Wikipedia

2018 OFC Champions League

The 2018 OFC Champions League was the 17th edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and the 12th season under the current OFC Champions League name.

2018 OFC Champions League
Tournament details
Host countriesQualifying stage:
American Samoa
Group stage:
Vanuatu (Group A)
Tahiti (Group B)
New Zealand (Group C)
Solomon Islands (Group D)
DatesQualifying stage:
20–26 January 2018
Competition proper:
10 February – 20 May 2018
TeamsCompetition proper: 16
Total: 18 (from 11 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsNew Zealand Team Wellington (1st title)
Runners-upFiji Lautoka
Tournament statistics
Matches played40
Goals scored177 (4.43 per match)
Attendance91,636 (2,291 per match)
Top scorer(s)New Zealand Angus Kilkolly
Argentina Emiliano Tade (8 goals each)
Best player(s)New Caledonia Roy Kayara
Best goalkeeperSpain Eñaut Zubikarai
Fair play awardNew Zealand Auckland City
← 2017
2019 →

In the final, Team Wellington defeated Lautoka 10–3 on aggregate and qualified as the OFC representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Auckland City are the defending champions, having won the last seven titles straight, but they were eliminated in the semi-finals.

Format change edit

For this season, the top two teams of each group (instead of only the group winners) in the group stage advanced to the knockout stage, which included a quarter-final round played as a single match hosted by the group winners.[1]

Teams edit

class=notpageimage|
Location of teams of the 2018 OFC Champions League.
  Teams entering the group stage; (H) Group stage host
  Teams entering the qualifying stage; (h) Qualifying stage host

A total of 18 teams from all 11 OFC member associations enter the competition.

  • The seven developed associations (Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu) are awarded two berths each in the group stage.
  • The four developing associations (American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga) are awarded one berth each in the qualifying stage, with the winners and runners-up advancing to the group stage.
Teams entering the group stage
Association Team Qualifying method
  Fiji Lautoka 2017 Fiji Premier League champions
Ba 2017 Fiji Premier League runners-up
  New Caledonia Magenta 2016 New Caledonia Super Ligue champions
Lössi 2016 New Caledonia Super Ligue runners-up
  New Zealand Team Wellington 2016–17 New Zealand Football Championship finals series champions
Auckland City 2016–17 New Zealand Football Championship regular season premiers
  Papua New Guinea Toti City 2017 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League regular season premiers
Madang 2017 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League regular season runners-up
  Solomon Islands Solomon Warriors 2017–18 Solomon Islands S-League champions
Marist 2017–18 Solomon Islands S-League runners-up
  Tahiti Dragon 2016–17 Tahiti Ligue 1 champions
Vénus 2016–17 Tahiti Ligue 1 runners-up
  Vanuatu Nalkutan 2016–17 VFF National Super League grand final champions
Erakor Golden Star 2016–17 VFF National Super League grand final runners-up
Teams entering the qualifying stage
Association Team Qualifying method
  American Samoa Pago Youth 2016 FFAS Senior League champions
  Cook Islands Tupapa Maraerenga 2017 Cook Islands Round Cup champions
  Samoa Lupe o le Soaga 2017 Samoa National League champions
  Tonga Veitongo 2017 Tonga Major League champions

Schedule edit

The schedule of the competition is as follows.[2][3][4]

Stage Draw date Match dates
Qualifying stage 15 September 2017
(Auckland, New Zealand) 		20–26 January 2018
Group stage
  • Group A: 10–16 February 2018
  • Group B: 11–17 February 2018
  • Group C: 25 February – 3 March 2018
  • Group D: 24 February – 2 March 2018
Quarter-finals 5 March 2018
(Auckland, New Zealand) 		7–8 April 2018
Semi-finals
  • First leg: 22 April 2018
  • Second leg: 29 April 2018
Final
  • First leg: 13 May 2018
  • Second leg: 20 May 2018

Qualifying stage edit

Main article: 2018 OFC Champions League qualifying stage

The draw for the qualifying stage was held on 15 September 2017 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.[1] The champions of the four developing associations were drawn from Pot A into each of the four positions 1–4 to determine the fixtures.[5] The four teams in the qualifying stage played each other on a round-robin basis at a centralised venue. The winners and runners-up advanced to the group stage to join the 14 direct entrants. Matches were played between 20 and 26 January 2018 in Pago Pago, American Samoa.

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TUP LUP VEI PAG
1   Tupapa Maraerenga 3 3 0 0 15 2 +13 9 Group stage — 1–0 — —
2   Lupe o le Soaga 3 2 0 1 19 2 +17 6 — — 6–0 —
3   Veitongo 3 0 1 2 3 16 −13 1 2–9 — — 1–1
4   Pago Youth (H) 3 0 1 2 2 19 −17 1 0–5 1–13 — —
Source: OFC
(H) Hosts

Group stage edit

Main article: 2018 OFC Champions League group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 15 September 2017 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.[1] The 16 teams (14 teams entering the group stage and two teams advancing from the qualifying stage) were drawn into four groups of four, with each group containing two teams from Pot B (which were drawn into positions 1–2 to determine the fixtures) and two teams from Pot C (which were drawn into positions 3–4 to determine the fixtures). Teams from the same association, as well as the two teams advancing from the qualifying stage, could not be drawn into the same group. The teams were seeded based on the following:[5]

  • Pot B contained the champions of the seven developed associations, and the runners-up of New Zealand, by virtue of having the best second team in the 2017 OFC Champions League.
  • Pot C contained the runners-up of the six developed associations apart from New Zealand, and the two teams advancing from the qualifying stage, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.

