OFC News

The Future Stars Invitational U-17 Women’s tournament in Auckland is helping to raise the profile of the women’s game in the build up to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup hosted in New Zealand October.
 
When talking about profile and Women’s football it is impossible to look past USA.

At senior level a FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy and two gold medal winning performances at the Olympics are complemented by a world ranking that has never dropped outside the top two since the creation of FIFA’s women’s rankings. USA won the inaugural FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and it’s safe to bet their U-17’s are aiming to replicate the feat and once again complete the set of FIFA trophies in October.

The USA U-17 Women’s team is led by Head Coach Kazbek Tambi who has been the U 16 National team coach since 2005 and took over the U-17 role last year. Tambi has also coached in the New Jersey Olympic Development Program, and served as the head coach for several prominent club teams, such as the Arsenal World Class Women’s Team. Tambi holds a USSF “A” License, the highest level in America.

Kazbek Tambi found time to sit down with OFC and discuss success, the US College system, and what brought his side down under.

Why did you decide to come to New Zealand for the future stars tournament?

Well the world cup is going to be here in New Zealand in and with it being so far away from where we are in the states we thought it would be a tremendous opportunity to get a feel for the country, the climate and the whole soccer environment so that when we came here after qualifications for the world cup we would be ahead of the game and know what we had to look forward to.

Why is the USA so successful in Women’s Football while the Men find it harder to make such a dominating impression on the world scene?

The men have a pretty decent side and we got to the final eight  two world cups ago but in men’s soccer there are so many other strong countries. On the women’s side of the equation the game is relatively new, not only to the United States but also to the rest of the world and I feel that year by year the game is definitely improving. I think that the US had a head start over the rest of the world in terms of when the game began more than 30 years ago whereas in other countries women weren’t playing the game. Now more and more strong countries are coming onto the scene and you can see that based on the last world cup with countries like Brazil and Korea becoming such powerhouses and all the other countrie catching up.

In the US , top young talent progresses through the college soccer system where their athletic talents are rewarded with large scholarships to play and study at the same time. Do you see this as an important part of developing US Women’s soccer?

The main advantage for any of these players who want to play in college is that they can get a free education at the same time which in the United States has become increasingly expensive.  Some institutions cost of around $40,000 a year without a scholarship which is incredibly expensive, so that’s the chief benefit.
 
As far as the soccer goes it can be hit and miss because of the vast number of colleges. There are many college program’s which are really terrific and will continue the development of players but there are also colleges depending on the coach and the program that will hinder the development.
 
I have a mixed view of the whole thing; I’m actually a University coach myself at Seton Hall Univeristy just outside New York City so I’m pretty familiar with that scene. But the most outstanding advantage is that they get a free education.

What advice would you give for some of the top players in Oceania who may be interested in pursuing that option into the US college system?

The first thing I would say is make sure you do your homework. There are a few hundred different programs out there and they vary tremendously in terms of the level of coaching and the level of the soccer. Someone from Oceania with limited knowledge may go somewhere and not really have a clue as to what they’re getting into and I think they really need to do their research and talk to people who are very familiar with the college scene before they go out and look  closer at some of the schools out there. I would be happy to be a resource to any kids in Oceania who are looking to head over to the states.

After watching New Zealand’s game against Germany what do you see as the strengths and weaknesses in the New Zealand game?

I thought the game was more indicative of Germany’s strengths then New Zealand’s weaknesses with them being one of the top teams in the world. I felt New Zealand was very strong and aggressive and they won a lot of 50-50 situations. They were also very positive and tried to keep the ball. At times it broke down but you could see that there was a conscious effort to really play high level soccer. There were a couple of technical breakdowns and in some cases the Germans were a little bit sharper but I thought it was a good match and I think New Zealand is one of those kind of countries that can be a whole lot better with good training and good work.

Who are the players in your current squad to look for in the future?

It’s hard to say because this is one of the first competitions that we’ve come to. Prior to this we just had some training camps and we haven’t even gone to our qualifications yet which we’re expected to do sometime in the spring.  I’ll probably have a much greater picture at the end of this tournament and in the upcoming weeks. We’ve got a pretty well rounded group at the moment as far as I can see. As far as the ones who are a little more special we will be able to see over the next couple of months.

 

*New Zealand face the United States at 6.00pm on Thursday, january 31, 2008

Hekari United FC and the Morobe Kumuls FC fought out an entertaining 3-3 draw in their top of the table clash in Papua New Guinea’s National Soccer league this weekend.

