ASA: The Young Socceroos will take the first step in their campaign to qualify for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with a two-week camp in France over the coming fortnight.

Australian Under 20 Coach Ange Postecoglou and his 20-man squad will depart today for Europe where they will be based in Lievin on the outskirts of Lens from 6-13 April and in Paris from 13-19 April.

Two players, Vince Lia and Mark Milligan, will be embarking on their second FIFA World Youth Championship campaign. Lia played in the Championship held in the United Arab Emirates last November/December while Milligan featured in the tournament's warm-up games but was a last-minute withdrawal from the squad due to a knee injury.

Also eligible for a second World Youth Championship campaign is Newcastle United's Jobe Wheelhouse who is currently unavailable for selection with an ankle injury and Spase Dilevski of Rot Weiss Essen in Germany who has been a regular member of the Australian Under-23 team throughout 2004.

The Australian squad also features four players that featured in last year's FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland - Jacob Timpano, Adrian Leijer, Keegan Wolfenden and Kristian Sarkies.

The full squad is:

Goalkeepers

Danny Vukovic (Parramatta Power), Adam Federeci (Sardinia, Italy)

Defenders

Mark Milligan (Blacktown City), Jacob Timpano (Wollongong Wolves), Adrian Leijer (Melbourne Knights), Liam Lilley (Perth Glory), Keegan Wolfenden (Newcastle United), Nikolai Tapor-Stanley (Canberra Deakin), Trent McClenahan (West Ham United, England)

Midfielders

Vince Lia (South Melbourne), Kristian Sarkies (South Melbourne), Stuart Musialik (Newcastle United), Nick Stavroulakis (Empoli, Italy), Christopher Tadrosse (uncontracted), Billy Celeski (uncontracted), Kaz Patafata (AIS)

Forwards

Nick Ward (Perth Glory), Mark Bridge (Parramatta Power), Jay Lucas (Southampton, England), Marinos Gasparis (Bulleen)

The squad will compete in four friendly matches at the two camp venues. The team's full match itinerary is:

v Lille u-23, Lievin - April 7

v Belgium Selection, Lievin - April 10

v Racing Lens u-23, Lievin - April 13

v Paris St Germain u-23, Paris - April 19

The OFC World Youth Championship Qualifying Tournament is currently scheduled to be held next January with the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship to be held in The Netherlands between 10 June - 2 July 2005.

AUSTRALIA: Vanuatu pair Richard Iwai and Etienne Mermer were again the star performers of Oceania's Island contingent in Australia's State Leagues at the weekend.

A late goal, accredited to Mermer, was the difference in Mitchelton's 1-0 victory away to Eastern Suburbs. Mermer's goal, his third of Mitchelton's campaign, came after he was introduced to the match as a substitute in the second half.

Compatriot Iwai played a full game and was again a key contributor in the victory that has seen Mitchelton retain second spot in the Queensland Premier League after six rounds.

Earlier in the week, Mitchelton suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of QPL giants the Queensland Lions in a preliminary round Cup fixture. Both Iwai and Mermer started the match, with the latter being substituted in the second half.

Also in Queensland, there was also good news for Taringa Rovers' Papua New Guinean midfielder Alex Davani on Saturday night.

The Rovers registered their first win of the campaign, a 6-0 thrashing of the Toowoomba Raiders at home.

Davani played the whole match, which saw Taringa jump off the bottom of the league and into ninth place with four points.

Like all leagues in Australia, the QPL will pause over Easter and resume in a fortnight.

Upon resumption, fans of the Oceania flavour in the QPL will be keen to catch Mitchelton hosting Taringa at Teralba Park on Saturday, 17 April in what is sure to be an entertaining clash between two sides high on confidence after a successful weekend.

Conversely, Samoan goalkeeper Pasi Schwalger had another weekend to forget, with his side the Preston Lions losing their second match straight, 1-0 away to Frankston Pines.

After a promising start to the 2004 season, Preston now sit sixth, one point outside the top five and without a goal in their last two matches.

