Ba to adopt ‘winning’ mentality

Dayals Steel Ba football team looks to utilitse their home ground advantage by winning the Extra Battle of the Giants tournament at Govind Park, this weekend.

Their campaign starts on Saturday against Global Care Suva in the first semi-final and if they qualify Ba is destined to meet the winner of the Rewa-Nasinu clash in the final on Sunday.

Ba suffered a shock 3-0 loss to Rewa during their group clash. However, the Ilisoni Lolaivalu-captained side has responded strongly with a 3-1 win over neightbours Lautoka to book their place in the semi-final.

Ba head coach Ravinesh Kumar said the team had done some soul-searching following the Rewa defeat and responded with the right mentality against Lautoka.

“They did very well. They came in with a winning mentality, and they have won the match,” Kumar said.

“I believe I always say there is always a wake-up call needed. The players have stepped up to come out and win this game.”

Kumar said the focus now is on the players’ recovery as they prepare for Suva.

“Suva is a very good team in this tournament. They have improved a lot with the inclusion of some new players.

“We will work accordingly; we will analyse the Suva game, and we’ll move on from there.”

He said recovery would be important before the team finalised their plans for the semi-final.

Ba has won the B.O.G title 17 times and finished runners-up on seven occasions.

Their last triumph came in 2018 when they defeated Suva 2-0 in Lautoka, adding another layer of interest to Saturday’s semi-final. Ba has hosted the tournament seven times and won the title on three occasions.

They will look to Eto Dogolau, John Orobulu, Praneel Naidu, Nabil Begg and Isikeli Seva Jr to make an impact against Suva.