their game style on the US. The americans only scored a goal to answer the tahitians who scored 2 goals with Heimanu Taiarui and 1 with Heiarii Tavanae. The last goal was scored on the third half timeby Heirauarii Salem on 32nd minute. The Tiki Toa are now ready to partecipate to the World Cup and we hope that they can at least reapeat the second place they bringed home in the last world cup they partecipate in 2017.