Schwalger played a full game on this occasion and will be hoping his side returns to form when they take on Green Gully away from home on April 18.

Off the field, NSL striker and Fiji star Esala Masi has signed with Northern New South Wales State League outfit South Cardiff for the upcoming season.

Masi will be in action for the first time after Easter when the league kicks- off and has already made some appearances for South Cardiff in the President's Cup, a pre-season, round-robin styled tournament. - by Australian correspondent, Benjamin James Coonan

FFA, Suva: Navua beat Nadi 2-1 at Prince Charles Park on Sunday to round up the weekends National Soccer League matches. Nadi led the first half with a goal from Eliki Ravai. Navua started the second half strong with ga oal from former Ba rep Taito Bula.

Navua applied more pressure which led to a goal by Lorima Batirerega. The win allows Navua to retain its sixth position on the National Soccer League table while Nadi is in seventh place.

Ba continued its 23 game winning streak beating Rewa 2-1 at Ratu Cakobau Park. Rewa started the game well with strong attacks but Ba's defence held out the home side's early incursions.

Ba was first to score with a cross from national representative Manoa Masi. In the second half Rewa brought on national goalie Simione Tamanisau as striker. Tamanisau equalized for Rewa though an opportunistic goal that came from a mistake in the Ba defence.

Manoa Masi clinched the game for Ba with a late goal to carry on Ba's lead at the top of the Naitonal Soccer League.

Tavua came close to creating one of the biggest upsets in this year's Coca Cola/Nokia sponsored national soccer league series yesterday.

The Gold Miners had only themselves to blame when they missed a penalty in the dying stages of the game, which could have seen them defeating the experienced Suva side.

After being thrashed 5-0 by Suva at the National Stadium last week, Tavua looked a totally changed team before their home crowd at Garvey Park.

Tavua with plenty new players mounted numerous raids which put pressure on the experienced Suva side and on numerous occasions had the Suva players stunned with their performance.

It was in the early stages of the first half that a long drive from new find Dev Anand shocked the Suva side when the powerful shot sailed straight into the net leaving Suva goalkeeper Penaia Nabuta flatfooted. After this goal time and again the Tavua strikers penetrated the Suva defense but lacked finishing.

The Capital Side trailed Tavua 0-1 at the breather and after a pep team talk came out firing in the second half.

A blunder by Asesela Rauqe became costly for Tavua after the referee awarded Suva a penalty, which Thomas Vulivuli thumped in to pull one back for Suva.

However, this goal did not deter the Tavua strikers as they continually mounted pressure on the Suva goalmouth.

It was in the dying stages of the game that Tavua got a much-needed penalty after one of their players was brought down in the penalty box.

However, the shot by Avinesh Goundar went straight to the keeper's hands denying Tavua the much-needed three points. - courtesy Fiji news sources - Fijilive (Daily Post), Fiji FA, Fiji Sun.

PORT VILA: The visiting Solomon Islands national team came back from a 0-1 half-time deficit to upset Vanuatu 2-1, in a friendly international in Port Vila. The two sides face off again today with Vanuatu determined to redress last Saturday's result which clearly exposed their lack of fitness compared to the slick Solomons outfit prepared by English coach Alan Gillett.

Both teams are using the two match series as preparation for the upcoming Stage 1 OFC Nations Cup-World Cup qualifying tournaments next month. Vanuatu is pooled in group 2 hosted in Samoa while Solomon Islands hosts a tough pool containing New Caledonia and Tahiti.

In front of a healthy crowd of just over 4,000 at Port Vila's Korman Stadium, the attacking prowess of the Solomon Islands team stunned the under strength home team missing their experienced star forwards Richard Iwai and Etienne Mermer, now based in Australia. While rising star Jean Maleb was forced to sit out the match to carry out a suspension from the Olympic qualifiers in January.

Maleb returns to the side today and will no doubt bolster the Vanuatu scoring potential with the Lorry Thompsen-Pita Maki combination not effective against the Solomons on Saturday. Tall central defender Geoffrey Gete is also set for a call up after appearing for Vanuatu at the Olympic qualifiers.

