Nadi Bounce Back, Suva Next
Rookie Nadi striker Sakaraia Naisua stood the test as he scored twice in their 5-1 win over Ba in the Vodafone Premier League clash on Wednesday night.
Naisua stepped up after his striking partner Rusiate Matererega was ruled out due to injury.
The big win has boosted the All in One Builders sponsored- Nadi players to end Suva’s winning run on Sunday.
What happened: Playing in front of their fans at Prince Charles Park, it was all business for Nadi, right from the opening whistle.
They did not give an inch for the Ba side to open up play.
Veteran Nadi goalkeeper Vereti Dickson marshalled his defence and made superb saves to deny the visitors from scoring an early goal.
Nadi drew first blood in the 30th minute when William Valentine sent a through pass to nippy Afraaz Ali who rifled the ball to the back of the net sending the Nadi fans into a frenzy.
Nadi were more tactical in their play and were further boosted in the 37th minute when Naisua headed in the second goal from a Avinesh Suwamy corner kick.
Halftime: Nadi 2-0 Ba.
Ba came back strongly in the second half and was rewarded with a controversial penalty in the 57th minute after referee Deepak
Raj called for a hand ball by Ali which he protested.
Ba defender Manasa Nawakula made no mistake from the spot kick as they trailed 2-1.
In the 62nd minute Naisua scored his second goal through a solo effort as he beat the Ba defenders to a through pass and easily beat Isikeli Seva Junior with a well-paced shot.
Again in the 64th minute wily striker Napolioni Qasevakatini headed in the fourth goal from a corner kick.
Ba’s woes continued in the 72nd minute when Jonetani Newa was shown the red card for a foul on Naisua.
It was in the 83rd minute substitute Naveel Nand smacked in Nadi’s final goal.
Comments: Nadi coach Kamal Swamy said, “The players knew what was expected from them when we lost to Labasa last weekend. “Nothing cannot be taken anything away from Ba as they had some players missing. “Our boys were briefed all the time that Ba starts playing from the first whistle and we need to keep our shape. We will continue to work on this before we play Suva.” Ba football manager Ranveer Singh said, “We played well in the first 15 minutes.
“There’s nothing to blame, it’s just the boys and we are disappointed of losing by so many goals.
“We have lots of areas to work on before the Labasa game.”