NADROGA caused the biggest upset in the latest round of the Extra Premier League when they beat Rewa 2-1 at Ratu Cakobau Park in Nausori yesterday.
The men in yellow kept a firm grip on the match’s pace and left no room for Rewa to score a goal, which they managed to do so in the 84th minute thanks to Gabiriele Matanisiga.
Nadroga’s two goals were given by Sakiusa Saqiri and Siotame Kubu.
Interim president of the Nadroga Football Association, Parveen Padyachi was in joyous spirits and elated at what the team had achieved in the 90-minute showdown.
“We just beat Rewa on their home ground; it was very tough.
“They got nine Fiji reps and we are all a new set of boys, and we were prepared to beat them and we did it,” Padyachi shared.
He acknowledged the preparation put in place by the team, evident in the manner they blocked off any attempt by Rewa to break through their defence.
“The training was done perfectly by the coach and we were working on the defensive and attacking like we were defending and we were trying to counter,” he explained.
“You have seen the counters, we have scored two goals and that we did. It was our plan and we managed to do it.
“Rewa is a very good team, everybody knows that but we did it today in their home ground.”
Rewa coach Rodicks Singh reflected on the loss and pointed out the areas the team lacked in during the game and regarded the result as a “wake-up call”.
“I think the pace of the way we wanted to do things, again, a lot of back passes where we could have been going forward, we opted to play back,” Singh said.
“There are some things we have looked for, not enough opportunities for our strikers, because we were playing a lot at the back.
“These are the things we have to rectify and try to be very lethal and clinical when we have the ball.”
Meanwhile, in other EPL matches yesterday, Ba beat Navua 2-1, while Lautoka won 2-1 over Nadi.