Despite the result, the Vanuatu fans were appreciative of the skill and entertainment Melanesian style, put on by both sides. The four pronged strike force of Commins Menapi, Batram Suri, youngster Alick Maemae and Henry Fa'arodo playing behind them in an attacking midfield role gave the Vanuatu defence nightmares in the opening half creating four clear chances that went begging. Only the heroics of Vanuatu captain and goalkeeper David Chilia and sweeper Bibi Lexa Bule kept the Vanuatu goal from being breached.

Surprisingly, it was Vanuatu who got the early lead in the 41st minute. Midfield dynamo Seimata Chilia, who had a superb all round game containing Fa'arodo, caught Solomon Islands keeper Severino Aefi off his line blasting in a long range shot from in front of the centre circle to score past the flat footed Aefi.

But after the break Solomon Islands superior fitness and preparation began to tell as the tiring Vanuatu side were further exposed by the jinking runs from Solomons outstanding attacking quartet with Maemae dazzling the crowd and showing at only 17 years of age, he is definitely a player to watch in the future and almost certain to attract overseas clubs in due time.

Former Sydney United striker Commins Menapi struck the equalizer in the 52nd minute connecting with a excellent cross into the box which he duly deflected into the goal past Chilia who had no chance at that close range. Menapi's strength created his second goal twenty minutes later when he brushed off experienced Vanuatu defender Graham Demas to slot in Solomons second goal.

Vanuatu tried to peg back the lead but clearly missed their experienced strikers. Of the game's standout players Maemae, Suri and right back Nelson Saie had sensational games, while for Vanuatu, David Chilia was commanding in goal with Bibi in front of him which kept the score respectable after thwarting wave after wave of Solomons attacks. Seimata Chilia was also a standout commanding the midfield with his distribution and vision. - VFF Media Officer, Moses Stevens

MATCH STATISTICS

Scorers:-

Full Time:

Vanuatu 1 (Seimata Chillia 41')

Solomon Islands 2 (Commins Menapi 52', 71').

Teams:

Vanuatu;

Chilia David

Tabe Manley Junior

Bibi Lexa Bule

Lauru Wilkins Simon

Demas Graham

Chilia Seimata

Haitong Maki Gerard

Thompsen Lorry

Maki Pita David

Alick Daniel Koko

Qorig Alphonse Welin

Substitutes:

Vava Fedy

Silas Ali Silas

Waiwai Warren Roger

Tom Tomake Philip

Mahe Rick Tchamako

Lini Samson Frederech

Cautions: Alick Daniel Koko (yellow)

Solomons:

Leslie Leo

Mahlon Houkaraua

Nelson Saie

Alick Maemae

Paul Kakai Jnr

Batram Suri

Commins Menapi

Stanley Waita

Gideon Omokirio

Henry Fa'arodo

Severino Aefi

Substitutes:

Lucian Sikua'ae

Philip Kaukui

Joel Konofilia

Robert Firigeni

George Lui

Moses Toata

Martin Ruhasia

Cautions: none

OFFICIALS:

Referee - Lencie Fred

1st Assistant - Mahit Chillia

2nd Assistant - Atanas Rakrak

4th Official - Ron Wilbur

Referee Inspector - Yves Taga

NOUMEA: Magenta will face Mont Dore in New Caledonia's championship final this Saturday. The French territory's reigning club champion have been the benchmark for the past two seasons after capturing the league crown the previous season and adding the French Overseas Territories Crown late last year.

But they will be wary of Mont Dore who won the league in 2002 and have class players such as captain Jean Marc Case, who is perhaps the best all-round player playing in New Caledonia today. Mont Dore easily beat JS Traput 6-1 on aggregate to progress through courtesy of an emphatic 4-0 drubbing of the outer island champion last weekend.

Magenta had effectively qualified after thrashing Baco 5-1 in the first round of the home and away semi-finals, but last weekend Baco exposed some deficiencies in the Magenta defence to win the second round semi 2-1. But this was not enough to turn around the first round result so Magenta advances on a 6-3 aggregate.

