TOP 4 COURTS IDC SEMIFINALISTS
Tomorrow at ANZ Stadium, Suva
2.30pm Labasa v Suva 5.00pm Nadi v Lautoka
Rain, thunder and lightning failed to stop the A1 Signs Labasa football side from finishing top of the Group as they beat Ba 2-0 in the Courts Inter-District Championship at the ANZ Stadium, Suva last night.
The win saw the Babasiga Lions move on to meet Suva in tomorrow’s semi-final while Ba have ended their IDC campaign. In the other semi-final defending champions Lautoka take on neighbours Nadi.
What happened: Ba got to a strong start in the first 10 minutes of play but failed to score as the Labasa defenders were firm with their man-to-man marking.
Labasa regrouped and changed their attacking style as
their strikers began to penetrate the Ba defence. It was not long when lanky Siotame Kubu slammed in the first goal. Adding more woes to the Ba side was when defender Manasa Nawakula copped a red card and they had to play with 10-men.
Halftime: Labasa 1-0 Ba
Heavy rain, lightning and thunder forced the officials to hold-up the match as precautionary measures.
At the resumption, the Lions upped the tempo as they went for the kill. Continuous pressure saw the Ba defence buckled and gave away a penalty, which was slotted in by veteran midfielder Pita Levaci.
Indiscipline crept in during the dying minutes of the second half as referee Navneet Varman had to sent Kubu and Ba goalkeeper Josaia Ratu off the field of play.
Comments: Labasa manager Nilesh Lal said: “I thank the boys for their performance, we came here to secure our place for the semi-final and we have done that.
“We will now go back and draw our new game plan for Suva. We will miss Siotame Kubu but we have Christopher Wasasala. It was a good thing that we rested him today and now we will work on our discipline.”
Ba manager Sabrina Khan said: “We tried our best but luck was not on our side, it was on Labasa and I salute them and wish them luck for the semi-final.”