Training Pics (July-August 2010)                                    19 August 2010

Pohnpei State team training for tour of Guam between October 1 and October 8.

CHARLES WELSON                                         

Position: Goalkeeper

Number: 1

Club: Island Pit-Bulls

Date of Birth: January 8, 1980

Place of Birth: Pohnpei State Hospital

BRIAN TAYLOR                                         

Position: Goalkeeper

Number: 28

Club: SDA

Date of Birth: August 14, 1988

Place of Birth: Majuro, Marshall Islands

Pohnpei State Debut: Pohnpei 6-2 Island All-Stars March 28, 2010

ROCKY HENLY                                         

Position: Right-Back

Number: 8

Club: Island Pit-Bulls

Date of Birth: September 15, 1987

Place of Birth: Pohnpei State Hospital

ROBERT PAUL                                         

Position: Right-Back / Left-Back

Number: 18

Club: Island Pit-Bulls

Date of Birth: February 7, 1977

Place of Birth: Pohnpei State Hospital

TOM MAWI                                         

Position: Centre-Back

Number: 4

Club: COM-FSM FC

Date of Birth: May 29, 1982

Place of Birth: Suva, Fiji

DENSON FAIRFIELD                                         

Position: Centre-Back

Number: 5

Club: Island Warriors

Date of Birth: November 21, 1981

Place of Birth: Pohnpei State Hospital

ROGER NAKASONE                                         

Position: Left-Back

Number: 15

Club: Island Pit-Bulls

Date of Birth: October 22, 1992

Place of Birth: Pohnpei State Hospital

NICK SANTIAGO                                        

Position: Midfield

Number: 14

Club: COM-FSM FC

Date of Birth: June 26, 1990

Place of Birth: Pohnpei State Hospital

DILSHAN SENARATHGODA                                        

Position: Midfield

Number: 33

Club: Island Pit-Bulls

Date of Birth: April 4, 1986

Place of Birth: Kandy, Sri Lanka

MARVIN JACK                                        

Position: Right / Left Winger

Number: 11

Club: COM-FSM FC

Date of Birth: August 17, 1989

Place of Birth: Pohnpei State Hospital

YAFETH KONINGS                                        

Position: Right Back / Wing

Number: 7

Club: International FC

Date of Birth: July 27, 1991

Place of Birth: Holland

MIKE SELIKAR                                        

Position: Right / Left Winger

Number: 13

Club: Island Pit-Bulls

Date of Birth: January 22, 1990

Place of Birth: Pohnpei State Hospital

RODRIGO MATAMBA                                        

Position: Midfielder

Number: 22

Club: Island Warriors

Date of Birth: May 21, 1991

Place of Birth: Pohnpei State Hospital

JOSEPH WELSON                                        

Position: Striker

Number: 9

Club: Island Pit-Bulls

Date of Birth: August 3, 1990

Place of Birth: Pohnpei State Hospital

RYAN JOHNSON                                        

Position: Striker

Number: 23

Club: Island Pit-Bulls

Date of Birth: December 10, 1993

Place of Birth: Kandy, Sri Lanka

BOB PAUL                                        

Position: Striker

Number: 7

Club: Island Warriors

Date of Birth: February 7, 1977

Place of Birth: Pohnpei State Hospital

MATTHEW CARLOT                                        

Position: Striker

Number: 69

Club: SDA FC

Date of Birth: April 11, 1993

Place of Birth: Vanuatu

PAUL WATSON                                        

Position: Coach

Date of Birth: June 15, 1984

Place of Birth: Lethbridge, Canada

MATTHEW CONRAD                                        

Position: Assistant Coach

Date of Birth: July 13, 1984

Place of Birth: London, England

Pohnpei 9-1 Island All-Stars                                          18 April 2010

Pohnpei State continued their progress by devastating a strong All-Star side with nine goals that included a Rodrigo Matamba hat-trick.

Under the guidance of assistant boss / captain Dilshan Senarathgoda, the men in blue played with authority and confidence.

The defence was in particularly impressive form and showed no signs of weakness as the locals overpowered their opponents.