There will be more than just the national league title on the line. The New Caledonia national team will also be named after the final and players will be vying for places in the squad for the upcoming OFC Nations Cup/World Cup qualifiers in Solomon Islands in May. After finishing with the silver medal at last year's South Pacific Games, the New Caledonians face a tough task in getting by top seeded teams Tahiti and Solomon Islands.

In other soccer results, the first round of 16 matches was held for the Cup de Caledonie. There were no notable upsets and four division d'honneur teams advanced to the quarterfinals.

New Caledonia Championship playoffs

Semi-finals - Round 2

AS Mont-Dore - JS Traput 4 - 0

AS Mont Dore progresses to final on 6-1 aggregate

JS Baco - AS Magenta 2 - 1

Magenta progresses to final on 6-3 aggregate

Cup de Caledonie (New Caledonia Cup) round of 16

Olympique (DH) - USC (DH) 6 - 3

AS Auteuil (DH) - Gaïtcha FCN (DH) 1 - 2

US Gélima (D1) - AS Poum (DH) 2 - 3

Entente Gélima (D1) - ACB Poya (DH) 1 - 4

ASA: Throughout the season Nick Mrdja had the knack of coming off the bench and scoring vital goals for Perth Glory, but none proved more crucial than the one he scored today, his 98th minute `golden goal' earning his side its second successive NSL Championship.

Mrdja broke the deadlock after both Parramatta Power and Perth had failed to score in terrible conditions at Parramatta Stadium. Rain lashed the stadium prior and during the match with the pitch becoming waterlogged and effectively nullifying both sides passing games.

The win made it back-to-back NSL Championships for Glory, the fifth time it has been achieved, and certainly dispelled the chokers tag that Glory picked after its first two losses.

"I think last year's win certainly got the monkey off our back so to speak and we were written off by a lot people this season and we were criticised and I think unjustly," said coach Mich d'Avray.

"Even this week, we were the underdogs and no one gave us much chance outside of Western Australia. I thought the players showed a lot of determination and commitment today and not only did we win the game, I though we deserved to win the game.

"We beat a very good team today, there is no about it, but I also think we are also a very good team."

"I think it is befitting in the last grand final of the National Soccer League is won by a team or a club that I think have been the benchmark for the National League over the last seven oreight years," d'Avray added.

The winning goal was started and finished by Mrdja, who's through ball found Mori, who was played onside by Paul O'Grady.

Mori rode the challenge of Michael Beauchamp and as he cut back past another Power defender the ball fell to Mrdja 12 yards out and he blasted his shot home.

No doubt the first person to congratulate Mrdja was Mori himself, who earlier had missed glorious chances to seal the win himself.

Asked if Mori had thanked him after the two misses could easily have cost his side victory, Mrdja jokinglythanks everyone."

"No seriously we have come as underdogs and we had nothing to lose and we went out there and won the game 1-0. You can't complain with that."

The first of these chances came in the 55th minute and should have been buried by Mori from just six yards out, but with the goal at his mercy he shot over the bar.

The second miss was just four minutes before Mrdja's winner, after he was presented with a one-on-one chance when Peter Zorbas lost his footing as he went to clear the ball. However Mori stroked his shot wide of the near post and at that stage it must have looked as though it wasn't going to be Perth's day.

"I didn't think we were going to lose," said d'Avray, when asked if he thought those two misses were going to cost his side victory. "I thought perhaps we might go to penalties though.

"But in saying that, Nick Mrdja has done that a few times for us this season, and I said to him just before he went on that the stage is set for him to go on and get the winner.

It was a match that promised so much, given the attacking talent in both sides, but once the rain set in from around lunchtime,

this match was always headed for hard and tight struggle with one goal likely to decide it. Travis Dodd started the match off in promising fashion for the home side, with an effort over the bar inside the first minute, but this in effect was their only shot at goal until the just

before half time.

