Drudru sees red as Fiji U20 holds Nadroga March 12, 2010
Nadroga’s key striker Samuela Drudru copped a red card as his side was held to a 2-2 draw by an improved Fiji U20 side in the National Football League at Lawaqa Park.
Drudru, Nadroga’s top goalscorer this season having netted four goals in the past matches did not have a good field day and committed fouls which proved costly for the former Fiji U20 and Lautoka marksman.
Fiji U20 after their 5-0 thumping of Tavua started the match on a positive note and notched the opening goal of the match through hardworking midfielder Ilisoni Logaivou.
But the visitors lead was cut short minutes before halftime as Nadroga defender Archie Watkins leveled scores with his trade mark free-kick which found the back of the net.
Both teams rested 1-1 at the break with coaches and managers giving their analysis of the first half to the players and psyching them up for the second spell.
Nadroga scored the second goal of the match through John Rounds Junior who neatly walked his way past the Fiji U20 defence before driving in a power house shot to bring the home crowd on their feet.
Just when the celebrations seemed to have started for the hosts, crafty Fiji U20 striker Misaele Draunibaka sneaked in with the equalizer to bring the match to a stalemate situation again.
Despite replacing goalie Benjamin Rokobaro with Thomas Coster in the last quarter of the match, Nadroga failed to snatch the winner while the Fiji U20 side missed four- five golden chances in the last ten minutes of the match.
Nadroga president Dr Dhirendra Lal was satisfied with the outcome and said they needed to work on their mistakes before the next round.
“I am content with the draw as its better than a loss but we still need to improve on our weaknesses and prepare thoroughly for the remaining matches.”
“The sending off of Drudru in the second half proved costly for us as we were left with only ten players and had to defend most of the time.”
“We will miss him in the next match but have other quality players in the squad that can fit in for him.”
“It was a good match and both teams played well and kept the fans entertained with constructive and fast paced football.”
Fiji U20 manager Chandra Segran was happy with the progress of his team and said the youngsters were getting more confident as they played more matches.
“I am happy with the performance of the team as the boys played well under pressure and scored two beautiful goals.”
“The youngsters are showing a lot of improvement in their performance and by the end of the season, this team will become a team to beat, this is what I can assure the other districts” he said.
Sunquick/ Sigatoka Motor Spares Nadroga after five matches has three draws and two losses while Skippy Fiji U20 has a win, a draw and a loss to their name.
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