2014–15 OFC Champions League explained

Tourney Name:OFC Champions League
Year:2014–15
Other Titles:2015 Fiji Airways OFC Champions League
Country:Preliminary stage:
Country2:Final stage:
Dates:Preliminary stage:
7–11 October 2014
Final stage:
11–26 April 2015
Num Teams:Final stage: 12
Total: 15
Associations:11
Champion Other: Auckland City
Count:7
Second Other: Team Wellington
Matches:27
Goals:97
Top Scorer:Preliminary stage:
Silao Malo
Final stage:
Saula Waqa
Player: Ivan Vicelich
Goalkeeper: Tamati Williams
Fair Play: Suva
Prevseason:2013–14
Nextseason:2016

The 2014–15 OFC Champions League (officially the 2015 Fiji Airways OFC Champions League for sponsorship reasons)[1] was the 14th edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 9th season under the current OFC Champions League name.

In an all-New Zealand final, four-time defending champions Auckland City defeated Team Wellington 4–3 on penalties (1–1 after extra time) to win their fifth consecutive and seventh overall title.[2] As the winner of the 2014–15 OFC Champions League, Auckland City earned the right to represent the OFC at the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup.

Teams

A total of 15 teams from all 11 OFC associations entered the competition. The four associations with the best results in the 2013–14 OFC Champions League (Fiji, New Zealand, Tahiti, Vanuatu) were awarded two berths each, and three other associations (New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands) were awarded one berth each. Those teams directly entered the group stage, to be joined by the winner of the preliminary stage, which was contested by teams from the four developing associations (American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga).

AssociationTeamQualifying method
Teams entering the group stage
FijiSuva2014 Fiji National Football League champion
Ba2014 Fiji National Football League runner-up
New CaledoniaGaïtcha2013 New Caledonia Super Ligue champion
New ZealandAuckland City2013–14 New Zealand Football Championship grand final champion
2013–14 New Zealand Football Championship regular season premier
Team Wellington2013–14 New Zealand Football Championship regular season runner-up
Papua New GuineaHekari United2014 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League champion
Solomon IslandsWestern United2014–15 Solomon Islands S-League champion
TahitiPirae2013–14 Tahiti Ligue 1 champion
Tefana2014–15 Tahiti Ligue 1 regular phase winner
VanuatuTafea2014 VFF National Super League champion
Amicale2014 VFF National Super League runner-up
Teams entering the preliminary stage
American SamoaSKBC2013 FFAS Senior League champion
Cook IslandsPuaikura2013 Cook Islands Round Cup champion
SamoaLupe ole Soaga2012–13 Samoa National League champion
TongaLotoha'apai United2013 Tonga Major League champion

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows. For this edition, the semi-finals and final were played as single matches (instead of over two legs on a home-and-away format as in the previous edition).[3]

StageDate
Preliminary stage
(Host: Samoa)
Matchday 17 October 2014
Matchday 29 October 2014
Matchday 311 October 2014
Group stage
(Host: Fiji)
Matchday 111–12 April 2015
Matchday 214–15 April 2015
Matchday 317–18 April 2015
Knockout stage
(Host: Fiji)
Semi-finals21 April 2015
Final26 April 2015

Preliminary stage

The preliminary stage was played in Apia, Samoa from 7 to 11 October 2014. The draw to determine the fixtures was held on 22 September 2014 at the OFC headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.[4] The four teams played each other on a round-robin basis. The group winner advanced to the group stage to join the 11 automatic qualifiers.

All times UTC+14.

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Group stage

The group stage was played in Ba and Suva, Fiji from 11 to 18 April 2015. The draw for the group stage was held on 5 December 2014 at the OFC headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.[5] The 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four, with each group containing one team from each of the four pots. The allocation of teams into pots was based on the results of their associations in the previous edition of the OFC Champions League. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.

width=25%Pot 1width=25%Pot 2width=25%Pot 3width=25%Pot 4
valign=top valign=top valign=top valign=top

The schedule was confirmed on 4 February 2015.[6] In each group, the four teams played each other on a round-robin basis. The group winners and the best runner-up advanced to the semi-finals.

All times UTC+12.