As the rain became harder the pitch quickly filled with surface water, with passes getting stuck and players sliding and slipping everywhere.

Parramatta tried to continue with its passing game, but time and again they would turn over possession, as they struggled to get to grips with the conditions.

Ahmad Elrich on several occasions was able to get in behind the defence, but on most occasions his crosses were cut out the Glory defence led superbly by Glory captain Shaun Murphy.

The first real chance of the game came in the 14th minute, when Bobby Despotovski perfectly judged a long ball wide to the left, He cut inside and placed a low cross to Mori at the near post and his flicked shot was parried by Clint Bolton, before being cleared to safety.

One Elrich cross did cause some problems in the 23rd minute, with Petkovic coming out but failing to hold onto the ball and just as Milicic was about pounce on the loose ball, Petkovic managed to flick it away and the Power striker went flying in the air.

In the 29th minute, Glory had another chance when from a free kick the ball fell at Adrian Caceres' feet, but the water in the goalmouth halted his shot, and from the ensuing scramble Power

was awarded a free kick. Perth was handling the conditions better and in the 37th minute, a neat move down the left side, saw Despotovski's cross not held down low by Bolton, but the Power keeper managed to top-poke the ball out for a corner before Mori could get a shot in.

Power's only other attempt at goal came just before half time when Milicic tried an audacious first time shot from outside the box that Petkovic managed to get back and catch comfortably.

Bolton quickly afterwards came to his sides rescue again with a

good low down shot to deny Caceres right on the stroke of half time.

Parramatta changed tact in the second half, going more direct and with Colosimo moving the ball to Elrich at every opportunity and in the 51st minute, Parramatta had its best chance of the match.

Colosimo's brilliant pass found Elrich and his inch perfect cross, found Milicic, but the NSL Player of the Year could only watch as his header went agonisingly wide of the far post. Four minutes later and Mori missed his first golden chance, as both teams were still able to provide the enthusiastic but rain-sodden crowd with plenty of exciting football.

Saso Petrovski, who largely proved ineffective, then had his best moment of the match in the 74th minute, when he was able to get into the box, but his powerful shot from the left side of the box went across the face of goal.

With both defences holding firm in the trying conditions a succession of shots were tried from long range, but neither side was able to score before the end of 90 minutes and the match went into extra time.

The match should have been all over in the 95th minute when Zorbas slipped as he went to clear but Mori wasted the opportunity. In a way it was good that the goal didn't come from that, because the game didn't deserve to won and lost on a mistake and especially not by Zorbas, who was one of Power's better performers on the day.

But three minutes later it was decided and it was super-sub Mrdja that will take all the plaudits and will have the distinction of scoring the last-ever goal in the NSL.

Elrich received the award for the Marston Medal as the best player on the ground, but in truth Murphy was a tower of strength at the back all through the game and would have been a worthy recipient.

Power coach Nick Theodorakopoulos was obviously shattered by the loss but conceded that on the day Perth had the better chances to win the game.

"I think in all fairness they had those two magnificent chances," he said philosophically. "I know we had two good chances with Ante in the second half as well Saso Petrovski's shot just going wide, but on the balance of chances maybe they had the clear-cut chances."

Asked whether the weather had any bearing on the loss, Theodorakopoulos said it certainly didn't work to his teams favour.

"The greatest leveller was no doubt the weather.

"As soon as the ground was affected the way that we all saw, (assistant coach) Manfred (Schaefer) said to me, this is a lottery Nick, and as it turned out it was exactly that."

"Definitely not, but our style of play was certainly not as effective because of the conditions," when asked point blank if they lost because of the weather.

Elrich summed up the mood of the players, saying, "If you don't win the grand final it's a big disappointment.

"What can I say, I am disappointed, all the boys are disappointed, we wanted to go out on a winning note, but on the day conditions didn't help, so that's life."

Glory captain Shaun Murphy, while acknowledging he felt at home in the conditions, didn't want the weather to be used as the reason for Perth's win.

"I hope we are not going to parade all the excuses that it (the weather) was a great leveller of the teams.

