Four Giants – Suva, Ba, Labasa, Nadi in B.O.G semifinals
Tavua coach claims players were approached not to play well.
Tavua coach Saroj Kumar claimed yesterday some of his players were allegedly approached not to play well against Labasa.
This was after the side was hammered 5-0 by the northerners in their INKK Mobile Battle of the Giants match at Churchill Park.
The frustrated coach said he could not name officials who had told him about the incident and said they did not give the game away as they also had an outside chance of qualifying if they had won and Ba defeated Lautoka.
“It is so frustrating, and I am so disappointed,” Kumar said.
His disappointment also stemmed from the fact that goalkeeper Jovilisi Borisi had to come in and play his heart out to make crucial saves even though he had a rib injury.
WHAT HAPPENED
Labasa entered the match with a mission and that was to score as many goals as this pool was wide open and would boil down to who had the best goal average.
The northerners wasted no time in getting about their work with three scintillating goals that gave them a big lead at halftime. Striker Antonio Tuivuna opened the scoring for Labasa with a sizzler in the 11th minute which left Tavua goalkeeper Ratu Halstead gasping thin air.
Five minutes later Labasa’s prolific scorer Christopher Wasasala was brought down in the box from a crude foul by defender Kasim Khan.
Wasasala stepped up to the mark and put his side 2-0 ahead. In the 22nd minute Ilaisa Vulimainavuso scored Labasa’s third goal to send them to the breather with a well-earned 3-0 lead. Replacement Ashnil Raju put Labasa further ahead in the 83rd minute when he latched on to a cross to put the ball into an empty goalmouth for his side to lead 4-0.
Ilisoni Lagaivau sealed the win in the 92nd minute with a powerful left footer for Labasa to win 5-0.
COMMENTS
Labasa coach Anand Swamy was happy that they achieved their plan to score four goals or more considering the situation with teams in that pool.
“However, we are still not that fit and players have to do a personal analysis on whether they could perform the 90 minute duration of the game.
Labasa entered the match with a mission and that was to score as many goals as this pool was wide open and would boil down to who had the best goal average. The northerners wasted no time in getting about their work with three scintillating goals that gave them a big lead at halftime.