Kumuls coach Max Foster said it wasn’t the desired result, however was able to put on a wry smile and mumble that they are still one up on the reigning champs.

Hekari were hungry to pay-back the 3-0 loss they received in the first-round and looked to have the match wrapped up when they led 2-0 at half-time.

Solomon Islander Jack Samani opened the scoring in the 23rd minute after pouncing on a deflection in the penalty box and then Andrew Lepani latched onto a ball handling error from goal-keeper Dan Kutuapi to score their second-goal and make it 2-0.

The home-side was on the back-foot for the first time and despite numerous attempts from strikers Raymond Gunemba and Allan Kambais, they went to half-time with the two goal deficit.

The Hekari mid-field combination of David Muta, Lepani and flankers Benjamin Mela and Samani had control of the first-half.

The second-half however saw a dramatic change with replacements Edmund Lalo (striker) and Michael Foster (left-flanker) making an instant impact to their offence.

Within the first 10 minutes, the Morobeans finally saw daylight with their first goal from Gunemba to finally get a cheer from the crowd. It was the equaliser from Lalo a minute later that put them in raptures with hope returning for a possible win. The home-side had the ascendancy from there with Sowera Guti, Ken Gule, Roniel Igins, Armstrong Peka, Gunemba, Foster and Lalo applying mountains of pressure.

With 10 to 12 minutes remaining the match was suddenly called off. The referee was later corrected and play continued after a minute.

Despite the adrenalin rush from Morobe, a depleted looking Hekari managed to hit back with Lepani’s second-goal.

With all hope lost for the hosts, replacement Cherry Rauna was in the right place at the right time to head in the equaliser from a corner kick on the stroke of full-time.

After the match, Hekari team manager Vonnie Kapi-Natto voiced her concern over the incident where the referee said the break was a water break for players to cool down.

“This I believe stopped the momentum of our players to finish off the game properly.

“As far as I know the NSL does not provide for a water break,” she added. “This could have been the difference between a drawn match and a win,” she said.

Guti won the man of the match with three points, Mela two points and Igins one point.

Telikom National Soccer League Standings

Team	P	W	L	D	Bye	F	A	GD	Pts
Inspac Rapatona FC	7	5	2	0	1	13	5	+8	15
Hekari United FC	7	4	1	2	1	19	12	+7	14
Morobe Kumuls FC	7	4	2	1	1	15	3	+12	13
Gelle Hills FC	6	4	2	0	1	9	8	+1	12
Welgris Highlander FC	7	3	3	1	1	15	7	+8	10
Besta Fighters	7	1	5	1	1	8	16	-8	4
Madang Fox FC	7	0	6	1	1	8	28	-20	1

Papua New Guinea have began identifying talent for the upcoming OFC Olympic Qualifiers in Fiji.

Yesterday marked the first day of trial training camp held at the PNGFA academy in Lae to select a squad to compete in the Under- 23 men’s Olympics qualifier’s from March 1-10

The coaching staff headed by Queensland-based George Cowie and assisted by Joe Turia and John Davani have been observing 27 players from Goroka, Mount Hagen, Madang, Lae and Wabag. They will be put through a number of various tests over the next two days.

The coaching staff identified many of the trialist’s from the Telikom National Soccer League following the triple header in Lae on Saturday.

Turia said the next two days provided an opportunity for others outside the NSL to show what they could do.

“Only Gelle Hills NSL franchise didn’t play on the weekend, but we will have a look at them this Saturday,” said Turia.

Turia confirmed they have named two overseas players – William Mobbs (Sydney) and Alex Davani (Brisbane) in the selection pool.

The National Soccer League is helping to improve the standard in PNG and the men’s team will be tough and aggressive as a result of George Cowie coaching.

PNG will meet the Solomon Islands in their opening game of the tournament on March 1.

PNG OFC Olympic Qualifiers Draw

Match Day 1 – 1 March 2008*

Papua New Guinea vs Solomon Islands

Match Day 2 – 3 March 2008*

Fiji vs Papua New Guinea

Match Day 3 – 5 March 2008*

Papua New Guinea vs New Zealand

Match Day 4 – 7 March 2008*

Cook Islands vs Papua New Guinea

Match Day 5 – 9 March 2008*

Vanuatu vs Papua New Guinea

*Kick-off times and venues to be confirmed

Telikom National Soccer League Ladder as of 29.01.08

Team	P	W	L	D	Bye	F	A	GD	Pts
Inspac Rapatona FC	7	5	2	0	1	13	5	+8	15
Hekari United FC	7	4	1	2	1	19	12	+7	14
Morobe Kumuls FC	7	4	2	1	1	15	3	+12	13
Gelle Hills FC	6	4	2	0	1	9	8	+1	12
Welgris Highlander FC	7	3	3	1	1	15	7	+8	10
Besta Fighters	7	1	5	1	1	8	16	-8	4
Madang Fox FC	7	0	6	1	1	8	28	-20	1

The experience and lessons learned from the Young Ferns 4-0 loss to Germany in the opening game of the Future Stars tournament will prove invaluable come World Cup time according to Head Coach Paul Temple.

