2012 OFC Nations Cup Solomon Islands

Comments and updates from the 2012 OFC Nations Cup in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

Thursday 31 May, 2012

Arrived in Honiara late afternoon following a delayed departure from Brisbane only to be greeted by cloud cover and evidence of a downpour. The temperature is around 28 degrees celsius and the wet weather is making that warmth tolerable for now. Whizzed past Lawson Tama Stadium to inspect the ground and preparations are still ongoing ahead of tomorrow's kick-off in Group A. Met with Miles Davis and the OFC TV production team and there is a lot of excitement about the place in what is an exciting project for the unit and the confederation as a whole. Shot some preview footage with Miles, the big man getting about Honiara with the All Whites, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and many others - hopefully this will be uploaded to the FTP server and picked up the networks that are chasing it all.

A quick analysis of the squad lists show one or two teams slightly short on their usual line-ups, most notably Samoa, who appear to have had a player revolt, Tahiti who have lost Sebastien Labeyen to work commitments and of course the All Whites who will do without Ryan Nelsen and Winston Reid.

Vanuatu have a good blend of youth and experience with a clutch of U-23 internationals drafted in to support the old guard represented by Fedy Vava, Francois Sakama and Jean Nako Naprapol. New Caledonia have won back to back South Pacific Games football gold medals but appear to be a team in transition. Pierre Wajoka has been forced out despite a late attempt to get fit for the tournament. New coach Alain Moizan - a former French international - took a hard line with the 30-something midfielder and left him out. Samoa make up the group but have lost just under half of the squad that won through from the preliminary tournament held last November. This could be a damage limitation exercise. 

New Zealand have pulled in three new faces in Ian Hogg, Adam McGeorge and Tim Myers, who may be relatively new to the international scene but have a wealth of O-League experience.

Fiji have a solid look about them but they've failed to click so often in the past you can't help wonder if they'll fail to rise to the occasion. Roy Krishna looks past his injury woes and with Maciu Dunadamu fit, Taniela Waqa back and the towering Osea Vakatalesau hopefully in the right frame of mind, perhaps this is their year?

Papua New Guinea are led by Frank Farina who really is the ace-in-the-hole for the Kumuls. The attacking verve has been accompanied by loose and calamitous defending in the past and that is where those habits look like staying. David Muta is the dangerman, while Raymond Gunemba and Kema Jack both know their way to goal. Its functionality over flair for Farina's team.

Solomon Islands have left out the gifted but troublesome Alick Maemae, so much of the creative spark is going to have to come from Henry Fa'arodo and Benji Totori, the two players in the Bonita squad with professional football experience. Joe Luwi and James Naka provide more 'x' factor, but whether or not the home side's defence can remain intact is up for debate. Laurent Papillon of France is providing technical advice to coach Jacob Moli and if that blend can mix, a potent display on home turf could be possible.

Weather forecast is for more rain which is the last thing a flat, well-groomed, Lawson Tama surface needs. There are few alternatives in the event of a tropical downpour. 

I'm Gordon Glen Watson and I'm happy to bring you news from Honiara as well as receive your emails. If you'd like to ask a question about the 2012 OFC Nations Cup Solomon Islands, or have a comment to make, get in touch at the address below.

Cheers,

Gordon Glen Watson
gordonglenwatson@hotmail.com 

The teams which will be at the semi-finals and the OFC Third Round will be:

New Zealand

Solomon Islands

Vanuatu

Samoa

I know the groups were seeded based on the FIFA ranking but man group A (NZ, Solomons, Fiji, PNG) looks way tougher than group B (Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Samoa, Tahiti). 

Stuff has an article saying the AWs are at full strength, while at the same time mentioning that our captain and newly crowned player of the year are both out. (http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/7025422/All-Whites-sights-on-Brazil-via-Honiara)

Games today are:

1pm: Samoa vs Tahiti

4pm: Vanuatu vs New Caledonia

Going to be good to be able to talk about football rather than the broadcasting rights for once.

Odds for todays games:

Option 844 | Head to Head

Option 845 | Head to Head

Samoa? That is one brave, brave prediction.

