Be patient, Navua fans urged

The Navua football men’s side will be out to avoid dropping points in the Extra Premier League (EPL) points table so they could maintain a top eight placing.

This will enable Navua to automatically qualify for the upcoming Fiji FACT tournament.

This was expressed by Navua Football Association vice-president Ronald Chand after their 5-2 loss to Labasa last Saturday. The loss saw Navua sits on eighth place with four points, winning just one game this season and on the edge of the relegation zone.

“Definitely, we want to come back and play in the Fiji FACT in the Babasiga Town and show what Navua can do on the big stage,” Chand said.

The Fiji FACT pool stages will be played at Subrail Park from June 19-21 with the semi-finals and final venue yet to be confirmed by Fiji Football Association.

Chand said they need to address gaps in their defensive game to avoid conceding goals against top teams.

Former Rewa coach, Rodeck Singh, was in his third game in-charge and Chand believes he was in the process of building a strong side.

“We are trying to help the players to gel in with the game plan of the new coach and this will help him develop a winning team,” he said.

Chand said their aim is to secure their spot in the Super Premier divison as they are on a rebuilding stage.

“We had six or seven youth players on the bench while four other youths were in the starting line-up against Labasa,” he said.

“We are trying to build a formidable team with the focus on youth development”.

Chand called on Navua fans to stay patient as they prepare to secure automatic qualification into the three major tournaments.

He said Navua wants to return to its former glories of winning tournaments and it would be special to win on Northern soil.

However, the ground work starts now with the side to host Tailevu/Naitasiri in round 7 and gain the maximum three points, which is vital in their quest.

“We need to keep this fighting spirit alive because in a tournament situation, the team that does not give-up and creates goal scoring opportunities has higher probability to win games,” he added.

Feedback: sampras.anand@fijisun.com.fj