The Young Ferns (New Zealand Women’s U17 team) were outclassed today by an exciting German side who impressed and entertained the 300-strong crowd at North Harbour Stadiums outer oval with a performance which reinforced their world class pedigree.

USA earlier trounced Australia 6-0 to kick-start the five-day precursor to the October 28-November 16 World Cup.

Germany and USA’s opening-day dominance was unsurprising given that the two have won eight of the 11 FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games titles between them.
 

New Zealand fell behind in the twenty seventh minute when Yasmin Pietsch finished off a slick counter attack for Germany with a powerful 20 yard drive into the back of the net.

New Zealand were able to absorb a lot of the German attacks with captain Briony Fisher and Bridgette Armstrong forming a formidable centre back pairing who snuffed out any aerial threat from the Germans.

But it was the quick interplay in the German attack which was causing the Young Ferns problems on the deck and in the 35th minute New Zealand’s defence was breached again this time by Svenja Huth.

Annalie Longo looked the most comfortable of the New Zealand players on the ball and her tidy footwork led to an impressive 30 yard shot which goalkeeper Lisa Schmitz did well to turn around the post for a corner halfway through the first half.

But the most damage was being done up the right flank by talented winger Turid Knaak who helped set up a second for Huth just before halftime and added one of her own in the 83rd minute to cap off a supurb performance when she expertly lobbed the NZ keeper from outside the box.

New Zealand competed physically with the Germans but found it difficult to deal with their speed going forward.
 
But the news wasn’t all bad for New Zealand who showed glimpses of potential throughout the match and created a number of good first half opportunities involving some intricate one two’s around the box with Longo being at the route of most of the productive play.

Temple felt that the New Zealand side improved as the game went on, but struggled to deal with the Germans intensity.

“I’m a little bit disappointed,” Temple said. “We made a few mistakes in the first half and I think we gave them a few of the goals as opposed to making them earn them.”

“It’s been a great experience for the girls to be able to play the Germans because they’re one of the top nations in the world and just to be on the same pitch as them provides a real big learning curve for us and the development for the future.”

Temple picked out defender Briony Fisher and forward Sarah McLaughlin as standouts for the young ferns and noted Leah Galley did very well when she came off the bench in the second half.

Temple stressed that the exposure and experience of playing in this tournament will be very beneficial in preparation for the world cup.

“We need to play these teams because it exposes our weaknesses and allows us to work on these leading into the world cup. We need these games to truly find out what we need to improve on.

“The girls were a little bit nervous and didn’t know what to expect so getting these games under our belt now will allow the girls to go into the world cup more focused and more familiar with this level of football.”

The Young Ferns will meet the USA in their second game of the tournament on Thursday, January 31 at North Harbour Stadium.

Future Stars

Results from the first day of the U-17 women’s quadrangular tournament at North Harbour Stadium:

USA 6 (Samantha Mewis 32, 41, 67; Victoria DiMartino 40, Kristen Mewis 59, Courtney Verloo 79) Australia 0. Halftime: 3-0

USA: Taylor Vancil (GK), Victoria DiMartino (Courtney Verloo 69), Amber Brooks, Crystal Dunn (Alexis Harris 89), Cloee Colohan, Kristen Mewis (Olivia Klei 89), Tani Costa (Kealia Ohai 73), Jenna Richmond (Erika Tymrak 83), Samantha Mewis, Julia Roberts, Zakiya Bywaters (Mary Wagner 65).
Substitutes not used: Kelsey Wys (GK)
Head coach: Kazbek Tambi

Cautions: Brooks

Australia: Casey Dumont, Sophie Hogben (Tara Andrews 87), Linda O'Neill, Samantha Kerr (Teigan Allen 81), Ella Mastrantonio, Marianna Tabain, Jenna Kingsley (Nicola Bolger 73), Kyah Simon (Tameka Butt 41), Vedrana Popovic (Rachel Wynne 75), Emily van Egmond, Alesha Clifford.
Substitutes not used: Nicole Calder (GK), Ruth Wallace.
Head coach: Gary Philips.

