Walking out with his daughters on Wednesday night’s OFC Men’s Nations Cup is a moment Digicel Fiji Bula Boys midfielder Setareki Hughes will forever cherish.
Some members of the Bula Boys team took field with their own kids and Hughes shared the moment with his two daughters under the lights at the HFC Bank Stadium in Laucala Bay, Suva.
The 29-year-old walked out of the tunnel with Almar while his older daughter, Mere, took the field with defender Mosese Nabose.
This special moment propelled the Rewa star to take his performance up a notch, earning him the Player of the Match of the Award after bagging a double in Fiji’s 9-1 thrashing of Samoa.
“Before the game started, the only thing that was on my mind was walking out with my daughters tonight (Wednesday night) and that gave me a morale boost to perform at my best level so that I can make my family and Fijian football fans proud,” Hughes said.
The Bua in Vanua Levu man dedicated his award to his family and credited his teammates for helping elevate his game.
“Dedicate my award to my family who have been supporting me from day one until now and to the football fans around Fiji.
“Its through teamwork, its not just my hardwork in the field, its the entire team working together than eventuated to this performance and this man on the match award,” he added.
Hughes, Etonia Dogalau and captain Roy Krishna – through penalty- netted twice for Fiji while Thomas Dunn, Filipe Baravilala and Nabil Begg got one each.
The Fiji football men’s team meets Tahiti in their final pool game at 7pm tomorrow.