Booked my $20 viewing pass, was receipt no 700 something, hope they get a few more !!

1 Million on Tahiti to make 10 grand....  sounds a worthwhile bet to me 

Got mine, probably wont catch all of the games but happy to support OFC with getting the games out there. I hope they do well and can get more games up

Just bought the full TV package.  Hope work don't stress about bandwidth use.

I suppose it will be out of the question that we will be able to record these live streams for posterity?

Hopefully if enough people pay for the online coverage it will send a clear message to Sky. Presuming they want to hear that message, of course.

At least $20 is a reasonable price for all those games. Cheaper than a trip to Honiara.

GO NEW ZEALAND!!!!!!

I just bought the whole package too,thanks sky t.v. , getting sick of corpoate crap and excuses!!

Receipt #806

This is the new PAX?

Hi all,

Not long before we kick off in Honiara and it is getting hotter and hotter by the minute..! The rain predicted for today looks like it won't materialise and we're going to enjoy a moisture free day. Samoa for the final four..? That is brave. A quick scan of their squad shows a number of no shows from last November and given Tahiti's recent improvements in the O-League via Tefana, I can't see an upset on the cards.

Vanuatu are looking sharp. I had a quick word with their media manager Harry Atisson and he says 11 of the squad are U-23's or younger and Seiloni Iaruel is in line to make his national debut as a 16 year old. Apparently, and we are checking, only one other international goalkeeper has made a debut at the same age - apparently, from Hungary.

Maybe if you find out you can email me at: gordonglenwatson@hotmail.com

Expectations of a big crowd today..? Not so sure. A french speaking side up against the tournament minnows isn't the most attractive fixture for locals, but we may be surprised. It is Friday, and a lot of kids are off to school, people have work. The big day is tomorrow...when the host nation, Solomon Islands, is in action and the red hot favourites, New Zealand.

A final word for now, the locals are working themselves ragged to get this tournament on the move. The volunteers have given up their time to make sure the stadium is in as close to first class knick as possible for the next 16 matches, ten days. The average monthly income is bloody low by New Zealand standards, so to give up your time, for free, speaks volumes about their love for the game of football. 

We'd love to have your feedback over the course of the next ten days or so, so please drop us an email with questions and comments...

Enjoy the OFC Nations Cup 2012..!

Gordon

 

Cheers Gordon, really looking forward to the tournament.

Gordon.

If you see Dale (2ndBest) alive please tell us.

Thanks

News.

Alternatively, if you don't, I call dibs on his Cameroon jacket.

Think you can get a tailor to make it larger?

Meh, if you could drop 20kg+ I'm sure I could too.

anyone else having trouble getting the stream up? :/

never mind its come right, national anthems on. video quality looks quite good. If anyone hasnt bought the stream yet, at least buy the NZ games to push the ratings up

Is it just me or is there no sound on this link?

Sound very quiet . I have viewer and laptop volumes up to max with headphones to  improve my aural pick up. Just hoping normal volume doesn't suddenly arrive!

Mine was bad this morning for volume but seems better now.

Stream blocked on uni computers. Sad face.

and thats 4-0 Tahiti with 5mins before the 2nd half

Tahiti giving it to Samoa.  Hopefully "Whitey" to do the same to Fiji tmr.

Can Samoa find some organisation in the 2nd half?

Can they score a goal?

Will Tahiti make it 8-nil?

These questions will be answered shortly..

Solomon Island punk rock?!!

Good to see the refs being tested, looked hard work

Any good?

Turn off international tv link: YES?-NO?

(I wonder what happens if I click YES?)

faaark 10-1?!  

Moderately entertaining when Samoa sparked up in the second half. Unfortunately missed the last 3 goals when the link went out. Heat looks like its going to be a killer. (Hopefully, not literally)

The heat is oppressive to say the least. We're mid-afternoon here and I'm downstairs in the air-conditioning. It. Is. Effing. HOT.

GGW

Final Score Tahiti 10 Samoa 1

Four Kings will be streaming the All Whites games live.

Streaming PAX #849

Nice quality on a 5mbps connection, just heard the f word by someone chatting away in the studio!