Men in Black whip hapless Lions

Ba whipped a hapless Labasa side 7-0 in their National League clash at Govind Park.

It was the Babasiga Lion's second defeat in as many games. The side earlier lost to a star-studded Navua side 2-0 on Friday at the Post Fiji Stadium. The Men in Black escaped with a 1-0 narrow win against Tavua last weekend in the first round of the competition. The soccer giants regrouped on their home ground and ruthlessly dismantled the Babasiga Lions. Ba nippy striker and skipper Josaia Bukalidi scored a hat trick in the first spell and led his side into a comfortable 3-0 lead.

In the second spell, former Suva player Ronald Lawrence struck twice to make it 5-0, Osea Vakatalesau slotted in his first goal and a last-minute goal to Ronil Kumar made it 7-0. Navua striker and former Labasa player Ovini Duguca become an overnight top goal scorer after his two goals against Labasa, but now relegated to the second spot after Bukalidi's hat trick.

Ba and Navua now on 6 points and lead the series after recording two wins. Suva, Lautoka and Rewa and the Olympians share the second spot with four points. Nasinu recorded its first win against Nadroga and has three points. Nadroga held Rewa last week with a 2-2 draw and has one point, while Tavua, Labasa and Nadi are still winless.

Ba: Laisenia Tuba, Jone Vesikula, Robert Wise, Luke Vidovi, Johnny Rao, Roneel Kumar, Josaia Bukalidi, Osea Vakatalesau, Kiniviliame Naika, Roland Lawrence, Shalen Lal.

Labasa: Shamal Kumar, Kushal Naicker, Mohammad Rahim, Penaia Bale, Salesi Ravusua, Mahendra Lal, Rakesh Kumar, Gordon Leewai, Otiko Tumuri, Sanaila Bera, Tevita Seniloli.

Solomons influence works for Nasinu

Nasinu, with the influence of its imported Solomon players, thumped a young Nadroga side 5-1 in their National League encounter at Ratu Cakobau Park today.

It was the second biggest scoreline in the league competition. Ba holds the record after whipping Labasa 7-0 earlier on. But Nasinu found the wet and soggy Ratu Cakobau Park to their advantage as they piled in goal after goal. Nasinu led 3-0 at the break with goals coming in from Robert Mafana in the opening minute. His goal was by far the fastest to be scored in the competition. Dinesh Kumar put Nasinu up to two goals before Elrick Kiluwa's 12th minute sitter allowed them to take a comfortable 3-0 lead.

In the second spell, Kiluwa struck again to make it 4-0. Nadroga replied and pulled one back through Intiaz Hussein but Mela slotted in the last goal two minutes to full-time to make it 5-1. Mela and Kiluwa join Navua's Ovini Duguca as the second top goalscorers in the competition. Ba's Josai Bukalidi scored a hat trick against Labasa and leads the board. Nadroga manager Nazim Khan blamed the ground condition for their loss. He said the heavy underfoot from last night's rain was in Nasinu's favour because the southerners were used to playing in that condition. He said Nadroga had a new team and needed to improve. Nasinu President Praveen Chand was happy with the performance of the islanders but said areas of concern were the central midfield and defence.

Nasinu:Alfred Arapio, Anish Kumar, Ratu Penaia Latianara, Jone Roko, Rocky Prasad, Jalindar Singh, Ronald Ram (capt), Alarine Kilua, Benjamin Mela, Binesh Kumar, Robert Mafana.

Nadroga: Nalishwar Singh, Orisi Vunisa (capt) Nilesh Nadan, Abdul Feezaz, Abhinesh Raj, Abhilash Sharma, Ravinit Maharaj, Sanjeshwar Singh, Garfil Coster, Epeli Saukuru, Intiaz Hussein.

Resilient Suva holds Olympians to a draw

A 10-man Suva side withstood a strong challenge from the Olympians to come away with a nil-all draw at the Post Fiji Stadium tonight.

Suva was cut to 10-men after Apisai Smith received his yellow card for a dangerous tackle. With a one-man advantage, the Olympians took a more constructive approach and stringed together a couple of moves. Suva resorted to an attacking game and relied on physic to carve the Olympians defence. Both sides had opportunities to score in the first half but poor finishing let them down. The Olympians, with the return from suspension of Lautoka pair Joshua Wilson and Ben Aminio, had numerous chances to score but failed. Both sides finished the match with a point each.

Suva beat the Nadi 2-0 last Saturday while the Olympians beat Lautoka 3-2.

Suva: Alifereti Baleiloa, Lawrence Chand (Tupou Tagiduadua), Apisai Smith, Inosi Cava, Rupeni Tabua, Joseph Mishra (Maciu Dunadamu), Noa Seru, Dinesh Mudaliar, Roderick Kumar, Joseph Mamairiao (Sandeep Nair), Saimata Chillia

Olympians: Ben Aminio, Krishna Sami, Menusi Senibuli (Sherof Ali), Esava Samudrodro, Epeli Junior, Malakai Waqa, Joshua Wilson (Maikeli Nakalavo), Kelipi Qaqa, Marika Madigi, Rinal Prasad, Alvin Singh (Netani Momoivalu)

Tigers bounce on helpless Tavua

Rewa recorded a convincing 3-1 victory over Tavua today at Garvey Park in the second round of the National League.

The Delta Tigers bounced back from the 2-all draw to Nadroga last weekend. Tavua put up brave performance against Ba in the first round last week, but lost 1-0. However the gold miners failed to spark against Rewa.

Rewa welcomed back Nadroga import Haris Bali and skipper Usaia Tadu who watched from the bench last weekend. Rewa also brought in Labasa's Lisala Vetaukula, who made a grand debut for his new district today.

The Ravuama Madigi-coached side had too much experience with the likes of Tadu leading the charge, Bali, Marika Rodu, Waisake Sabutu, Kamal Hassan, Henry Dyer and goalkeeper Joela Baledrokadroka.

In another clash, a young and determined Lautoka side downed an experienced Nadi pack 2-0 at Prince Charles Park. Lautoka went down last week against the Olympians 3-2 but bounced back today to record its first league win. Nadi suffered its second loss after going down to Suva 2-0 in the opening round.

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