OFC Thread

Anything going on in Oceania on this transfer deadline day? Any big moves today?

I know a former Morton player that plays in Australia now. His name is Eric Partaluu. I can't remember what team he plays for though. I think it might be the team that won the league and/or cup last year.

http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/8758a933-66f5-4465-bf45-90fe34e7b6fc/language/en-US/Default.aspx



Mont Dore held to draw.

A match between Tahiti's Tefana and Ba Electric of Fiji.

That historic win.

The first time I posted this I most likely should have put it in this section in the first place.
Now that the opening round of qualifying in Oceania is over it is time to look at the next phase. The top two teams from each group will advance. Who will advance?

Group A
Vanuatu
New Caledonia
Samoa
Tahiti

Group B
Fiji
New Zealand
Solomon Islands
Papua New Guinea

Vanuatu and Tahiti and Solomon Islands and New Zealand.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/12/08/throw-rongen-leaves-lasting-legacy-oceania



What a fantastic article.

http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/3f4e6483-d276-49fc-8d5c-9df8c3cf5e48/language/en-US/Default.aspx

http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/69123681-398e-45f5-8026-a8d7b79f1b9b/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Former dynamo Batram Suri tells us about his Coaching Career.

Figured i'd bump this again. The OFC Champions League has started and clubs are starting to buy Foreign players which is good to see.



Goalscorer Sami Issa is Nigerian and the goalkeeper for Solomon Warriors is England's Eddie Newman. Amicale have also been on a French raid. You can read about Eddie Newman's transfer here:

http://www.solomonstarnews.com/sports/national/17432-warriors-england-import-here

http://www.solomonstarnews.com/sports/national/17437-newman-in-for-first-show-today


Some other games



As Dragon of Tahiti play New Caledonia's Mont Dore.



ASB Champions Waitakere Utd face ASB runners up Auckland City. Could Auckland city get their comeuppance?


I plan to update reguarly.

Vanuatu counting on home support

Vanuatu counting on home support

Vanuatu are hosting the much anticipated OFC U-17 Championship 2013 from 17-25 April and the side has plenty of home support they can rely on – including that of the recently elected Prime Minister of Vanuatu Moana Carcasses Kalosil.


Vanuatu U-17 national side meet Prime Minister of Vanuatu Moana
Carcasses Kalosil.
The Prime Minister presented the players with new shirts and the national flag in Port Vila Stadium at the weekend ahead of their flight out to Santo, where the tournament is being held.

“I am proud to be here to present these new football jerseys to you,” Carcasses Kalosil said.

“On behalf of the government and the people of Vanuatu, I take this opportunity to wish you all the best in the competition. It is not going to be easy, but remember that we will support you all through to your last game.”

Vanuatu Football Federation CEO Albert Manaroto said it was an honour to have the country’s prime minister come down and show his support for the young side.

“We want to acknowledge the support of the national government in this initiative. Without the government we would have been unable to host next week’s competition in Santo.”

Read the rest here: http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/16c65c7a-3e26-4076-8df3-f97776e3987a/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Auckland City beat somebody like 10-2 the other day iirc

Chip wrote:Auckland City beat somebody like 10-2 the other day iirc

Yep, they beat AS Mont Dore of New Caledonia 12-2. I'll post that replay and the others later on.

good work Pip!

Chip wrote:good work Pip!

Thank you Chip.

If you love goals then you will love this game. Current champions Auckland City take on AS Mont Dore of New Caledonia who will be looking to get their first points on the board.



If you love goals then you probably won't like this game. Tahit's AS Dragon take on Waitakere Utd. The New Zealand outfit have a poor record against Tahitian clubs away from home. Can Waitakere change their fortunes?



Brendan Critchton's Solomon Warriors look to do battle against Amicale. Can the debutants put a sword through Amicale's hopes of qualifying for the Semi Final?



Ba Electric take on former winners Hekari United; the only non New Zealand nation to win the OFC. Watch out for a terrible miss in this game.

A lot has happened within Oceanian football since the last post. Auckland City won the OFC Champions League and qualified for the Club World Cup. They did battle with Moroccan outfit and AFC winners Raja Casablanca and were unfortunate to lose the tie 2-1. Striker Roy Krishna got the only goal for Auckland, becoming the first ever Fijian player to score in the competition:



It's been a big winter for Krishna, who now plays his trade at Wellington Pheonix in the A-League, becoming only the second (I believe) Fijian to play football professionally.

