DUSTY ground conditions and occassional winds did not hinder the Ba under-20 team from claiming a spot in the Skipper Cup semi-finals after a 20-15 win over Macuata at Lawaqa Park ground two in Sigatoka yesterday.
Tries for Ba were made by Suliano Bogileka, Josateki Caucau, Arimelu Noa while Macuata’s two tries were added by Ratu Jope Seniloli.
Penalty kicks and conversions for Ba were put through by Sakeasi Koula and Jaweli Rokowaqa, while Macuata had theirs carried out by Joshua Augustine.
The scores at half-time were 15-3 in favour of Ba.
Ba under-20 assistant coach Penaia Cokomata said yesterday’s win was only possible through the guidance of the Lord.
In acknowledging their divine source of strength, he said the team needed to overcome various challenges, which included injuries sustained by players.
“But we knew that when we would reach the quarter-finals, we were aware that we needed to increase our level of preparations for it,” Cokomata said.
While they left Sigatoka with a win and a seat in the semi-finals, there is also an added urgency to address certain areas in their game plan, such as their discipline.
“We would like to work on improving our discipline, there were many cards issued today on the field which cost us the game,” he mentioned.
“We noticed that when there was only 30 minutes of play left, there were only 14 of us and in the semi-finals, we’ll try our best to improve on that next week.”