New Zealand 0 Germany 4(Yasmin Pietsch 27, Svenja Huth 35, 45; Turid Knaak 83). Halftime: 0-3.

New Zealand: Charlotte Wood (GK), Rebecca Brown (Jodi Curtis 88), Briony Fisher (Captain), Bridgette Armstrong, Hannah Wall, Annalie Longo (Jessica Rollings 82), Rosie White, Claudia Crasborn (Anna Fullerton 46), Nadia Pearl (Leah Gallie 60), Lauren Mathis (Caitlin Campbell 60), Sarah McLaughlin (Gabrielle Kerdemelidis 78).
Substitutes not used: Elise Mamanu-Grey, Danielle McFadyen (GK), Lauren Murray, Yumi Nguyen.
Head coach: Paul Temple.

Cautions: White

Germany: Lisa Schmitz (GK), Claudia Bujna, Inka Wesely (Julia Debitzki 76), Valeria Kleiner, Carolin Simon (Laura Vetterlein 68), Marie-Louise Bagehorn, Svenja Huth, Tabea Kemme, Alexandra Popp (Turid Knaak 21), Yasmin Pietsch (Lynn Mester 73), Isabelle Linden (Annika Doppler 68).
Substitutes not used: Almuth Schult (GK), Kristine Zumbült,
Coach: Ralf Peter.

Cautions: Pietsch, Kemme

Draw:
Thursday: Germany v Australia (3.30pm), New Zealand v USA (6pm).
Saturday: USA v Germany (3.30pm), New Zealand v Australia (6pm).

Waikato remain in fifth Waitakere United shot to the top of the NZFC this week following a 2-0 win over Auckland City in a gritty contest at Fred Taylor Park.

Team Wellington missed the chance to catch ground on Auckland City when they finished 2-2 against Hawke’s Bay in Napier.

Waikato FC were the only other team to win in round ten when they overcame struggling Canterbury United 3-1.

Waitakere’s win over Auckland was their first achieved on-field in 15 NZFC and O-League clashes with City and catapults them to the top of the league for the first time this season.

It was an ex-Auckland player who struck first when Paul Seaman was quickest to react after Allan Pearce’s long range effort was fumbled by goalkeeper Tamati Williams. Benjamin Totori helped set up Seaman’s ninth minute opener and then added one of his own from a deft flick off a 32nd minute corner.

The goal was Totori’s eight of the season and he looks on course to bring home the golden boot trophy award for the second successive year after leading the NZFC with less than half the season to go.

The second half was full of niggle and Chad Coombes felt the referee’s wrath in the 50th minute when he was sent off for a second bookable offense. The red card effectively ended the match as a contest and Auckland will be trying to piece together where it all went wrong this week at training.

Third placed Team Wellington fought their way back to a 2-2 draw in a roller coaster match with Hawkes Bay United. Brazilan import Caue Benicio gave Wellington an early advantage but goals to Jarrod Smith and Sam Messam had Hawke’s Bay in front before the hour mark and firmly back in the hunt for a top three spot until All White striker Daniel Ellensohn restored parity in the 72nd minute.
 
In Hamilton, three slick first half goals were enough for Waikato to see off a determined Canterbury side who are plagued with problems. Stanley Waita opened the scoring for the home side in the 18th minute and then two slick goals in three minutes from Steven Holloway insured the result.

Waikato remain in fifth place, ahead of YoungHeart Manawatu and Otago United after those two teams played out a scoreless draw at Carisbrook.

Results

Waikato FC 3 (Stanley Waita 18, Steven Holloway 33/36)
Canterbury United 1 (Garry McDermott 55)
Halftime: 3-0

Waitakere United 2 (Paul Seaman 9, Benjamin Totori 33)
Auckland City0
Halftime: 2-0

Otago United 0
YoungHeart Manawatu 0
Halftime: 0-0

Hawke’s Bay United 2 (Jarrod Smith 26, Sam Messam 57)
Team Wellington 2 (Caue Benicio 12, Daniel Ellensohn 72)
Halftime: 1-1

NZFC Standings

Name	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
Waitakere United	11	9	1	1	32	7	25	28
Auckland City	11	8	2	1	23	8	15	26
Team Wellington	11	7	2	2	26	15	11	23
Hawke's Bay United	10	4	3	3	16	14	2	15
Waikato FC	10	3	2	5	13	14	-1	11
YoungHeart Manawatu	10	2	2	6	14	26	-12	8
Otago United	10	1	2	7	4	22	-18	5
Canterbury United	11	0	2	9	8	30	-22	2