Tom Mawi and Denson Fairfield commanded from the centre of defence and Roger Nakasone looked assured on the left side.

Ryan Johnson netted twice and Joseph Welson found the target from the penalty spot.

Island Warriors captain Bob Paul scored his first Pohnpei State goal and inspirational captain Dilshan maintained his phenomenal scoring record.

But the star of the show was predatory striking starlet Rodrigo Matamba. The 18-year-old was in the right place at the right time to convert a superb hat-trick and show just how much he has improved over the last few months.

Pohnpei 9-1 Island All-Stars
Johnson 2, J Welson (pen), B Paul, Senarathgoda 2, Matamba 3

Pohnpei 6-2 Island All-Stars                                          28 March 2010

On a stormy day, Pohnpei earned their revenge over the All-Stars with an impressive performance.

There were suggestions that the game may be called off after very heavy rain leading up to kick-off, but the match went ahead.

New Pohnpei State goalkeeper Brian Taylor played a half, swapping with Charles Welson at half-time.

Dilshan Senarathgoda and Phillip Prouhet linked up brilliantly in midfield and fought against the wet conditions to play some sensational football.

Both men claimed two goals and Prouhet also rattled the woodwork twice as the talented winger lit up the game.

Mike Selikar played superbly and found the net, as did rising star Rodrigo Matamba, who was in the right place at the right time to poke home.

The All-Stars fought hard and gutsy midfielder Ryan Billington put in his usual uncompromising performance but the day belonged to the Pohnpei State team.

Pohnpei 6-2 Island All-Stars
Senarathgoda 2, Prouhet 2, Selikar, Matamba (Pohnpei), Masilamony, Barbosa (All-Stars)
Pohnpei: C Welson (Taylor 45); Henly, Fairfield, Mawi, Selikar; Santiago, Senarathgoda, Prouhet, Jack; Johnson (Matamba 45), J Welson

Pohnpei 1-1 Island All-Stars                                          17 March 2010

Pohnpei State were held to a 1-1 draw on a disappointing evening in testing conditions.

Mike Selikar missed out on a place in the side due to a cut above his eye, handing Benny Laurdin a starting spot.

It was a nervy affair with neither side able to create decent chances and frustration started to grow on a pitch that was barely playable.

Pohnpei had a let-off as Andrew Falcam made a smart penalty save to deny Mateus Barbosa.

And soon after inspirational captain Dilshan Senarathgoda put Pohnpei in front with a perfectly-placed curling strike from the edge of the box.

But the lead didn't last long and SDA star Johnson Masilamony outpaced the blue defence and finished neatly to level at 1-1.

Neither side could find another goal as the light faded and the contest ended all square.

Pohnpei 1-1 Island All-Stars
Senarathgoda (Pohnpei), Masilamony (All-Stars)
Pohnpei: Falcam; Henly, Fairfield, Mawi, Nakasone (R Paul 45); Santiago, Senarathgoda, Prouhet, Laurdin ; J Welson (B Paul 60), Johnson (Matamba 46)

Pohnpei 10-1 Micro Vietnam FC                                          14 March 2010

It was a super Sunday for Pohnpei's State Team as they demolished their Vietnamese opponents at PICS Field.

Pohnpei were ahead within five minutes and never looked back as the team grew in confidence and coherence.

Phillip Prouhet netted his debut goal for Pohnpei in an impeccable performance and Island Warriors striker Rodrigo Matamba grabbed two goals as a substitute.

It was a powerful performance that demonstrated how far the hosts had come since their 3-3 draw with these opponents six months ago.

Pohnpei 10-1 Micro Vietnam FC
J Welson, Senarathgoda 2, Prouhet, Selikar, Matamba 2, Johnson 3
Pohnpei: R Paul; Henly, Mawi, Fairfield, Nakasone (Laurdin); Santiago, Senarathgoda, Jack (Selikar), Prouhet; B Paul (Johnson), J Welson (Matamba)

Pohnpei 2-1 Island All-Stars                                             25 February 2010

Pohnpei State had to dig deep to secure victory in their first fixture for nine years but they triumphed 2-1 against a powerful Island All-Star side.

