Lions beat Nadroga, prepare for Suva clash March 05, 2010
Labasa registered its first win of 2010 on Viti Levu soil in the National Football League after outclassing a strong Nadroga outfit 3-1 at Lawaqa Park.
As expected the match kicked off on a fast pace with both teams testing each other’s defence early in the first half.
The visitors opened their account in the 26th minute of play after a lapse of concentration in the Nadroga defence saw crafty defender Penaia Bale sneaking in.
Nadroga toiled hard after the goal and were rewarded in the 44th minute with a penalty after striker Samuela Drudru was brought down inside the Labasa penalty zone.
Archie Watkins made no mistake with his attempt to take the teams to breather with a 1-1 score line.
Some stern pep talk by Coach Epeli Levaci at the break saw Labasa approach the second half with more determination and urgency.
Debutant Nadroga goalie Simione Tuidraki who played a good first half wasn’t able to contain the pressure on his goal in the second spell which saw the Babasiga Lions score two goals to seal a 3-1 victory.
National U20 midfielder Ilisoni Logaivou scored the second while striker Ajesh Narayan hammered the final nail in Nadroga’s coffin.
Labasa secretary Imraan Hussein was elated with the win and said it was the prefect result ahead of the big match against Suva.
“We had a tough match but managed to get our acts right and win by an impressive 3-1 score-line.”
“The boys played as a team and settled well in the second half which saw us scoring two good goals.”
“The win has lifted the morale of the players ahead of the big match against Suva which we will be taking seriously and will settle for nothing less than a win.”
“We are urging the fans to come out in numbers and support the boys as we have traveled to Viti Levu with a purpose which is to register positive results.”
Nadroga boss Dr Dhirendra Lal was gracious in defeat and admitted his Labasa was a stronger team.
“We played very well but gave away easy goals in the match which proved costly.”
“Thomas Coster did not attend training for two days and also did not show up for this match which forced us to field a totally new goalkeeper in the match.”
“Since this was his first match, he was a bit shaky and could not play well under pressure.”
“We are looking at terminating Coster’s services because we cannot afford to have undisciplined players in the team.”
Despite the loss, Dr Lal is confident of a good outing against Navua on Sunday.
“Yes, we will prepare a better team for that match and I have faith in my players and believe we can beat Navua in front of our home fans” he added.
Labasa is unbeaten so far in the National Football League while Nadroga has a draw and two losses to its name.
Puma Labasa plays Bic Power Electric Suva at the tfl National Stadium at 1.30pm while Sunquick/Sigatoka Motor Spares Nadroga plays Kit Kat/Southern Forest Navua at 3pm.
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