Nadi and Suva clashed at Subrail Park in Labasa in the second round of 2020 Fiji FACT, one of the most important football tournaments in Fiji. Despite the rain and the mud, Suva managed to defeat their opponents in a hard-fought contest.
Shivneel Pillay took advantage of a defensive mistake to open the scoreboard for Nadi in the 11th minute. Suva had a big chance to equalize a few minutes later, but Christopher Wasasala‘s shot went wide. Despite this failed opportunity, Wasasala did not give in and he found the net in the 30th minute after a nice cross from the right wing by Shahil Dave to even the score. Wasasala almost scored his second goal of the day in the final minutes of the first half, but Nadi’s goalkeeper Vereti Dickson saved it.
After a good performance in the first half, Wasasala left the pitch in the beginning of the second half, and this gave room for Sairusi Nalaubu to shine. The 23-year-old forward showed his class by scoring two goals in a row to put Suva ahead: 3-1. With these goals, Nalaubu took the Golden Boot Race’s lead with four goals in two matches.
Nadi’s head coach Kamal Swamy made important changes after Suva’s third goal: Beniamino Lebatavatava and Joeli Severo came from the bench to replace Vuniuci Tikomaimereke and Shivneel Pillay, respectively. The Green Machine managed to find the net in the 89th minute when Afraz Ali scored a beautiful free kick, but it was too late for them to prevent Suva from winning. At the final whistle, the score was 3-2 in favour of the Capital City Boys.
Suva are leading the Group B with six points in two matches while Nadi and Lautoka are sharing the second position with three points each. You can check more information about 2020 Fiji FACT by clicking here.
Oceania Football Center 