Why we won? Police coach tells

Commitment and discipline are the two key elements for the Police team as they retained the Vodafone Ratu Sukuna football title for the eighth-year-in-a-row at Subrail Park in Labasa yesterday.

This was revealed by Police head coach, Navin Sami, after they beat Republic of Military Forces (RFMF) 2-0. For the Law Enforcers the win was regarded a historic one as it was played outside of Viti Levu for the first time.

Sami told SUNsports that they followed the motto of ‘believing in yourself and strive for excellence’ which kept the team fired up for the entire 90 minutes. 

He said they had planned to utilise their possession-based game, mindset which worked wonders. 

“Continued pressure on the RFMF goal finally paid off when (Sairusi) Nalaubu broke the deadlock in the second half,” Sami said. 

The wily coach said they had to contain the counter attack mindset to contain the RFMF side. 

He said this year’s win was special considering the fact that it was hosted in the friendly town of Labasa. 

Sami said weeks of preparations paved the way to their success. 

He said they used their district reps to good use as their experience of playing under pressure and scoring goals late into the game was the turning point. 

As consolation, RFMF’s Epeli Saukuru, was awarded Player of the Match for his outstanding performance despite the loss.