The preliminary rounds of the OFC Champions League also begun, with four teams taking part. These were Lotoha'apai of Tonga, Tuapapa Maraenga of the Cook Islands, Kiwi of Samoa and Pago Youth of American Samoa, with the winner of the group going on to play at the group stages of the 2014 OFC Champions League. Many thought it would be a two horse race between Lotoha'apai and Tuapapa Maragenga, but the Tongoan outfit were largely disappointing. Tuapapa Maraenga started the campaign brightly by beating Pago Youth 11-1, but it was a defeat to Samoan outfit Kiwi that saw the Cook Islands outfit falter and let Kiwi run away to top the group and qualify for this years tournament, becoming the first Samoan side to do so. Although Pago Youth suffered some heavy defeats, there is a player to look out for in the future. Striker Gun Kang looks to have potential, scoring both their goals in the campaign. He could be a lethal player for American Samoa in the future and the world certainly is his oyster. Here are the three games played by group winners Kiwi:







As an added bonus, here is an interview with Kiwi's Andrew Barron:



The 2014 ASB Premiership is also under way. Auckland currently top the table with 33 points after 14 games played and have thus qualified for the Final. If you want to know more about the ASB Premiership, visit this website: http://www.asbpremiership.co.nz

Samoa shouldn't have a team called Kiwi

it just confuses me

Now Pip is back.

We have the Pip and Chip combo back

The OFC Champions League fixtures. The tournament has expanded its numbers for this edition's competition, with an extra group coming into play. The tournament will be held in Fiji. Churchill Park can be found in Lautoka and is a multi purpose stadium. Fijian outfit Lautoka FC play their home games there. Govind Park is the home stadium of OFC 2013 semi finals Ba Electric. Two good stadiums picked by the OFC here and I feel that this edition will be a tournament to remember!

Group A features AS Pirae of Tahiti, Kiwi FC of Samoa, Solomon Warriors of the Solomon Islands and Waitakere United of New Zealand

Group B features Nadi FC of Fiji, Amicale FC of Vanuatu, AS Dragon of Tahiti (where a certain Steevy Chong Hue plays) and Auckland City of New Zealand


Group C features Ba FC of Fiji, Hekari United of Paua New Guinea, AS Magenta of New Caledonia and Tafea FC of Vanuatu

Fixtures are below. OFC has a partnership with Youtube I believe so some of these games should be streamed. I watched the semi final between Ba and Auckland City live on Youtube last year anyway.

Pip

Pip old chap, I played with a couple lads in the Auckland City team

well they were in it (think they still are)

Chrissssssssss Bale and Sam Burfoot. Played a bit with them for my local club side in the mens division

Chip wrote:Pip old chap, I played with a couple lads in the Auckland City team

well they were in it (think they still are)

Chrissssssssss Bale and Sam Burfoot. Played a bit with them for my local club side in the mens division

Both still play for Auckland City  . 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spotlight: AS Dragon of Tahiti. Labelled as the 'dark horse' of the competition (sorry for bad coding).

[size=10.909090995788574]Back for the new edition with a more experienced group led by stand-out players like Nicolas Vallar, Mikael Roche and Heimano Bourebare, AS Dragon could be the competition’s dark horses.[/size][size=10.909090995788574] [/size]

[size=10.909090995788574]Coach Ludovic Graugnard was a part of Tahiti’s coaching staff as they made OFC Nations Cup history in 2012 by becoming the first Pacific Island team to win the coveted trophy and qualify for the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil in 2013 as Tahiti put up a brave show against Uruguay, Nigeria and Spain. [/size]

[size=10.909090995788574]A clutch of players with AS Dragon affiliation were part of Tahiti’s memorable adventure in Brazil.[/size]

[size=10.909090995788574]Alvin Tehau, Vallar, Tamatoa Wagemann, Teaonui Tehau, Steevy Chong Hue, Henri Caroine, Yannick Vero, Mikael Roche, Samuel Hnanyine, Bourebare and the impressive Jonathan Tehau who scored against Nigeria.[/size]
[size=10.909090995788574]Based on those three performances there is a growing sense that exposure on the world stage can boost AS Dragon’s hopes of making a bigger impact in the OFC Champions League in 2014. [/size]

[size=10.909090995788574]Skippered by defender and former French Ligue 2 player Vallar, AS Dragon possess a leader on and off the pitch who will drive the club on in their search for an improved showing in a group containing host club Nadi, defending champions Auckland City and Vanuatu powerhouses Amicale.[/size]

Read more here: http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/232cc25f-ac56-4364-9810-e2aa7b161a38/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Congratulations to the Auckland City Youth Team! They beat the Nelson Falcons 3-0 to win the ASB Youth League Finals!

Congratulations to Auckland City for beating Team Wellington 1-0 in the finals, thus winning the ASB Premiership.

Roy Krishna scored his first A-League goal last weekend against Melbourne Heart .


Interviews with 2006 finalists AS Pirae and 2010 champions Hekari United below:

Code:

AS Pirae will be the other Tahiti representative in this year’s edition of the OFC Champions League eight years after their first and only final.

