RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil were too experienced, too fit and, ultimately, too good for the Solomon Islands Bilikiki Boys as the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2007 got underway at the Copacabana Beach Soccer Arena in Rio this weekend.

Solomon Islands Kiwi-coach Terry Van Dillen bemoaned his team's defensive frailties against the scintillating host nation but admitted the occasion was something out of the ordinary for a team that has not played an international since the OFC Beach Soccer Championship final against Vanuatu nearly six months ago.

"The pressure of the occasion got to my players at the start, what with all the support for Brazil and everything. It's a very different atmosphere to what we're used to and it affected us. We didn't play well defensively. Our marking was slack," Van Dillen said.

The home fans were beaming after Brazil made a typically flamboyant start to the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Rio de Janeiro 2007, sweeping aside the Solomon Islands with irrepressible style.

Not surprisingly, Solomon Islands keeper Fred Hale was covered in sand before the match was even a minute old, Junior Negao setting the tone with a delicious bicycle kick that skimmed the crossbar. It was Buru who opened the scoring with a precise strike, and a full five minutes had elapsed before Mao got a feel of the ball, the Brazil keeper safely fielding Richard Anisua's free kick. For all their dominance, though, the Brazilians went in at the first break only two goals to the good.

Ironically, when the floodgates duly opened in the second period, the islanders produced their best football, forcing Mao into several tumbling saves and finally pulling a goal back through a Benjamin Mela free kick. The pattern remained unchanged in the final period, with the hosts adding another five goals to their tally and Solomons striker James Naka getting a cheer from the stands with a fine scissor kick.

Naka (above left) got his marching orders after 36 minutes for a second yellow card offence but the match had been lost long before then with the host nation in no mood to disappoint the 9500 fans inside Copacabana Beach Soccer Arena.

James Naka will be suspended for Solomon Islands next match.

The KOSSA FC striker was realistic about the Bilikiki Boys performance.

"We expected a tough match and that's exactly what we got. You only have to look at the result. Technically they are superb, and we knew that, but they were physically stronger than us too," Naka said.

Brazil star Benjamin was satisfied with the host nation's start to the campaign and confident his team were on track for a place in the last eight.

“The team kept close-knitted on the pitch and showed good soccer. Now it is on to defining our position against Mexico and securing our spot as early as on Sunday. Taking it seriously and counting on our supporters will make our job easier," Benjamin said.

Brazil's coach Alexander Soares was happy with the result but less pleased with the performance.

"Based on the result, I would say we started off fine, but I did not like our performance. In the first match of the day, the Mexicans did surprise me; I expected more from the Russians. But I liked seeing both teams worn-out in the third period. That may come as an advantage for us.”

Date     Kick-off*/**  Match  
04.11.07  12:30         Solomon Islands  vs. Russia 
06.11.07  14:00         Solomon Islands  vs. Mexico 

*Rio de Janeiro local time

**Time Conversion for Oceania
American Samoa UTC -11hrs
Cook Islands UTC -10hrs
Fiji UTC +12hrs
Papua New Guinea UTC+10hrs
New Caledonia UTC +11hrs
New Zealand UTC +13hrs
Samoa UTC -11hrs
Solomon Islands UTC +11hrs
Tahiti UTC -9hrs
Tonga UTC +13hrs
Vanuatu UTC +11hrs

FIFA BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP – RIO DE JANEIRO 2007 – LIVE COVERAGE
http://www.fifa.com/beachsoccerworldcup/livecoverage/index.html

FIFA BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP – RIO DE JANEIRO 2007
http://www.fifa.com/beachsoccerworldcup/news/index.html

OFC BEACH SOCCER/SOLOMON ISLANDS BILIKIKI BOYS
http://www.oceaniafootball.com/comphome/6039/Beach-Soccer-2007

Group A

PORT MORESBY - Six teams will be vying for the 2007 National Soccer League Telikom Cup with the kick-off of the competition confirmed to start on the 10th November. NSL Telikom Cup manager John Kapi Natto is delighted to have secured six franchise teams this year with all having confirmed their participation.

