WHILE the Rooster Chicken Ba Women’s FC team were handed a 1-6 defeat by Hekari Women FC in the semi-final of the OFC Women’s Champions League on Thursday, their efforts were amplified before the match by Good Samaritans.
In a post by New Zealand Fiji Football Incorporated (NZFFI) on Facebook, it shared the story of two anonymous donors who donated proper football boots to four players in the team.
The players were Sainiana Lupe, Veniana Lumuka, goalkeeper Mereseini Waqali and Ulamila Rasovasova.
The donors were former Ba residents who now reside in New Zealand and were tied to the sport in an intimate manner.
One donor was a former player and the other an enthusiastic sports supporter and as NZFFI stated, they ensured the team were well equipped to run onto the field.
Meanwhile, in the semi-final match, captain Luisa Tamanitoakula scored the lone goal that broke the team’s barren end of the scoresheet.
Following the match, coach Charlene Lockington reflected on the result and kept an optimistic resolve.
“We reached the semi-final and that’s a big achievement for us. We thank our parents, fans and sponsors,” Lockington shared with OFC Media.
“We had some players out injured but we hope to return next year stronger.”
As the team progressed through the competition in Tahiti prior to the semi-final, the onus of how monumental it turned out to be was not lost on captain Tamanitoakula.
“For us as newcomers into this competition, we took each game at a time. We got past the first one, the second one, for us to be in the semi-final is history in itself,” Tamanitoakula told OFC Media recently.
Meanwhile, Hekari United were the top favourites from Papua New Guinea.