The club is determined to make maximum impact on the tournament with the desire to go one step further than 2006’s runners-up finish.

To gain the upper hand AS Pirae have signed nine players involved in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Tahiti last year. 

The additional international experience, albeit gained on the sands of Papeete, will be valuable where big match pressure and high expectations are now second nature. 

Two of those players – Raimoana and Naea Bennett – have previous experience of the OFC Champions League to call on.

The jewel in the AS Pirae crown is the signing of 2005 OFC Player of the Year and former professional Marama Vahirua.

Vahirua enjoyed a storied club career in France and Greece and made his international debut for Tahiti at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil last year. 

An attacking and creative force able to prise open the most stubborn defences, Vahirua is also expected to have a big input in the recruitment and tactical the club hopes to take in Fiji in April.

As AS Pirae look to the future, they have a past that promised much but was all too fleeting.

In 2005, as one of two host-clubs that also included AS Manu Ura, ‘Oranges’ reached the semi-finals after finishing three points a one loss behind future winners and Hyundai A-League club Sydney FC in the group stage.

Their stand-out performance was a 1-0 win over New Zealand’s Auckland City FC thanks to a Raimoana Bennett goal.

Thrashing Sobou guaranteed passage to the semi-final but the journey ended there at the hands of New Caledonian rivals AS Magenta. 

AS Pirae, dejected at the comprehensive manner of their exit, lost the third placed match 3-1 to Tafea FC.

That first tournament and vowing to learn from their experiences quickly meant a fresh approach to the OFC Club Championships in New Zealand with much different objectives.

The club brought in Samoa international striker Desmond Fa'aiuaso and New Caledonian midfield maestro Jose Hmae.

Wins over Marist of the Solomon Islands and Sobou of Papua New Guinea meant a second successive semi-final despite a 1-0 defeat to Auckland City FC.

Two quick goals in their last four showdown with tournament debutants YoungHeart Manawatu handed ‘Oranges’ a 2-1 victory and propelled the side to its first ever final.

Losing Naea Bennett – who bagged five goals in the previous four matches – due to his religious belief of not playing on a Sunday stripped AS Pirae of its most influential figure for the final at North Harbour Stadium with Auckland City FC.

The responsibility of getting AS Pirae over the line as tournament winners fell to Jose Hmae who struggled in the non-stop rain and heavy pitch to reach his usual high standards.

The Tahitian dream foundered after a hat-trick from former South Africa international, the late Keryn Jordan. 

Desmond Fa'aiuaso scored a late consolation for AS Pirae but it was not enough as Auckland City FC secured their first ever OFC club title, the first of five championships.

AS Pirae never quite recovered their domestic dominance and their absence from the OFC Champions League of eight years belies their abilities during what shaped as a golden age for the club.

This time AS Pirae open their tournament against Solomon Islands champions Solomon Warriors on April 9.

The Tahitians re-establish their Samoan-connection when they clash with OFC Champions League Preliminary winners Kiwi FC on April 12.

Their final group match on April 15 is sure to capture the imagination when they tackle last year’s runners-up Waitakere United, their first encounter with Kiwi opposition since that rain-soaked night at North Harbour Stadium in 2006. 

Vahirua  . I wouldn't be surprised if one of the Tahiti teams make it to the final this year.

Code:

Hekari United team manageress Vonnie Kapi Natto said the team had been training well for the past few months and build up for the OFC Championships League is good but the side needs to step up their preparations.

Kapi Natto says she is confident that Hekari's overseas contingent will blend well with local players for the OFC Championships League.

"It will be a big homework assignment for Hekari coach Jerry Allen but we are going there to play and treat all the matches in our group as finals," Kapi Natto says.

"We are not underestimating anyone but have to work hard to beat them.

"So far so good. The boys are in good shape as we focus on our first assignment next month."

Fijian wonder boy, Tuimasi Manuca has returned to bolster Hekari United's 2014 campaign. 

No stranger to the Champions League or Hekari, Manuca was part of Hekari United's 2010 campaign to the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi. 

The Ba striker teamed up with compatriot Taniela Waqa and Pita Bolatoga with another overseas talent Brian Kaltak.

Other overseas players also in the team are Nicholas Muri, Tutizama Tanito from Solomon Island and Jean Kaltack from Vanuatu.

Hekari has retained all its players from last year which include David Muta, Raymond Gunemba, Nigel Dabinyaba, Daniel Joe, Koriak Upaiga, Joachim Waroi, Kema Jack and Leslie Kalai.

Kapi Natto is confident the side has done the hard yards that will put them in a good position to challenge for a semi-final spot.

Hekari United have some good, young Oceanian talent in their ranks. Also a manageress   . I'm intrigued to see how this pans out!








(my messages were fucked up on Pippo, so had to create a new account)

Do you think anyone will buy that lie? Who are you and why would you do this?