As part of the new-look competition's aim to reach out to the next generation of young footballers, the PNGFA NSL Telikom Cup is involving school soccer in Papua New Guinea to play curtainraisers prior to NSL fixtures to help promote the second edition of competition.

There will be six U-12 teams each to be named after a club competing in the NSL Telikom Cup.

The teams that will compete in this year's competition are IFC Madang Fox FC , Welgris Highlanders FC, Morobe Kumuls FC, Hekari United FC (formerly known as PRK Souths), Gelle Hills FC and INSPAC Rapatona FC.

High expectations meet Hekari United again this years with the club set to re-sign Solomon Island international strikers Abraham Iniga (below) and Jack Samani.

International Food Corperation has came to the rescue of Madang Fox FC as it lost its major backer during the NSL's inaugural season. The club has undergone a name change and will be called the IFC Madang Fox FC and will relocate to Madang.

INSPAC Rapatona are the new boys on the NSL Telikom Cup block with very little known about what to expect from the newcomers.

Returning from last year's inaugural NSL season will be Welgris Highlanders FC, Morobe Kumuls FC and Gelle Hills FC.

The home and away format will conclude during a final playoff series to determine the winner of the NSL Telikom Cup.

The NSL Telikom Cup winner will play an international charity match in Port Moresby before entering the 2009 O-League Preliminary tournament with the winner admitted to the group stage of the 2009 O-League.

NSL MEDIA COMMITTEE FORMED

National Soccer League (NSL) has formed a media committee for the upcoming NSL Telikom Cup competition starting in 3rd November 2007. The committee had its founding meeting in mid-October and was briefed of their duties and responsibilities during the competition.

The media committee was formed to make updates on the competition through the season. The committee members will be sent to each games venues by NSL and will provide updates on the NSL Telikom Cup matches played at each of the venues.

The committee members are journalists from the PNG local media.

The media committee members include Frank Genaia and John Pangatana (Post Courier), Henry Morabang (The National), Tom Alau (NBC), Daisy Bowada (FM100), Dorothy Bengo (EMTV) and Thomas Kambi (PNGFA Media Officer).

The PNGFA media officer will be at the OFC-PNGFA office in Port Moresby and provide live updates on the games at the PNGFA website where possible. 

NSL Telikom Cup 2007/2008 draw

PAGO PAGO - Konica FC have taken command of Pool 1 in the national Men's Competition in Pago Pago following the latest round of fixtures played last weekend. Konica FC's 100% winning record was maintained thanks to a 4-0 victory over Manuula Heat coupled with Peace Brother's astonishing 0-2 reversal against FC SKBC that saw last week's table-toppers slipping into second place.

Fagasa closed the gap on Peace Brothers to just two points after a 7-0 win over struggling Tafuna Jets 2. Pago Youth stay in the hunt for a top two finish with a comfortable 6-0 victory over winless Flame On. Positions two through to six remain ultra competitive with three rounds still remaining before the finalists for the semi-finals are discovered.

The situation in Pool 2 remains equally intriguing with Utueli Youth continuing its charge toward the top two after a convincing 5-2 win over Autali. Tafuna Jets keep the blowtorch close on the table-topping Utueli after a narrow 2-1 win over Konica Airbase. Pansas 3-0 win over Ilaoa & Toomata in tandem with Pago Eagles easy 7-0 win over bottom-placed Aua Old School leaves the competition for semi-final spots wide open.

Matches in the national Men's and Women's competitions were transferred from the FIFA Goal Project facility at Pago Park to Kanana Fou temporarily with the founding congress of the American Samoa Football Federation (ASFF) scheduled to take place this weekend.

Round five fixtures scheduled for this weekend have consequently been postponed.

In the Women's Competition, Black Rose retained their 100% winning record with a 3-0 victory over Tafuna Jets. The race for second spot is far from clear cut with Pansa and Utueli tied on 9 points with Pago Girls and Fagasa in 4th and 5th place on 7 points.