The four teams in each group played each other on a round-robin basis at a centralised venue. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage. The hosts of each group were announced by OFC on 31 October 2017.[6]

  • Group A matches were played between 10 and 16 February 2018 in Port Vila, Vanuatu.
  • Group B matches were played between 11 and 17 February 2018 in Pirae, Tahiti.
  • Group C matches were played between 25 February – 3 March 2018 in Auckland, New Zealand.
  • Group D matches were played between 24 February – 2 March 2018 in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

Group A edit

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification NAL TOT BAF TUP
1   Nalkutan (H) 3 3 0 0 9 1 +8 9 Knockout stage — — 1–0 —
2   Toti City 3 2 0 1 9 6 +3 6 1–4 — 1–0 —
3   Ba 3 1 0 2 4 3 +1 3 — — — 4–1
4   Tupapa Maraerenga 3 0 0 3 3 15 −12 0 0–4 2–7 — —
Source: OFC
(H) Hosts

Group B edit

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification DRA SOL ERA LOS
1   Dragon (H) 3 2 0 1 9 5 +4 6 Knockout stage — — — 4–0
2   Solomon Warriors 3 2 0 1 8 4 +4 6 2–1 — — 6–1
3   Erakor Golden Star 3 1 1 1 7 6 +1 4 3–4 2–0 — —
4   Lössi 3 0 1 2 3 12 −9 1 — — 2–2 —
Source: OFC
(H) Hosts

Group C edit

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AUC LAU VEN MAD
1   Auckland City (H) 3 3 0 0 13 0 +13 9 Knockout stage — 1–0 — 5–0
2   Lautoka 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6 — — — 3–1
3   Vénus 3 1 0 2 3 10 −7 3 0–7 1–2 — —
4   Madang 3 0 0 3 2 10 −8 0 — — 1–2 —
Source: OFC
(H) Hosts

Group D edit

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification WEL MAR MAG LUP
1   Team Wellington 3 2 1 0 13 3 +10 7 Knockout stage — — 5–1 7–1
2   Marist (H) 3 1 2 0 5 3 +2 5 1–1 — 1–1 —
3   Magenta 3 1 1 1 4 6 −2 4 — — — 2–0
4   Lupe o le Soaga 3 0 0 3 2 12 −10 0 — 1–3 — —
Source: OFC
(H) Hosts

Knockout stage edit

Main article: 2018 OFC Champions League knockout stage

The eight teams in the knockout stage played on a single-elimination basis. In the quarter-finals, each tie was played as a single match, while in the semi-finals and final, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis.

Bracket edit

The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage (quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final) was held on 5 March 2018 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.[7][8]

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
          
  Team Wellington 11
  Toti City 0
  Team Wellington (a) 0 2 2
  Auckland City 0 2 2
  Auckland City 2
  Solomon Warriors 0
  Team Wellington 6 4 10
  Lautoka 0 3 3
  Dragon 1
  Lautoka 2
  Lautoka 1 1 2
  Marist 1 0 1
  Nalkutan 1
  Marist 2

Quarter-finals edit

In the quarter-finals, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group (teams from same group cannot play each other), with the group winners hosting the match, and the matchups decided by draw.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Team Wellington   11–0   Toti City
Auckland City   2–0   Solomon Warriors
Dragon   1–2   Lautoka
Nalkutan   1–2   Marist

Semi-finals edit

In the semi-finals, the four quarter-final winners played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Lautoka   2–1   Marist 1–1 1–0
Team Wellington   2–2 (a)   Auckland City 0–0 2–2

Final edit

Main article: 2018 OFC Champions League Final

In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs decided by draw.

Team Wellington  6–0  Lautoka
 Report
Attendance: 1,200
Lautoka  3–4  Team Wellington
 Report
Attendance: 1,000

Team Wellington won 10–3 on aggregate.

Top goalscorers edit

  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.
Rank Player Team QS1 QS2 QS3 GS1 GS2 GS3  QF  SF1 SF2  F1   F2  Total
1   Angus Kilkolly   Team Wellington 1 1 4 1 1 8
  Emiliano Tade   Auckland City 3 2 1 1 1
2   Ross Allen   Team Wellington 3 2 1 1 7
  Sean Latimer   Tupapa Maraerenga 1 3 1 1 1
4   Suivai Ataga   Lupe o le Soaga 5 1 6
  Maro Bonsu-Maro   Tupapa Maraerenga 3 2 1
7   Tamatoa Tetauira   Dragon 2 2 1 5
8   Raymond Gunemba   Toti City 4 4
  Nathanael Hailemariam   Team Wellington 1 3
  Azariah Soromon   Nalkutan 1 3
  Lapalapa Toni   Lupe o le Soaga 2 1 1

Awards edit

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.[9]

Award Player Team
Golden Ball   Roy Kayara   Team Wellington
Golden Boot   Angus Kilkolly   Team Wellington
Golden Glove   Eñaut Zubikarai   Auckland City
Fair Play Award —   Auckland City

Note: Although Angus Kilkolly and Emiliano Tade both scored eight goals in the competition, Kilkolly won the Golden Boot as he played less minutes than Tade.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Groups confirmed for Champions League". Oceania Football Confederation. 15 September 2017.
  2. ^ "OFC Champions League schedule revealed". Oceania Football Confederation. 11 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Match Schedule 2018" (PDF). Oceania Football Confederation.
  4. ^ "OFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2018 KNOCKOUT STAGE" (PDF). Oceania Football Confederation.
  5. ^ a b "2018 OFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW". YouTube. 15 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Hosts announced for OFC Champions League 2018". Oceania Football Confederation. 31 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Quarter final fixtures confirmed". Oceania Football Confederation. 5 March 2018.
  8. ^ "2018 OFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE KNOCKOUT STAGE OFFICIAL DRAW". YouTube. 5 March 2018.
  9. ^ "New club champions crowned". Oceania Football Confederation. 20 May 2018.

External links edit

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