Hekari progress to O-League final

Papua New Guinea’s Hekari United FC are the first team through to the 2010 O-League final after they beat Marist FC 4-1 at Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara on Saturday afternoon to claim top spot in Group B.

The other finalist will be determined tomorrow when Auckland City meet Waitakere United in the Group A decider at Kiwitea Street, with Waitakere needing only a draw to claim top spot while Auckland need the win.

It was the imports who starred for Hekari today with goals coming from Fijian Pita Bolatoga and Solomon Islanders Henry Fa'arodo and Alick Maemae, who claimed two. Qualification for the final comes as just reward for the Papua New Guinea club champions after they finished one point behind 2009 finalists Koloale in Group B last season.

Meanwhile, Marist could only manage a consolation goal in the 78th minute through Commins Menapi and finished bottom of the group with one point from six matches.

In today’s other Group B match, Lautoka picked up three points with a 3-1 win over Tafea in Port Vila but the Fijians had to settle for second spot, just one point behind Hekari.

The first leg of the final will be played on Saturday 17 April with the return leg scheduled for Sunday 2 May.

2010 O-LEAGUE RESULTS [MATCH DAY 6]

Marist FC: 1 (Commins MENAPI 78’)
Hekari United FC*: 4 (Alick MAEMAE 18’, 29’, Henry FA’ARODO 29’, Pita BOLATOGA 39’)
Saturday 27 March
Lawson Tama Stadium
Honiara, Solomon Islands

Tafea FC: 1 (Geoffrey GETE 57’)
Lautoka: 3 (Samuela VULA 35’, Jone VONE 51’, Sailesh SAMY 86’)
Saturday 27 March
Municipal Stadium
Port Vila, Vanuatu

O-League matches rescheduled

The penultimate Match Day 6 of the 2010 O-League this weekend has seen scheduling changes for both Group A and Group B.

The crucial Group A match between defending champions Auckland City and Waitakere United, originally scheduled for Saturday 27 March, will now be played at 3:00pm on Sunday 28 March at Kiwitea Street to accommodate filming of the match on Triangle and Stratos Television.

Both teams are locked on 11 points but Waitakere have the upper hand with a superior goal difference and need only a draw to progress to the home and away final.

In the other Group A match, AS Magenta will host AS Manu Ura on Saturday 27 March as per the original schedule.

In Group B, the Tafea FC vs. Lautoka clash at Municipal Stadium in Port Vila will now be played at 3:00pm on Saturday 27 March instead of Sunday 28 March. OFC confirmed the rescheduling out of respect for the religious values of players, fans and organisers, many of whom have church commitments on Sunday.

Under competition regulations and in the interests of sporting integrity, the O-League fixture in Honiara (Marist FC vs. Hekari United) has also been amended to kick off simultaneously with the match in Vanuatu since the result of each match could determine the overall winner.

Group B is evenly poised with Hekari United, Tafea and Lautoka all in with a chance of advancing. Hekari will guarantee themselves a place in the final if they beat bottom placed Marist on Saturday while Tafea and Lautoka both need to win and hope the Papua New Guineans lose in order to progress.

For O-League schedule and results click here

source: OFC

Menapi Said Marist Will Play Their Game

Solomon Island football star, Commins Menapi said Marist F.C. will play their game with Tafea F.C. tomorrow at the PVM Stadium. Menapi is well known in Solomons and the Oceania for scoring two goals for Solomon Islands against Australia in a 2-2 draw match during the Oceania Nations Cup tournament in 2004. He also played for Youngheart Manawatu F.C., Sydney United , Waitakere and Nelson Suburbs in his football career. Commins Menapi will be someone to watch in this tournament. "Tafea have every chances to take advantage on this match to get to the O-League finals, but will play our game and display what we can do", said Menapi. Meanwhile, Marist Coach made an appeal to every Solomon Island Community living around Port Vila to watch the match between Marist and Tafea at the PVM Stadium tomorrow. Marist F.C. team have already lost to Tafea 2-0 in their last home game in Honiara Solomon Islands. The match is both clubs' second last match for the O-League Group B games.	Commins Menapi
	Personal information
	Full name	Commins Menapi
	Date of birth	September 18, 1977 (1977-09-18) (age 32)
	Place of birth	Solomon Islands
	Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
	Playing position	Striker
	Club information
	Current club	Free agent
	Senior career1
	Years	Club	App (Gls)*
	1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2003 2003 2004-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008	Marist FC Nelson Suburbs Sydney United Marist FC JP Su'uria YoungHeart Manawatu Waitakere United	00 0(0) 00 0(0) 66 (19) 00 0(0) 00 0(0) 21 (12) 39 (21)
	National team2
	2000-	Solomon Islands	33 (26)
	1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 August 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 28 August 2009. * Appearances (Goals)
	Source: Wikipedia

2010 O-League Match Day 3 Highlights

Source: oceaniafootball.com