Minnows Nasinu held a 10-men Ba football side to a 2-2 draw in their Vodafone Fiji FACT pool clash at Churchill Park, Lautoka yesterday.

Ba after a 3-0 win over Nadi in the pool opener on Friday night, threw away a 2-0 lead against Nasinu. The turning point came when Manasa Nawakula was red-carded for a dan­gerous foul and this allowed Nasinu to fight back.

Savenaca Baledrokadroka scored the equaliser for Nasinu in the 54th minute.

This was after Manasa Levaci scored the first goal for Nasinu at the 49th minute.

Ba had earlier taken a 2-0 lead through the goals of nippy striker Abbu Zahid.

Sensing an upset loss Ba made tactical changes by replacing Saula Waqa with Sanaila Waqanicakau.

Comments: Nasinu coach Nathan Shivam said: “I’ve told them about their potential and the need for them to reflect it on their perfor­mance and the results as well.

“I’ve always reminded the play­ers the need for them to produce results if they are to move forward.

“I’m glad the players stood up and and performed well against Ba.”

Ba coach Shalen Lal said: “We scored two goals and the boys sat back. Our game plan did not work in the second half. It was an eye-opener for us but we will go back to our drawing board and see what we can do.

We need to solve the issue of disci­pline before we face Rewa.

I know it happened when we were under pressure but we will sort it out.”

Edited by Leone Cabenatabua

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