Rewa extend their lead in Vodafone Premier League

The fifth matchweek of 2020 Vodafone Premier League is over. Three matches were played in the top-tier of Fijian football and Oceania Football Center brings a full review of these clashes to you. Scroll down and check it!

Nasinu received Suva at Ratu Cakobau Park in a breathtaking match. The match started with some bad news for Suva as Nigerian forward Jibola Afonja left the pitch injured in the 22nd minute. He was replaced by Ravnit Chand.

The Capital City Boys opened the scoreboard with Jonetani Buksh in the 30th minute but they did not have much time to celebrate because Luke Savu found the net for Nasinu. The Giantkillers had a major blow when Sekove Naivakananumi was sent off so they had to play the whole second half with just ten players.

Suva took advantage of the situation and scored two goals to extend their lead to 3-1. However Nasinu managed to tie the match as Solomon Islands player Jared Rongosulia scored twice from the penalty spot. He also had the opportunity another penalty kick goal but it was disallowed by the referee because he made an irregular move to take the penalty. Lots of people reacted to this situation by cursing the referees.

However, according to FIFA rules, referee Kavitesh Behari acted perfectly when he disallowed Rongosulia’s goal. The final score was 3-3 and it was not a very good result for both teams. Suva remains unbeaten in the tournament but they are still in the fourth position with five points while Nasinu is in sixth with four points.

In the second match contested at Ratu Cakobau Park, current league leaders Rewa received bottom placed Navua. Patrick Joseph opened the scoreboard from the penalty spot in the first half to score his third goal in three matches (all of them from the penalty spot) while Epeli Valevou found the net in the second half to extend Delta Tigers’ lead. The second half was a bit spicy as Bruce Hughes from Rewa and Navua’s captain Netani Doli were sent off in the 67th minute after a confusion.

Navua still had time to score through Monit Chand but it was not enough. At the final whistle the score was 2-1 for Rewa that leads the league with twelve points in five matches.

In the third and last match of the day, Labasa visited Lautoka at Churchill Park. It was Lautoka’s first official match after being eliminated in the 2020 OFC Champions League. The biggest surprise came from Labasa as Siotame Kubu started the match on the bench. They did not count on Ni-Vanuatu forward Alex Saniel who returned to New Zealand right after the Champions League. Goalkeeper Liam Anderson and defender Jack Caunter came back to New Zealand as well.

There were no goals in this match as it finished drawn – 0-0. Lautoka is currently in the second position with seven points while Labasa is having an awful beginning in the league with just one win in five matches.

You can check the current standings and the top scorers by clicking here.