THE three provincial teams in the 2011 Telekom
S-league (TSL) are expected to return next year with a much tougher
performance.
The anticipation of tough returns from these three provincial teams followed their performances this year which caused a lot of upset to some of the leading football clubs in the Solomon Islands.
Real Kakamora’s for instance disappointed O’league representatives Koloale FC 3-2 last month.
Real Kakamora have made a huge turnaround in their finish in the last season.
This team is placed fourth in the league ladder and this was a remarkable achievement for a side that remained glued to the bottom of the table throughout the entire 2010/11 competition.
The changes this season were attributable to a change in management as well as new players in the team.
Real Kakamora now have a coaching trio which consist of head coach Peter Konata, assistant coach Sam Wa’aria and tactician Barnabas Loloito.
They have pieced together a game plan for Real Kakamora that reflects the Makiran style of play which is about pace quick long passes.
Importantly, they have signed on Nicholas Muri this season as well as Johan Doiwale and the duo have earned a lot of respect from defenders they face in the league.
The challenge for places in the upper half of the table will be fierce and Real Kakamora knows that very well and is aiming to make an improved version of the first round performance when they return to the field in February.
Malaita Kingz is the second team which is expected to come in hard in round two of the S-league’s second season.
They have made a big difference to their performances recently compared to that of the first season which they finished sixth.
They were a surprise package of this season.
While they ruffled a few feathers in the last season they certainly did not raise any eyebrows but that is something that has changed dramatically.
They were unimpressive in their opening matches but from their third match things started to improve and now they are second in the league ladder.
Much of the success they are enjoying is based on the new players that the club has brought on this season.
The likes of Douglas Gwalu and Andrew Rarangia as well as former Marist Fire centre, Clifford Huta are among the players refreshing the Malaita Kingz TSL campaign.
The hoodoo of reaching the goal but not scoring is one area Malaita Kingz has taken steps to improve and their strikers are now among the feared in the Telekom S-League.
Already the team has a fierce defensive side enough that has stood up to most that has been thrown at it.
In overall this team is already on the right track.
The third team to have contributed a lot to the uprising of provincial teams’ threat in the S-league was Western United who is currently leading with 15 points on the table.
Western United has had been very impressive throughout the first round of the league.
They opened with a win against KOSSA and have only dropped points once, against Koloale whom they lost to 3-1.
The strength of the Western United game is centered on the ability of the players to move around the pitch rapidly, thus, giving them more options in attack.
At times the Western United backline has been questionable but overall they have done extremely well by keeping their opponents busy in their own half.
One of the key ingredients in their winning streaks last season was probably an instilled sense of discipline in the players and their coach Stefan Metanomski plays a key role in this area.
The challenge for Western United in the second round is to stay ahead of the chase that will come from Koloale and Solomon Warriors. They are sitting in pole position.
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