This story was published in The Fiji Times on Saturday, May 26, 2001.
The high flying Ba side was back to earth when Navua held them to a draw at the Fiji Bitter Fiji FACT yesterday.
Coming into the tournament as pre favourties for the title, the Men in Black failed to penetrate the Navua defence led by goalkeeper Sitiveni Qarua.
He rose up to Ba’s challenge saving Navua from defeat with acrobatic saves.
Navua soccer secretary Kamal Narayan was full of praise for the performance of the players.
“Those boys played their hearts out even though they had been written off well before the tournament started,” he said.
“With the style and dedication the boys played today, I believe we can go further on in the tournament.
“I see no reason why Navua should not be a contender for a semi-final spot.
“There are still pool games to be played, but the draw is a morale booster.”
Meanwhile, thirty-year-old Jope Lomu was the toast of his Labasa side when he scored two goals in the 3-1 win over Nasinu in the Pool B clash.
The win edged the Babasiga Lions closer to a semi-final spot after earning a point from the scoreless draw with Nadroga on day one.
Labasa faces Ba today and Navua tomorrow.
After the scoreless draw against hosts Nadroga, the Taniela Tuilevuka-captained side took the field by storm leaving the helpless Nasinu side in tatters.
Lomu scored the first goal from a Tuilevuka cross for a 1-nil lead at halftime.
But Nasinu came back strongly int he second half scoring through Ravinesh Kumar.
Labasa struck back through the lethal boots of Jovilisi Duguca before Lomu scored his second with another header from a Penaia Bale corner kick.
But disaster struck when Sefanaia Keni was red carded for stomping a Nasinu player.
Keni is expected to miss two games.
In a pool A game, defending champions Lautoka stormed back into semi-final contention with a 3-0 win over Tavua.
