Australian based former Fiji defender Viliame Toma was the hero of the Nadi soccer side as his late strike saved Nadi from its first loss in the Battle of the Giants tournament.
Nadi trailed to Rewa 0-1 till the 43rd minute of the second spell and as Rewa fans were bracing themselves for a party after the narrow win on home soil, Toma rose to the occasion for the Jetsetters and neatly headed in a Vijendra Deepak corner kick to keep their chances alive in the pool.
The match started on a slow pace with both teams using a cautious approach against each other.
Rewa Coach Kamal Swamy made the perfect substitution in the 40th minute of the first spell when he substituted Isoa Ratuva with Suva import Alvin Prasad who headed in the lone goal of the first half to give the hosts a 1-0 lead at halftime.
Prasad well timed a Samuela Vula freekick with a diving header which caught the Nadi goalkeeper off guard.
Fiji FUTSAL star Kamal Hassan missed a couple of sitters in the second spell while Nadi’s Fiji U23 rep Ratu Josefata Dugucagi was also not on target and was replaced by a much hardworking and effective Kamlesh Krishna.
Nadi introduced Japanese player Rena Kurokawa in the last five minutes and the nippy striker entertained the Ratu Cakobau Park crowd with his silky footwork and an amazing style of running.
Rewa Coach Kamal Swamy wasn’t happy with the draw and said his defenders lost their momentum in the spell which resulted in the equaliser.
“We dominated the second spell but laxity in the dying minutes of the match cost us dearly as we gave away the advantage and had to settle for a draw” he said.
His counterpart, Johnny Williams was a relieved man after the draw and said his senior players really made the difference in the team and their experience and knowledge of the game was the turning factor in the match.
“I am satisfied with a draw away from home and the result today has indicated that we need to work harder to get three points in the remaining pool matches and now we will return to the drawing board and polish our moves before the tournament proper,” he said.
“The experience players like Viliame Toma, Marika Namaqa, Maika Kasami and Josefa Tabusau really made the difference in the dying minutes of the match as they guided the boys well and initiated the attacking moves,” he added.
Nadi plays tournament hosts Suva in the last match on Thursday while Rewa comes up against Fiji FACT champs Navua in the second match of the day.
Nadi - Benaminio Mateinaqara, Marika Namaqa, Michael Maharaj, Josefa Tabusau, Iliki Ravosai, Maika Kasami, Viliame Toma, Vahid Namo (Rena Kurokawa), Mohammed Shameem (Ili Gaunavou Junior), Vijendra Deepak, Ratu Josefata Dugucagi (Kamlesh Krishna).
Match statistics: Goals: Prasad (42, 1st spell), Toma (43, 2nd spell) Man of the match: Viliame Toma Referee: Bobby Dave Bookings: Niraj Ram (Rewa), Mohd Shameem (Nadi), Rena Kurokawa (Nadi) Crowd: 2500+ Ground: Dry and playable
Fijilive
Posted
comments on this story
holdaway
Tuesday, July 22 2008
Labasa fans no-ofense but finally your has started to win few games but that don't mean much. As they still have a long to go BOG has not even started yet! Nething can happen. Note Labasa just learned how to walk master that then think abt running.
k06sharma
Tuesday, July 22 2008
BaMan - it's ba players that were fighting in Labasa. eg. Tuba suspended for fighting with crowd.
Maybe viti levu teams dont have money to travel to labasa. understandable.
k06sharma
Sunday, July 20 2008
Labasa-Nasinu match had 5000 crows. This one despite both relatively good teams had half that. Can Fiji FA finally wake up from their long sleep and take an entire tournament to Labasa?
grooveman349
Sunday, July 20 2008
the whole tournment in labasa...laughable statement.get 9 teams from the north into super premier then it can happen. rite now be happy even labasa is in the big league with all the money from the president. earn in suva n buy soccer playerz...lol, crazy lionz!!!
hkhan3
Sunday, July 20 2008
I think it is only fair that FFA does distribute the tournment venue fairly (provided the districts can cater). It will be only fair that the distant travelling inconvenience gets shared by the West and the South, rather then putting all the travelling inconvenience to the North. The North is a smaller section of Fiji, compared to the West or the South; hence getting 9 premier soccer teams from the North is not realistic. By the way, just one premier team from the North gives so much challenge to all the teams in the west and south. Wonder what 9 premier teams from the North would have done? !!
rrokocoko
Sunday, July 20 2008
Suva is the joke of fiji soccer. Throughout fiji soccer history, with all the club sides they have they've been unable to win consistently. Labasa has been travelling for a long time, and whenever they have gone in the final with a team like Suva, the entire west has supported them. Not only should they take a tournament to Labasa, but spend some cash in improving their ground conditions.
BaMan
Sunday, July 20 2008
Just because of the crowd number in 1 game doesn't mean Labasa have what it takes to host a tournament. Hosting a game and hosting a tournament are two different things which k06sharma needs to wake up to.
2 reasons...
Resaon 1, Labasa crowd is not usually behaved as in one incident some years back, some Labasa fans threw rocks and stone on the field to attack the opposition when Labasa was losing. Since then Fiji Fa doesn't hold any tournaments in Labasa.
2nd reason, if tournament is held in Labasa, crowds may come and watch Labasa games but there won't be consistency when other teams are playing.
Its not Fiji Fa, but it's K06sharma that needs to wake up.
Jerry
Sunday, July 20 2008
Hey Grooveman
For your information - Super Premier consists of only six teams
News on
RSS 