After the success of last year’s Pohnpei Premier League, a State Team was formed with the goal of a trip to Guam at the end of July.

This was to be a real test for Paul Watson’s side as the All-Stars had some of the island’s most respected and revered footballers, including Fijian powerhouse Tui, tricky striker Edwin Sione and SDA aces Matthew Barbosa and Ryan Billington.

Wearing their new uniforms, Pohnpei struggled to master the bumpy pitch in the opening minutes and they fell behind when Premier League top scorer Matthew Barbosa fired home.

But months of practice started to pay off as the men in blue passed the ball around neatly, creating several half-chances with Joseph Welson blasting inches over the bar and Marvin Jack nearly releasing Ryan Johnson with a delicate through ball.

When Pohnpei did get their breakthrough it was courtesy of young striking star Joseph Welson. He latched on to a Dilshan Senarathgoda pass and made no mistake in finding the net for 1-1.

The Pohnpei defence was now playing with authority. Denson Fairfield was magnificent in the air, Tom Mawi outmuscled any attacker while the experienced Robert Paul impressed in his new left-back role and Rocky Henly showed the excellent command of the game that earned him the Pohnpei Premier League Best Defender Award.

Nick Santiago, arguably Pohnpei State’s most exciting rising star, thriving in the defensive midfield position and Micah Selikar fought hard on the wing,

Growing in confidence, Pohnpei started to control the pace and play attractive two-touch passing football, but they found it hard to pick holes in the opposition defence.

At half-time, Charles Welson replaced Andrew Falcam in goal and Roger Nakasone came on for Robert Paul.

And 10 minutes into the second period, Pohnpei went in front as Joseph Welson scored his second goal of the game – a cool finish to beat the onrushing goalkeeper.

Young talent Rodrigo Matamba substituted the excellent Marvin Jack and Island Warriors captain and Premier League Player of the Tournament Bob Paul came on for Ryan Johnson, whose limitless energy had caused constant trouble for the All-Stars defence.

Bob and Rodrigo were both sent into space by captain Dilshan, but after bursting clear with a turn of pace both could only find the goalkeeper with their crosses.

Neither side could find the net again as the light faded and Pohnpei had its first win in an official game.

Pohnpei Soccer would like to thank Albert Carlot for expertly refereeing the game, Micronesian Seminar for filming and Visual Impact for providing a camera for pictures.

Pohnpei 2-1 Island All-Stars
Barbosa 4 (All Stars) J Welson 25, 55 (Pohnpei)
Pohnpei: Andrew Falcam (Charles Welson 45); Rocky Henly, Tom Mawi, Denson Fairfield, Robert Paul (Roger Nakasuna 45); Nick Santiago, Dilshan Senarathgoda, Micah Selikar, Marvin Jack (Rodrigo Matamba 60); Joseph Welson, Ryan Johnson (Bob Paul 60)
Referee: Albert Carlot

UK sponsors found for State Team players                                           17 December 2009

Pohnpei's State Team stars will be given brand new boots thanks to a successful sponsorship drive in Britain.

A number of generous benefactors have come forward with donations to ensure that each of the 16 State Team regulars will have suitable soft-ground boots for the new year.

Pohnpei Soccer would like to thank all the sponsors for their hugely appreciated contributions.

The complete list of players and sponsors:

Charles Welson - Steve Waters

Andrew Falcam - The Blues Dragon Club

Robert Paul - Sarah Howard

Roger Nakasuna - Alex Howard

Nick Santiago - Corey Lavender

Rocky Henly - Barbara Burgess

Denson Fairfield - Jeremy Miller

Tom Mawi - William Howard

Rodrigo Matamba - Chris Brooks

Micah Selikar - Tom Howard

Benny Lardin - Harman Bhamra

Marvin Jack - The Blues Dragon Club

Dilshan Senarathgoda - John Foster

Joseph Welson - William Howard

Ryan Johnson - Know The Score Books Ltd

Bob Paul - William Howard