"I thought we were more determined today. We've been hurt over the last couple of weeks, written off and the boys proved today that they've got what it takes."

2003/04 Homeart NSL Grand Final Review

Parramatta Power 0

Perth Glory 1 (N Mrdja 98')

Cautions: M Byrnes (PG) 62', A Gumprecht (PP) 86'

Referee: Mark Shield

Venue: Parramatta Power

Crowd: 9,630

Marston Medal - Ahmad Elrich (Parramatta Power)

SFSF, Apia: Sogi still remains undefeated in Samoa's GM Bakery Cup after a 1-0 victory over Lupe ole Soaga on the weekend.

In a hotly contested game, Sogi sealed victory with an early penalty by central defender Iupele Ioane, after Ben Timo was unceremoniously upended by the Lupe keeper.

On a day when little quality football was played, there was nevertheless plenty of excitement for the crowd as both teams contested every ball, which led to an end to end encounter. Both keepers were called into action on many occasions but ultimately it was the penalty that decided the issue as both sides failed to capitalise on other clear chances.

In other GM Bakery Cup action, a revitalised Lepea cruised to a 4-0 victory over rivals Moataa and look to have found rediscovered some of the form that made them National League Champions last year.

First time premiership contenders Hosanna were back in the fray this week but lost out to Kiwi 2-1, who had Joseph Hoeflich bagging a brace to nick the win - a pleasing response from the young Hoeflich having missed out on national selection last week.

Central and Moamoa looked a good game on paper despite National team call-ups for both sides. The Central side showed more signs that they are not adapting to life in the premier league and went down 1-0. A disappointing result for them as they do have the players but performing on the day is a problem.

The Manumea Samoa training squad kicked off the day against Vaivase-tai and demolished the visitors with a 9-0 hiding. Not that National Coach David Brand was too impressed. "A win is a win but whilst I understand the quality of the opposition was extremely ordinary we have to learn to continue to play to our potential," he said after the game.

"At least now we can start to build a more settled side and wholesale changes are not the order of the day, although squad rotation is going to be vital to maintain match fitness prior to leaving for New Zealand late this month."

In the Ladies Cup, a battle royal was forecast and both teams did not disappoint the crowd. Kiwi took on the undefeated Central but maintained the trophy thanks to a late penalty winner from Talele Saaga. Kiwi has accounted for all challengers in recent weeks but the younger Central side posed a different threat. A crucial miss from Marylynn Williams at the penalty spot was followed by a left foot shot hitting the post with only the keeper to beat.

Teenagers Luisa Tagomoa and Ruby Folau were towers of strength at the back for their respective teams as all players gave 100% to try to seal victory. In the end Kiwi got home with smiles on their faces but they know it was only by the skin of their teeth. Well done both teams.

For more information from Samoan soccer visit their official website at www.soccersamoa.ws which is also linked to the OFC website.

ASA: Parramatta Power striker Ante Milicic has won the NSL Players' Player of the Year Award (Warren Medal) for the first time at the NSL Awards' presentation held today in Sydney. Milicic was a clear winner from nearest competitors Tom Pondeljak (Perth Glory), Simon Colosimo (Parramatta Power), Nick Carle (Marconi Stallions) and Ahmad Elrich (Parramatta Power).

Milicic, who will take the field in Sunday's Homeart NSL Grand Final against Perth Glory looking for two goals to reach the century of NSL goals, also claimed the award for highest goalscorer in the league after scoring 19 goals during the regular season.

In the other major awards, young Marconi Stallions striker Alex Brosque was overwhelmingly voted NSL Under-21 Player of the Year for the second year in a row, Perth Glory's Jason Petkovic was voted NSL Goalkeeper of the Year, while Glory coach Mich d'Avray was named Eddie Thomson NSL Coach of the Year award. Match officials for Sunday's Homeart Grand Final also figured prominently with Mark Shield winning a third successive NSL Referee of the Year award and Jim Ouliaris winning the Assistant Referee of the Year award.

