Down To The Wire

Rewa must score a big win over Nasinu to keep their hopes alive

The Rewa football team must today beat Nasinu by four goals, if they are to stand a chance of qualifying to Saturday’s Courts Interdistrict Championship semifinal.

It’s not over yet for the Marika Rodu-coached side despite losing 4-2 to Suva, last night.

On the other hand, Suva coach Babs Khan said, they had to do a lot of soul searching after their shock 1-0 loss to Nasinu on Tuesday.

‘We went back to camp after the Nasinu match and I talked to the boys,” he said.

“I told them that this was not the Suva team I had coached and they need to rise up.

“I’m grateful that they took heed of what was told to them and they worked hard and we got the win. “Before the Rewa game, I again reminded them to leave the Nasinu loss behind and to move ahead.” Khan said the Rewa side gave them and tough go.

“Suva have some talented players and once we put it together, nobody can beat us.”

For today’s crucial encounter against Lautoka, Khan says, they are up against a strong side. “We’re expecting a tough lenge,” he added.

“But as of now we will go back to camp, assess the injuries of the players and wait for the physchalio’s report from there we’ll work things out.

GROUP B

While in Group B, Ba stand a good chance of qualifying to the semifinal but they need to beat Labasa to confirm their spot. In another thriller brewing between Nadi and Navua, both teams are targeting a win to boost their chances of qualifying.

Fiji Football Association chief executive officer, Mohammed Yusuf said last night that no team have been guaranteed a spot in the semifinals.

“It’s all open so it will be another exciting day ahead of us as the teams must win their final group game to stand a chance of qualifying,” he said.

He called on football teams to be at the ANZ Stadium, to cheer on their teams.

SENIOR DIVISION

Yusuf said they had met last night and decided to stage today’s Senior Division matches at Uprising Sports Centre.

“After the rain this afternoon, the Buckhurst Park ground got soggy so we decided to keep the games at Uprising,” he said.

However, he confirmed that both divisions semifinal matches will be staged at the ANZ Stadium on Saturday.

On the drug test, Yusuf says, it is going on as expected with test results done on players during the first day coming out negative.

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Ronald Kumar Suva football captain Ravinesh Karan Singh, Filipe Baravilala celebrate after Christopher Wasasala scored the first goal against Rewa during the Courts Interdistrict Championship at the ANZ Stadium, Suva, on October 7, 2020. Photo: