Tommy Semmy: It’s good to be back playing at the iconic Lawson Tama
By Ronald F. Toito’ona
Tommy Semmy, a key player from the Papua New Guinea (PNG) football team, expressed his joy at returning to the famous Lawson Tama Stadium for the 17th Pacific Games 2023. Known for its rich football history, Lawson Tama holds a special place in Semmy’s heart.
Semmy has had several successful stints in the Solomon Islands top-tier league, the Telekom-Super League (TSL) around 2016-2017 period.
For Semmy, Lawson Tama stadium holds great sentimental value for him, as it witnessed some of his most memorable moments in his football career.
“It’s been a while, it’s almost like six years now to be back playing at the famous Lawson Tama stadium. It is a pitch where every soccer legends come out from and it’s the only place in Honiara that unites everyone together, have fun, and enjoy the love for football here,” he told SIBC yesterday, after a 1-all draw to Melanesian rival, Vanuatu.
The draw was unfortunate for Papua New Guinea (PNG), which saw the team eliminated in the pool stage. However, he also took the time to talk about some of his memorable moments of Lawson Tama, when he was plying his trade in Solomon Islands.
In the 2016 season, he played for Marist Football Club, followed by a spell with Malaita Kingz in 2017. It was during his time with the latter team that Semmy achieved a significant milestone at Lawson Tama.
“So, it’s good to be back here and I still have a lot of memories of this pitch with the people here. One of the best memories was with Marist Football Club (FC) in 2016. We came out undefeated in and become champions of that Telekom S-League season. Back then, the team was not doing great in the league. But with people like Juliano Schmeling, Jerry Allen, and Jerry Sam behind the scene, we manage to build Marist FC in 2016.
“Not forgetting my time with Malaita Kingz FC in the 2017 season, when I won the Golden boot for scoring 17 goals. That’s also one of the best memories of my football career here (Solomon Islands),” Semmy added.
Meanwhile, Semmy would like to acknowledge the fans that came out to support PNG yesterday.
“A massive thanks to the fans who came out to support us here at Lawson Tama. Not forgetting the people back at home watching the game on Television (TV). We gave our all out, but one team has to win and another has to loss.
“I hope one day, maybe the next tournament, we will make you proud,” said the 29-year-old.
Semmy’s football career started a decade ago, after making a name for himself playing village football.
In 2013, he played for Besta United PNG of the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League for two seasons. In 2015, he moved to defending league champions Hekari United and appeared for the club during the 2014–15 OFC Champions League. He also played for the club in the 2016 OFC Champions League, before moving over to Solomon Islands to play at the TSL.
After his football stint in Solomon Islands, Semmy moved to New Zealand where he played for Hamilton Wanderers from 2017-2021. As of 2022, he traveled to Australia and joined Altona Magic Soccer Club (Commonly known as Altona Vardar SC) – a soccer team based in Altona North, a western suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Magic is currently competing in the second tier of the Australian soccer league system. –ENDS//