Lucky Escape For Whites
The Suva football team survived a Nasinu fightback to win 4-2 in their Digicel Premier League clash at the ANZ Stadium, Suva, yesterday.
Speaking to SUNsports, Suva technical adviser Tagi Vonolagi said they had to be patient.
“We should have scored more goals but we failed to do so,” Vonolagi said.
“The boys started slow and we had patience and that gave us the win.
“We have to work on making sure we remain consistent.
“It’s all about taking our chances and we did but later in the game we lost focus.
“It’s good to get a win with some of our young players.
“This win is a timely one for us with three games remaining.”
What happened: Suva started with a 4-3-2-2 formation pushing more attackers upfront.
Nasinu played with a 5-3-3 formation concentrating more on defence.
Shahil Dave capitalised on a Meli Codro cross to score in the 7th minute of play to hand Suva, a 1-0 lead.
Nasinu had a goal scoring opportunity through Jasnit Vikash in the 26th minute but he failed to find the net.
Half-time: Suva 1-0 Nasinu
Nasinu came out firing in the second half as they gained possession.
Suva’s Azariah Solomon scored the second goal in the 50th minute to extend their lead 2-0.
Nasinu’s Taniela Rakariva pulled one back in the 54th minute to narrow the deficit, 2-1.
Super sub Samuela Drudru extended Suva’s tally in the 61st minute as they had a handy 3-1 lead.
Nasinu’s Nasoni Mereke scored a goal in the 80th minute to close the gap 3-2.
Suva extended their goal to 4-2 through a Mohammed Shazil goal in the dying stages of the match.
Turning point: When Drudru scored Suva’s third goal and it took the fight out of the Nasinu side as they were eyeing an upset win.
Big play: The Suva side stood their ground and did not buckle when Nasinu fought back with two goals.
They regrouped and came back firing by scoring two more goals to win the game and stay on track in the DPL competition.
Stay on top
The Rewa football side maintain their lead in the Digicel Premier League points table with a 2-0 win over Nadi at Lawaqa Park, Sigatoka, yesterday.
After a scoreless first half, the Delta Tigers took the lead in the 65th minute through striker Abbu Zahid.
They piled on the pressure and the Nadi defence gave away in the 75th minute where Zahid slotted in his second goal.
The result was Nadi’s third loss of the season as they continued to lose possession.
Rewa coach Roderick Singh said, his players really fought hard for the win.
“We knew that the victory would not come easy, we wanted to remain at the top of the points table,” he said.
Nadi coach Kamal Swamy said: “We played hard in the first spell but the boys went down in the second half due to poor fitness.”
Uprising shocker
The Tailevu/Naitasiri football side continued on with their dream run with a 1-0 win over Navua at the Uprising Sports Centre in Pacific Habour, Deuba, yesterday.
Tailevu/Naitasiri took the lead in the 36th minute from a Isikeli Tuitoga strike.
Navua tried hard to score the equaliser but the Tailevu/Naitasiri defence held on.
Results
Digicel Senior League: Lami 1-2 Rakiraki, Tavua 3-1 Northland.
Digicel Premier League: Nadroga 1-0 Labasa, Navua 0-1 Tailevu/Naitasiri, Rewa 2-0 Nadi, Suva 4-2 Nasinu.
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