Not today.
Those were the only words Labasa’s Alvin Chand could manage when approached for an interview, his disappointment clear after his side failed to lift the Pillay Garments Champions Versus Champions (CVC) title at Subrail Park yesterday.
Labasa were held to a nil-all draw by Rewa in the second leg, but it was not enough. The Delta Tigers carried a 1-0 advantage into the return match after edging Labasa in the opening encounter at Ratu Cakobau Park in Nausori. That slim lead proved decisive.
Despite strong home support and late pressure, Labasa could not break through Rewa’s defence. The draw meant Rewa secured the CVC title, keeping two clean sheets across the two matches.
Rewa coach Priyant Manu thanked God for guiding his team through the series.
“First of all, I would like to thank God Almighty for His guidance throughout the CVC series and for His blessings upon the team,” he said.
Looking back at the match, Manu said his side achieved what they set out to do.
“We knew that a draw was enough for us to win this tournament. We missed a lot of chances again, but that’s football. If you get chances, you have to finish them. If not, then you have to defend your box and we defended really well.
“We worked hard on our defensive structure. So today, with the draw, we secured the CVC title.”
Although a draw was enough, Manu revealed his side did not come to Labasa to sit back.
“As you could see from the first half, we came out to win. We knew if we could get an early goal, that would have settled things. But we couldn’t score.
“We also knew that in the last 15 to 20 minutes, we would need to defend deep, and that’s what we did.”
Rewa faced challenges before kick-off, with some players arriving in Labasa on the morning of the match after travelling by boat.
“It’s tough travelling by boat on the same day of the game, but we did well and I’m very happy with the performance,” Manu said.
In the closing stages, Labasa threw everything forward in search of a winner. The home side dominated possession and applied heavy pressure in the final 10 minutes, forcing Rewa to adjust their defensive line.
“When our goalkeeper got hit, we had to adjust our backline. We dropped deeper in defence because we knew time was running out. If they had scored, it would have been 1-0 and that would have cost us.
“But our defending was solid. I’m very happy with our backline.”
Manu praised senior players Patrick and Joseph Kawaiya Rawanga, as well as new inclusion Kelvin from the Solomon Islands, for their outstanding performance in defence.
