The injury stricken Ba soccer side came back from a goal down to beat Nasinu 2-1 in its National League fixture tonight at the TFL National Stadium in Suva.

The Men In Black playing without eight of its regulars made a shaky start but were fortunate not to allow the fast and skilful Nasinu strike force to get on the score board.

Osea Vakatalesau, Peni Finau, Shalen Lal, Tuimasi Manuca, Ronil Kumar, Malakai Tiwa, Malakai Kainahewe and Jone Vesikula sat out of the match due to injuries while seasoned striker Josaia Bukalidi and goalkeeper Jone Ralulu came off the bench in the second spell.

Solomon Islander Aldrine Kilua time and again missed chances from close for the southerners after beating the Ba defence but his finishing was not well executed.

Ba’s strike force of Maciu Dunadamu and Maveliko Nakama also looked rusty and lack of understanding between the two was evident on the field.

Both teams’ rested goal-less at halftime and the floodgates opened early in the second spell.

Nasinu found the back of the net first in the 53rd minute of play through a Ashish Chand freekick from the left hand edge of the Ba 18-yard box which was flicked over the defence and goalkeeper Epeli Codro.

Ba bounced back after the goal and Coach Yogendra Dutt replaced Rinal Prasad with Josaia Bukalidi to add more spark upfront.

A defensive blunder by the Nasinu defence in the 58th minute allowed Ba to sneak in with the equalizer through the boots of Kiniviliame Naika who easily tapped the ball into the net after Nasinu defence failed to clear a Shamil Rao corner kick.

Nakama sealed the win for the defending champions after yet another Nasinu defensive blunder in the 70th minute of play. He connected well with a midfield cross which three Nasinu defenders failed to clear giving him clear possession to finish off in style.

Nasinu goalkeeper Epeli Suibuka despite conceding two goals was the man of the match as he made some daring saves in both spells and received a lot of accolades from the 150+ fans gathered at the Laucala oval on a cool Saturday evening.

The win has stretched Ba’s lead on the NEWWORLD National Soccer League points table by four points to 32 while Lautoka is still placed at second spot with 28 points and Navua at third with 22 points.

The teams:
Ba: Epeli Codro (Jone Ralulu), Alvin Singh, Manueli Kalou, Ronald Lawrence, Avinesh Suwamy, Rinal Prasad (Josaia Bukalidi), Maciu Dunadamu, Shamil Rao, Meveliko Nakama (Joshua Wilson), Petero Dauniseka, Kiniviliame Naika.

Nasinu: Epeli Suibuka, Nitan Kumar, Kaushik Chand, Ashish Chand, Bimal Pal, Kalden Sam, George Gulu, Aldrine Kilua, Satlesh Kumar (Krishneel Kumar), Anish Kumar, Alvin Prasad.

Fijilive

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