OFC Champions League

Three-way tussle on Group B’s final day

In what shapes as a fascinating final day at Stade Pater, hosts AS Dragon (6 points and a goal difference of +5), Solomon Warriors (3 points, +3) and Vanuatu’s Erakor Golden Star (3 points, +1) could each top the group, qualify as runners-up or miss the playoffs altogether by finishing third.

In the most complex scenario, wins to Erakor and Solomon Warriors would leave all three teams level on six points with the final positions decided on goal difference, goals scored then a countback on head-to-head results if required.

AS Dragon close in on OFC Champs League quarters

Dragon beat Vanuatu's Erakor Golden Star 4-3 in dramatic fashion while the Warriors thrashed AS Lossi from New Caledonia 6-1.

Reynald Lemaitre's glancing header in the 11th minute opened the scoring for hosts Dragon but Erakor needed only four minutes to equalise from the penalty spot.

The Vanuatu club twice took the lead during the second half at Stade Pater and an 84th minute own-goal appeared to have secured all three points, despite the visitors being reduced to 10 men.

Leaders square off in Group B

Meanwhile, in the afternoon kick-off at Stade Pater it’s do-or-die for Solomon Warriors and New Caledonia’s AS Lossi who each need points to keep alive their hopes of claiming one of the two playoff places on offer.

Buoyed by their 2-0 win over Solomon Warriors on Sunday, Erakor Golden Star’s coach Obed Jimmy said the Vanuatu club were riding a wave of confidence as they look to back up against the Tahitian champions.

“I told our players before the first game that the first match would push us to a new level,” Jimmy said.

Erakor, Dragon start OFC Champs League in winning fashion

Erakor beat 10-man Solomon Warriors 2-0 in the opening Group B match at Stade Pater in Papeete.

The key moment in the match came in the 63rd minute when Warriors goalkeeper Abraham Bird was sent off for handling the ball outside the box.

Barry Mansale stepped up and curled the resulting free-kick into the top left hand corner of the goal to open the scoring before Tony Kaltack doubled their lead a minute later.

Erakor coach Obed Jimmy said it was a big result.

"I'm very proud of my boys and of the result. 2-0 is a huge result for us," he said.

Tupapa seal OFC Champions League return

The Cook Islands club last featured in the main draw back in 2001 and this is the first time they've progressed to the Group Stage via the Qualifier.

Sean Latimer put Tupapa in control with two goals in the opening 22 minutes and, along with Maro Bonsu-Maro, ended the match with a hat-trick.

Soakai Vea won a penalty for Veitongo after the half hour but lost his cool and was shown a red card.

Host countries announced for OFC Champions League

Group A will be held in Vanuatu from 10-18 February, with local debutantes Nalkutan FC joined by Papua New Guinea's Lae City Dwellers, Ba FC from Fiji and the winners of the Qualifying Stage.

Tahiti's AS Dragon will host Group B in Papeete, which also features New Caledonia's AS Lossi, Erakor Golden Star from Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands champions.

Defending champions Auckland City will host their group for the second year running, from 24 February to 4 March, alongside Fiji's Lautoka FC, Madang FC from Papua New Guinea and AS Venus of Tahiti.

Lautoka FC qualify for OFC Champions League

Lautoka haven’t made an appearance in the region’s premier international club competition since 2011, and made sure their return would be a deserved one.

The side remains undefeated in the national league, topping the table with 34 points with one last match to play against Rewa.

Despite falling short in both the Fiji Fact and Battle of the Giants, Kamal Swamy’s side regrouped to ensure a fairytale run to the OFC Champions League maintaining an unbeaten run of 13 consecutive league games.

Erakor book Champions League return

Jacky Reuben was the first to open the scoring for Erakor with a well-placed attempt drifting just wide of Ifira’s diving keeper. Tony Kaltak was behind the second goal, firing the ball into the back of the net with a powerful header from a perfectly-timed cross to secure the win.

The defending champions’ journey to the regional competition has been anything but linear, falling short of the top spot in the PVFA Premier Championship to Ifira Black Bird FC, then conceding to the league champions again when both teams met in the first round of the Port Vila Super League.

Auckland in emphatic 11-0 win over Malampa Revivors

Western United’s rollicking 5-3 win over Papua New Guinea’s Lae City Dwellers earlier in the day drew them level with Auckland on points meaning the Navy Blues needed a point to confirm their place in the final four ahead of the Solomon Islands champions.

But the eight-time confederation champions never looked under threat, scoring early and never looking back en route to posting the biggest winning margin in the champions league era of Oceania club competition.

Tefana tested but through to semi-finals

In the earlier match Erakor Golden Star had been hoping to keep their dreams of semi-final qualification alive – even if by a long shot – but unfortunately for the Vanuatu side Rewa had other plans beating them 2-1 to claim their first points.