It was joy for the Samuela Drudru-captained Suva side and a heartbreak for Alvin Avinesh-led Lautoka in the battle of the cities at Churchill Park yesterday.
Lautoka started with a bang with a lot of constructive soccer coming from the midfield areas. But this was not fully executed due to the tight and properly organised defence by Suva.
The sugar city fans were hoping for their first win in the Fiji Sun/Skipper Tuna National Football League.
But their hopes were dashed when Ravinesh Singh scored the first goal from a well structured set piece.
Lautoka was a totally different team in the second spell; playing a pressure game but competition top marksman Samuela Drudru had the last laugh as he beat Lautoka goalie Alivereti Baleiloa to score their second goal.
With two minutes of injury time remaining, Suva goalkeeper Emori Ragata was flashed a red card by referee Ravitesh Behari as he fouled Livai Senibulu outside the box.
The Big Play: In the early stages of the second spell, the Suva side camped at their goalmouth after Lautoka was awarded a direct free kick. But Ragata, Tomasi Uculoa and Nikhil Chand stood out in defence.
Star Turn: Ravinesh Singh broke the hearts of the Lautoka fans for scoring the first goal as the Blues were like spectators on the field.
Striker Drudru lived up to his name as the best striker in the league.
Comments:
Suva coach Gurjeet Singh: “We are happy for the good win, we played the full 90 minutes, and overall we played well but we missed so many chances.”
Lautoka coach Dennis Singh:
“After the four matches the boys are not performing. The boys are too soft and that’s why we are losing week in and week out.”
Suva (Fiji Sun)
