I have faith in my players, were the words of Labasa Football Club coach Ravneel Pratap after its 5-2 win against Ba in round seven of the Digicel Premier League fixture on Sunday at Prince Charles Park in Nadi.
The Babasiga Lions registered their first win in the competition after a lot of criticisms were hurled against the coach.
Pratap said he knew they would bounce back.
“I had full faith in my team and was not worried about the criticisms from fans because fans always want the win,” said Pratap.
“It’s football and we cannot win every game. I am so happy that the boys gave their hearts out to stop criticism coming from fans after an impressive win.
“The result has boosted the morale of the players as we fight our way back in the competition.”
The Labasa school teacher thanked former Labasa coach Roneel Lal for his assistance.
“Lal has been guiding me and I thank the Labasa FA officials for having faith in me.”
He praised the performance of veteran player Taniela Waqa, who came off the bench and scored a goal and assisted in two.
“I have no words for Waqa, but I salute him for the gutsy performance as he changed the game which led us to score more goals.”
Siotame Kubu scored a hat-trick in the win while Waqa and Francis Catarogo scored a goal each.
Saula Waqa and Manasa Nawakula scored for Ba.
Labasa will play Nadi this Sunday at Prince Charles Park in Nadi at 2pm while Tailevu-Naitasiri will host Ba at the Uprising Resort ground in Pacific Harbour at 3pm this Saturday.