Full results listed below.

PLAYERS PLAYER OF THE YEAR - 'WARREN MEDAL'

ANTE MILICIC (PARRAMATTA POWER) 284 votes

TOM PONDELJAK (PERTH GLORY) 194 votes

SIMON COLOSIMO (PARRAMATTA POWER) 128 votes

NICK CARLE (MARCONI STALLIONS) 99

AHMAD ELRICH (PARRAMATTA POWER) 76 votes

UNDER 21 PLAYER OF THE YEAR - 'PAPASAVAS MEDAL'

ALEX BROSQUE (MARCONI STALLIONS) 330 votes

JOBE WHEELHOUSE (NEWCASTLE UNITED) 138 votes

MASSIMO MURDOCCA (SOUTH MELBOURNE) 114 votes

GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR AWARD

JASON PETKOVIC (PERTH GLORY) 253 votes

CLINT BOLTON (PARRAMATTA POWER) 250 votes

LIAM REDDY (SYDNEY UNITED) 184 votes

EDDIE THOMSON COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD

MICH D'AVRAY (PERTH GLORY) 23 votes

STUART MCLAREN (BRISBANE STRIKERS) 17 votes

JOHN KOSMINA (ADELAIDE UNITED) 17 votes

REFEREE OF THE YEAR

MARK SHIELD (QLD)

EDDIE LENNIE (WA)

SIMON MICALLEF (NSW)

ASSISTANT REFEREE OF THE YEAR

JIM OULIARIS (VIC)

NATHAN GIBSON (NNSW)

BEN WILSON (ACT)

NORTHERN DIVISION PLAYER OF THE YEAR

NATHAN CALDWELL (CANBERRA DEAKIN) 26 votes

MARK BRIDGE (PARRAMATTA POWER) 23 votes

BILLY CELESKI (AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SPORT) 20 votes

SOUTHERN DIVISION PLAYER OF THE YEAR

YUSUF YUSUF (HEIDELBERG UNITED) 24 votes

TONY SARIC (MELBOURNE KNIGHTS ACADEMY) 14 votes

DERREK CHISHOLM (SOUTH MELBOURNE ACADEMY) 14 votes

TOP GOALSCORER OF THE YEAR AWARD - PREMIERSHIP SEASON

ANTE MILICIC (PARRAMATTA POWER) 19 GOALS

FAIR PLAY AWARD - PREMIERSHIP SEASON

PERTH GLORY (YELLOW CARDS 18 / RED CARDS NIL)

SIFF, Honiara: The inaugural S'League organised for the first time by the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) is turning into a one horse race with JP Su'uria still unbeaten and proving a class above the rest. Check out the latest results and reports from last weekend.

Systek Kingz -vs- Agfa Hana (1-0)

National Under 17 player Timothy Joe's last minute goal was enough to separate the two sides in a hotly contest match at Lawson Tama.

But it was replacement player, Samson Tuita who provided him that lifeline. He collected a loose ball midway and made a timely cross to a waiting Joe who was unmarked outside the 18 yards box for a clinical finish.

Both sides had good chances of scoring in both halves but were unfortunate not to score until Joe's goal came which separated the two teams.

Real Red -vs- East Harbour Strikers (2-0)

Real Red caused the biggest upset in the weekend matches when it humbled East Harbour Strikers in front of a partisan crowd.

With strings of defeats in their previous matches, many soccer pundits had written them off even before this encounter. However, they proved everyone wrong in the end when they came out victorious.

Coach Matai Vave was full of praise for his boys saying that they had prepared well for this encounter.

"The rain is a blessing in disguise for our team because the cancellation of matches last weekend gave us an extra one week to prepare," he adds.

Despite that win, Vave says there are areas he needs to work on before their next match.

Honiara High School player Godwin Bebeu provided the opportunity for the opening goal when he raced down the left corridor, cut in and sent a curling shot to his team mate Willie Beuka who was standing unmarked inside the 18 yards box for an easy finish.