Group A

----The kick-off of Group A matches on matchday 2 were delayed by 30 minutes due to heavy rain.[7] ----

Group B

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Group C

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Ranking of second-placed teams

Knockout stage

The knockout stage was played in Suva, Fiji from 21 to 26 April 2015.[8] The four teams played on a single-elimination basis.

Bracket

All times UTC+12.

Semi-finals

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Final

See main article: 2015 OFC Champions League Final.

Awards

+Preliminary stage[9]
AwardPlayerTeam
Golden Ball Silao Malo Lupe ole Soaga
Golden Boot Silao Malo Lupe ole Soaga
Golden Gloves Sione Faupula Lotoha'apai United
Fair Play Award Puaikura
+Final stage (Group stage & Knockout stage)
AwardPlayerTeam
Golden Ball Ivan Vicelich Auckland City
Golden Boot Saula Waqa Ba
Golden Gloves Tamati Williams Auckland City
Fair Play Award Suva

Top goalscorers

+Preliminary stage
RankPlayerTeamGoals
1 Silao Malo Lupe ole Soaga5
2 Luki Gosche Lupe ole Soaga2
Kang Gun-chul SKBC
Stuart Kelly Puaikura
Andrew Setefano Lupe ole Soaga
Mark Uhatahi Lotoha'apai United
+Final stage (Group stage & Knockout stage)
RankPlayerTeamGoals
1 Saula Waqa Ba5
2 Jean Kaltack Tafea4
João Moreira Auckland City
4 Michael Gwyther Team Wellington3
Bertrand Kaï Gaïtcha
Jarrod Smith Team Wellington
Jean-Christ Wajoka Gaïtcha
8 Dennis Ifunaoa Hekari United2
Tommy Semmy Hekari United
Angelo Tchen Tefana
Osea Vakatalesau Amicale
Darren White Auckland City

[10]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: OFC teams up with Fiji Airways. Oceania Football Confederation. April 2, 2015. 2015-04-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20150403184534/http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/28e047a5-45c7-4568-90bf-1bf4edc7f805/language/en-US/Default.aspx. 2015-04-03. dead.
  2. Web site: Auckland City triumph in final thriller. Oceania Football Confederation. April 27, 2015. 2015-04-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20150427191350/http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/ae5c64d4-9c11-41ba-be8b-0c97b78deabb/language/en-US/Default.aspx. 2015-04-27. dead.
  3. Web site: OFC Executive Committee outcomes . Oceania Football Confederation . October 20, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150705001002/http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/11e59aa8-7a51-498a-963d-d463549766c1/language/en-US/Default.aspx . 2015-07-05 .
  4. Web site: OFC Champions League Preliminary draw finalised. Oceania Football Confederation. September 22, 2014. 2014-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20140923044142/http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/3e8ce1de-33bf-4e44-bc89-b78482497200/language/en-US/Default.aspx. 2014-09-23. dead.
  5. Web site: Draw reveals path to glory. Oceania Football Confederation. December 6, 2014. December 6, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141213132649/http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/1da4d31d-9b72-4cc9-93c1-62ca18e57b89/language/en-US/Default.aspx. December 13, 2014. dead.
  6. Web site: Champions League schedule confirmed. Oceania Football Confederation. February 4, 2015.
  7. Web site: DELAYED: Heavy rain in Ba delays Group A kick-off. Oceania Football Confederation. April 14, 2015. April 14, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924112653/http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/632f443d-b688-45ec-85f0-6f509cf21bdc/language/en-US/Default.aspx. September 24, 2015. dead.
  8. Web site: OFC Insider Magazine (2015 Fiji Airways OFC Champions League Special Edition). Oceania Football Confederation.
  9. Web site: Lupe Ole Soaga are Fiji-bound. Oceania Football Confederation. October 11, 2014. 2014-10-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20141016123955/http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/d1fa98f3-2b98-452e-aebb-2234392b41be/language/en-US/Default.aspx. 2014-10-16. dead.
  10. Web site: 2015 Fiji Airways OFC Champions League Competition Summary . OFC . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150518082609/http://210.48.80.94/OFC/Portals/0/Images/Articles/MD8%20Competition%20Summary.pdf . 2015-05-18 .