KHELVIN Realtors Lautoka stunned their jetset neighbours Pacific Heavy Industries Nadi to hand them a 5-2 defeat in their second Super Premier Division match at the 2026 FMF IDC in Suva yesterday.
The Blues’ goal scorers were Epeli Leiroti, Luciano Orzo, Rusiate Matarerega and Sterling Vasconcellos while an own goal by Nadi in the 87th minute was the icing on the cake for them.
Leiroti found the back of the net in the 15th minute, Orzo two minutes later and after the break, Matarerega shot another goal in the 50th minute, Vasconcellos in the 85th and the own goal in the 87th minute.
Nadi’s efforts were shown through goals made by Aabid Mohammed and Eneriko Matau scoring in the 37th and 58th minute respectively.
This marked Nadi’s second defeat after losing to Navua on Tuesday 3-0.
Reflecting on the loss, Nadi coach Gurdeep Singh said his side would now have to deal with the result handed to them by the Blues.
“A hard result but that is the reality and we have to face it,” Singh said.
“We managed to come back, we scored two goals but unfortunately, the lack of commitment let us down.”
Singh added Nadi missed eight players who featured for them in the Extra Battle of the Giants and this meant bringing in younger players.
Despite this, he stressed it would took time for a united team spirit to form that would translate into favourable performances on the field.
“It will take time, let’s not run away from reality. It takes time for a group of boys to grow together and play well together,” Singh emphasised.
Meanwhile, Lautoka coach Banishal Naidu thanked his side for the victory and said the team spirit and bonding was evident in the win they earned.
“The team spirit was there, the bonding which was there carried us through,” Naidu said.
Like his Nadi counterpart, Naidu has also urged Blues fans to believe in the potential of the squad’s young players.
Nadi faces Ba in their final pool match at 5.30pm today and Lautoka meets Navua at 1.30pm.