Replacement player and former national striker Noel Bako put Real Reds beyond reach when he hammered a ball outside the 18 yards box to the far post and it went in.

Striker's keeper Francis Aruafu thought the ball would roll off the goal line but to his dismay, it hit the post and diverted into the net.

Last Saturday's match was the worst for Strikers' which had showed promising signs as a serious contender for $15,000 that is up for grabs.

JP Su'uria -vs- Eastern Knights (5-1)

JP Su'uria's unbeaten run continued last weekend when it demolished Eastern Knights in a one sided affair at Lawson Tama.

Solomon Islands newest sensation Alick Maemae was the toast of his side. He set up Batram Suri for the opening goal before he added his name to the scoring list with two goals. Both goals were scored through his own initiative.

The opposing defenders were caught napping in the two occasions and Maemae was able to weave his way through and unleashed his powerful shots resulting in the goals being scored.

Suri added his second before Commins Menapi wrapped up the scoring in the dying minutes for a deserved victory.

SFSF, Apia: Samoa National Coach, David Brand, has announced the squad of players who will tour New Zealand in late April and represent Samoa at the OFC Nations Cup/World Cup Qualifiers stage 1-group 2 tournament in Samoa on 10-19 May, 2004.

The Manumea Samoa squad will resume training at the J.S. Blatter Fields, Tuanaimato, Apia before travelling overseas in late April for New Zealand. The tournament commences in Apia on 10th May with Samoa playing host to American Samoa in its first game.

"In the end we have gone for 20 locally based players with 2 from overseas who will initially tour New Zealand," said National Coach David Brand today.

"I will be monitoring very closely the fitness of all squad members in the early sessions next week, and a couple of the boys are being put on notice that unless 100% I will find a replacement."

"It is now back to the reality of International Football as the count down to the qualifiers continues. Nothing below 100% commitment to the team and Samoa is acceptable and this will be made very clear to the boys on Thursday. My job now, along with Malo Vaga is to prepare a final squad of 20 players that will represent Samoa in what again is a very difficult pool."

" A standard has been set in recent months, that, not only has to be maintained, but improved upon. This challenge is going to be a tough one considering the events of recent weeks. Despite the underdog tag still remaining, expectations are running higher than ever and I will be looking for the squad to achieve our goals," he commented.

"Maybe there are one or two surprises and a couple of boys can count themselves unlucky but others players have put their hand up for selection in training and games. As we know some have made themselves unavailable for a variety of reasons, which is naturally disappointing. I am not going to dwell on that and I am happy with the overall balance of the side, which has a blend of youth and experience. I feel the spirit is good which is a very positive sign."

At this stage plans for the departure of the squad for the overseas camp are being prepared and the information and full itinerary will be issued once confirmed.

The 22-man squad is as follows and includes 20 locally based players, plus 2 from overseas.

The 20 locally based players will train over the coming weeks with the final competition squad to be named at the end of the NZ preparation tour, subject to form and fitness.

Fatuvalu Numia Gk - Lepea

Sakaria Fuimaono - Lepea

Otto Hunt - Vaitoloa

Afasene Tusitala - Lupe ole Soaga

Tofi Tumua - Moamoa

Bevan Kapisi - Central

Kiwi Timo - Sogi

Sio Tagamoa - Kiwi

Ki Anufe - Lepea

Pualele Lamana - Central Utd

Etueni Tywell - Sogi

Lene Epa - Vaivasetai

Laifaele Pesa - Moamoa

Mark Ioane - Sinamoga

Amby Asafo - Vaipuna

Peko Victor - Sinamoga

Joe Mapusua - Pansa, Am Samoa

Junior Michael - Pansa Am Samoa

Pasi Schwalger Gk - Preston Lions, Australia

Tama Faasavalu - Central, New Zealand

Dennis Price - Kiwi

Lionel Taylor - Kiwi

Players on standby

Iupeli Ioane - Sogi

Jerome Taua - Lupe ole Soaga

Joseph Hoeflich - Kiwi

Grant Toma Auvele - Sinamoga