OFC Article, schedule will be posted when available. Solomon Warriors are close to claiming Solomon Islands only slot, they lead the S-League by 13 points with 5 games remaining (2nd placed Kossa FC have a game in hand though) NOTE: I cant find the club badge for Veitongo FC, so used the crest of the Tonga FA
Interesting that Hekari entered as PNG2 while they were eliminated in league semis - semifinal winners (finalists) qualify to OCL. Good thing they brand it as 2016 OCL, no 2015-16. Also, I like that Preliminary round and main tournament are now only two and a half months away instead of six months like in previous two editions.
PRK Hekari United are actually entered as PNG1 (Pot 2) as champions of the leagues' first stage (cf A-League - regular season champions enter ACL as AUS1, whilst grand finalists are AUS2)
I would have thought 2 groups of 4 on home and away basis (providing revenue through gate receipts etc.) would have been better. I know travel expenses would be difficult and attendances would not be high but semi pro teams should be able to get 3k+ for games (Most of the 2 leg finals get more than that for example). The bottom ranked teams would have regionalised preliminary round to qualify.
Preliminary round kicked-eoff today. Home side Tupapa beat Veitongo 7-0 while Kiwi defeated Utuley Youth 6-2. Next matchday is in two days, Tupapa plays Kiwi, winner secures group stage berth.
Kiwi defeated Tupapa 2-1 and secured group stage berth (math still works for both Tupapa and Utulei who defeated Veitongo, but miracle has to happen: eliminated Veitongo must defeat Kiwi and other game must not end in a draw). Solomon Warriors secured Solomon Islands' berth and will join Auckland City, Amicale and PNG champs Lae City in group A. Kiwi will play in group C with Nadi, Magenta and Tefana.
As expected, Kiwi trashed Veitongo 7-1 and rounded up their performance to 3 wins. Tupapa defeated Utulei 9-1. Now, CL halts till mid April when Auckland hosts the final tournament. We already had this in past but it obviously didn't worked so it was reorganized. Shame for that, it was exciting to follow the competition through 5-6 months. They should've tried with straight knock-out home/away tournament to see what would happen then.
http://www.fifa.com/world-match-centre/ofcchampionsleague/news/newsid/276/320/1/index.html is titled "Samoa’s Kiwi complete Oceania line-up."
http://www.fifa.com/live-scores/ofcchampionsleague/news/newsid/278/016/5/index.html is titled "Oceanian dozen set for Champions League charge."
Fox Sports has an article on the wild and woolly OFC match between Nadi FA (Fiji) and Kiwi FC (Samoa). Six red cards. Four of them were the results of fights; both times, both combatants were sent off. Center ref George Time of the Solomon Islands was not putting up with their shit. Both double reds were stupid. If someone comes at you swinging their fists, you have to have the mindset not to swing back. This isn't hockey. But the fifth red, go to 2:42 on the above video, was really stupid. Clear flop, potential Fallon D'Floor candidate.
So, today we enter the last round of group stage. In group C Magenta needs a point to progress to semis. Tefana will trash Kiwi and then they wait to see other outcomes. Only theory works for Nadi - huge win against Magenta and fail by Tefana. In group B, day later, Hekari plays Team Wellington. Both team progress with a draw. If one of the teams win In group A Auckland faces Amicale for the third season in a row in final group stage game. This time, just like last season, Amicale needs to win to progress - else - they are eliminated. In the semis group A winner faces best runner-up and group B and group C winner face-off in the other game. I expect this: Auckland - Team Wellington Hekari - Magenta
Magenta of New Caledonia is the first semifinalist. Tefana finished in style, 7-0 vs Kiwi, and awaits other results. They will qualify to the semis if Hekari - Team Wellington doesn't end in a draw. There is a possibility to see semis without New Zealand teams - it happens if Hekari and Amicale win their matches against Wellington and Auckland respectively.
Team Wellington trashed Hekari 4-0 and qualified to the semis. They will face Magenta. Hekari is out. Amicale have been awarded 3-0 win against Solomon Warriors as they fielded an ineligible player. This means they need only a draw to qualify to the semis along with Auckland City. If it doesn't end in a draw, winner qualifies and faces Tefana (best second-placed team). If it does, we'll be seeing another Auckland (best second-placed team) - Amicale game in four days.
Auckland City defeated Amicale 3-1 and qualified to the semis. Amicale took the lead in first half but Auckland scored three times in last 20 minutes and sent Amicale home with two goals being scored in stoppage time. Shame for Amicale, knocked-out that way. Semifinal 20 April Auckland City - Tefana Team Wellington - Magenta Final 23 April
Expected final teams from New Zealand. I hope that this time will win Team Wellington. Oakland's time to take a break. Other teams also want to participate in the Club World Cup.