The Sunday of football was thrilling throughout Fiji; surprises and important matches for the outcome of the national league made the final run – as just three rounds are missing for the end of the Vodafone Premier League season – even more contested.
Nadi played against Nasinu at ANZ Stadium and they took the lead thanks to a goal of the striker Rusiate Matarerega, but Nasinu managed to find an equaliser through the experienced Nasoni Mereke. But in the final part of the game Matarerega added another to his tally to give the lead back to Nadi – Napolioni Qasevakatini gave final numbers to the scoreline adding the third for the Jetsetters; more three valuable for Nadi as they have 18 in the table now, Nasinu stands just one point the bottom-ranked Navua with eight.
In Ba the Men in Black played against the Ravinesh Kumar coached-side Lautoka, but both teams could not find the net in the this encounter. The closest they get was through the Solomon Islander Darold Kakasi, the attacker had a golden chance from the penalty spot, but it went wasted the goalkeeper Joela Biuvanua saved the kick.
Ba continues ranked third in the league two points away the second place Suva and three points the leaders Rewa; Lautoka is not in a good moment in the season as they keep in their non-winning streak, The Blues are ranked fifth with 13 points.
The Capital City Boys continue their good run as they overcome Navua by 4-1. The team coached by Babs Khan is now just one point away the leaders Rewa as the Delta Tigers could not avoid a defeat against Labasa. At ANZ Stadium, Remueru Tekiate opened the scoreline for the home side in the first half; the party continued as the forward Christopher Wasasala doubled Suva’s lead in the second. Meli Codro also scored in the match, twice, a good performance for the Fijian international – as the match was already 4-0 in favour of the home team, Navua pulled one back through Sharad Kumar, but that was not enough to start a reaction for the Navuans.
Suva gets back to the title race as they cut three points deficit from Rewa at the top of table; Navua will need to recover in the season if they want to avoid relegation – they continue at the bottom of the rankings with only seven points, but Nasinu is just ahead of them in the run with eight.
The most important match of the day saw Labasa taking on the leaders Rewa at Ratu Cakobau Park in Nausori. The team commanded by Ronil Lal was determined to finish their bad run as they were able in the last weekend to collect their first win in a long period against Nasinu. Rewa was four points ahead the second place Suva, on the verge of first ever national league title, willing to continue their good run in order to maintain their advantage.
All goals of the clash game in the second half; Ilisoni Lolaivalu opened the scoreline in favour of the Babasiga Lions at the 54th minute of play. The good midfielder Gabriele Matanisiga leveled the scoreline for Rewa at the 68th minute, but Lolaivalu fate was to be the hero of Labasa in the day as in the 77th minute he secured the winner for his side in a very good performance of the Babasiga Lions.
The win give Labasa a relief as they were in a complicated situation battling against the relegation; now they are six points away Navua at the bottom of the table – Vodafone Premier League’s last placed side is the only team to be relegated. Rewa continues at the top of the table, but now only one point away Suva. The next three rounds of football in Fiji will be very thrilling for the football fans in the country.
You can check the updated results, top scorers and standings of the 2020 Vodafone Premier League by visiting the competition session in our website.
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