Tafuna Jets and Lion Heart sit back in mid-table on 6 points-a-peice with the bottom three teams headed by Brave Heart FC on 3 points followed by Kip McGrath and Tafuna Jets 2 yet to record a single point.

FOOTBALL FEDERATION OF AMERICAN SAMOA (FFAS)  

SENIOR MEN’S COMPETITION – POOL 1  

Standings-   

Results: Fagasa 7, Tafuna Jets 0; FC SKBC 2, Peace Brothers 0; Pago Youth 6, Flame On 0; Konica FC 4, Manuula Heat 0. 

FOOTBALL FEDERATION OF AMERICAN SAMOA (FFAS)  

SENIOR MEN’S COMPETITION – POOL 2  

Standings-   

Results: Pansa’s 3, Ilaoa & Toomata 0; Utueli Youth 5, Autali 2; Tafuna Jets 2, Konica Airbase 1; Pago Eagles 7, Aua Old School 0.

HONIARA - Makuru FC bounced back to the top of the DJ League Premier Division following its 3-2 win over Laugu FC in their mid-week clash at Lawson Tama Stadium.

Goals from international midfielder George Lui, John Anita and Batram Suri sealed victory for Makuru who remain unbeaten after five rounds of the competition. But it was not easy as Makuru battled against a stubborn Laugu outfit.

Former Western Turtle defender Alec Wickham stood his ground on a number of occasions shutting Makuru's talisman Batram Suri from pausing any real threat around Laugu's goalmouth.
Makuru got onto the score sheet first before Laugu replied.

Tied 1-all both teams returned after halftime spell with a lot of urgency and Makuru's John Anita who came in from the bench scored from inside the six yards box.

Laugu players were unconvinced and appealed for offside but the match referee Chris Lengata stood by his decision and awarded Makuru the goal.

As the match wore on, Makuru brought in fresh legs in an attempt to maintain their strength and boost their goal scoring chances. And it paid off for them when Wickham - who worked tirelessly to water down Makuru's attacks - became a villain when he accidentally handled the ball inside the 18 yards box - giving Makuru the opportunity to increase their lead.

Veteran star striker Suri slotted the spot kick to give his team a 3-1 lead. But just when Makuru thought they would walk away with 3-1 win, Laugu was handed a spot kick and Peter Kaukui made no mistake in finding the back of the net to give his team a respectable finish.

The match ended with 3-2 victory to Makuru.

Meanwhile, Walas redeemed itself from three consecutive losses by winning their midweek clash beating Sunbeam 2-1 to register three valuable and much-needed DJ Premier League points.

Walas win also lifted them off the bottom of the DJ Premier League table leaving newly promoted Rangers and Naha as the only clubs that have not registered a point since the competition started more than two months ago.

Rising striking sensation Michael Taeman was the toast of his side, scoring two vital goals within minute of each other to seal Walas their first victory.

Walas has always been a competitive side since the beginning of the league with Taeman's eye catching performances a highlight.

Taeman has been linked to well-established clubs who are keen on getting him into their squad however, Walas management are adamant he will not leave them.

Taeman has proved a thorn for defenders of opposing teams and will again star for West Honiara in the upcoming Telekom Cup national U23 competition.

*In other Solomon Islands football news, Uncles' Kidston Billy scored a hat-trick against Zome and helped his team to move up the DJ Premier League to fourth place displacing KOSSA in the process.

However, the shift in fortunes may be short-lived if KOSSA can beat Marist in tomorrow’s top of the table clash between the countries two in-form clubs.

Marist will be without their inspirational strikers Abraham Iniga and Jack Samani who have resigned with PRK Souths in the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League Telikom Cup.

KOSSA has also lost key players James Naka and Joe Luwi who are with the Bilikiki team in Brazil and will field a young and inexperienced side for this match.

DJ LEAGUE – PREMIER DIVISION 

Standings – 01.11.07