Henderson Eels continue their perfect start in the Telekom S-League with a fourth consecutive with a 10-0 thrashing of new franchise Southern United and champions Solomon Warriors closes the gap after a 3-0 victory over struggling Malaita Kingz at Lawson Tama on Sunday 30 August 2020.
Veteran striker Joses Nawo scored four goals against Southern to record his eight goal of the season so far as the leading scorer ahead of youngster Raphael Lea’i who currently has seven goals to his name.
Henderson Eels coach, Eddie Marahare was pleased with his team’s current form after matchweek four.
“After our last game I think we worked on a lot of finishing and I am happy it pays off today (Saturday) because I’m sure teams bit hold back so we worked on the finishing third,” he said,
“I’m happy the players take responsibility and confidence in the final third”.
Marahare led Eels to the quaterfinals of this year’s OFC Champions League and he has credited his team’s stellar form down to exposure playing in the region’s elite international club competition.
“Now the team has a lot of confidence as the exposure and experience in the O-League is paying off. Having qualified for the quarterfinals in the O-League in a way it help us think outside of the box knowing we will be going against tough opposition in O-League,” he added.
Eels front three Nawo, Tanito and Lea’i are very effective in front of goal this season. The Eels tactician lauds both Nawo and Tanito for leading by example for his young lads in the team.
“The forwards start to work out and I’m happy especially with Joses and Tuti as senior players they are leading by example in our games it’s a good learning for our young boys in the team,” Marahare stressed.
After finishing twice second behind Solomon Warriors in the past two seasons, Marahare is confident his team has what it takes to challenge for the title this season.
“Next match is against Honiara City. Like a I said after two seasons I think we are ready to compete for the title so I think everything is very important and we are ready just to take them on.
“The past wins are attributed to the team discipline, hard-work & team work. The challenge for us now is consistency in team performance in games.
“And the good thing is that as a team we will work on it in training. Second, I am also pleased that the overall team with has improved from past season”.
Defending champions Solomon Warriors also had a strong start to the season but the men in red had to dug deep against in their first three matches against Marist FC, KOSSA and Malaita Kingz.
Vanuatu international and Solomon Warriors midfielder John Alick is adamant the champions are capable of defending their title this season.
Alick played a crucial part in Warriors’ opening three matches and shared his thoughts after the win against a determined Malaita Kingz today at Lawson Tama.
“The win today gives us a good feeling since we still need to catch up with Henderson Eels. So it’s feel good to win the game,” he said.
“When we win it boost the morale of our boys also we can be able to win our next game. If we draw or lose then we need to work hard. It doesn’t mean look down on other teams but we need to work hard to stay on the winning side”.
The midfielder is the only foreign player this season in the TSL and he is proud to represent his country Vanuatu and wearing the Warriors colours again for another season.
“I feel proud as a representative of Vanuatu since I’m the only one in the TSL so I’m happy to back with the team for this season,” he added.
“We have the winning mentality and we want to defend the title again. As you can see we struggle a bit but it doesn’t mean we are down but we still try to maintain our position as champions”.
In other matches on over the weekend, new comers Central Coast FC handed FC Isabel United their third defeat of the season as the reds move up to third place on the table standings while Honiara City and Real Kakamora earned a point each after a goalless draw in the opening match on Sunday.
