Soccer: Totori signs with Waitakere for O-League

Waitakere United's Benjamin Totori. Photo / Wayne Drought

Former Wellington Phoenix striker Benjamin Totori has signed with Waitakere United for their OFC Champions League campaign in Fiji next month.

The Solomon Island international is one of five new additions to the side that was beaten 8-1 by O-League rivals Auckland City in the ASB Premiership semi-final earlier this month.

Three of the arrivals are from fellow ASB Premiership sides with midfielder Tom Biss and defender Aaron Jones joining from Hawke's Bay United while winger Joel Stevens has moved north from Team Wellington.

Former Melbourne Heart defender Steven Gray will also give their defence a sturdier look after also signing from Oakleigh Cannons in the Victorian Premier League.

"I think we've done some pretty good business," said player-coach Brian Shelley.

"We're not bringing a big squad to Fiji so we wanted to make sure we have players in the team who can play in a number of positions and it looks like we've been able to do that well."

High on the list of wanted attributes were also pace and an ability to find the net - qualities that the likes of Totori, Biss and Stevens will add in abundance.

Stevens notched four goals during Team Wellington's march to the ASB Premiership final while Biss struck nine at a ratio of more than one every two games - an outstanding return for a midfielder. Despite his main job being keeping things tight at the other end, centre back Jones also provides a goal threat having scored four for the Bay this season.

Heading in the opposite direction are Richie Cardozo and Jordan Lowdon, who took part in Waitakere's run to the ASB Premiership semi-finals but have unfortunately had to return to Australia.

"Obviously, we would have loved to bring both of them with us but we knew they wouldn't be available from the start," Shelley says.

"It's a difficult one for them because if they hadn't gone back at the end of our season then they would have missed the transfer window over there. They've both made a living out of the game so they have to do what's right for them in the long term. It's unfortunate to lose them but we just couldn't make it work for them to be able to stay."

The group stages of the 2014 OFC Champions League will take place in Fiji from April 7 to 15 with the semi-finals set to be played at the respective clubs on a home-and-away basis. Waitakere have been drawn in Group A and will face AS Pirae (Tahiti), Kiwi FC (Samoa) and Solomon Warriors (Solomon Islands) at Churchill Park in Lautoka.