A dominant first-half performance proved decisive for Suva FC as they secured a 3-0 victory against Navua FC at the HFC Bank National Stadium in Suva yesterday evening.
Malakai Lavecake opened Suva’s account in the 21st minute, before Siotame Kubu doubled their lead in the 45th minute, giving the capital side a comfortable advantage going into the break.
Navua began the second half showing intent, but despite several attacking forays, Suva’s goalkeeper Jason Rokovucake held firm, denying the visitors any chance of a comeback.
In the 65th minute, Faizal Ali extended Suva’s lead to 3-0 with a powerful strike from just outside the box, boosting the tiring side’s confidence.
With Suva’s commanding lead, frustration began to creep into Navua’s play. Following repeated cautions and acts of indiscipline, Navua were reduced to nine players for the final ten minutes of the match.
Suva’s head coach, Babs Khan, expressed satisfaction with the result, praising the squad’s disciplined and determined efforts.
“We were exposed a lot by Navua in the first half and we talked about it in the change room and hats off to the boys for their efforts on the field today,” he said.
Looking ahead to their next fixture against Ba, Khan believes a crucial aspect of their game needs improvement before facing the western giants.
“Our reaction time was really slow; we need to work on that especially on our attacks,” he explained. “Ba is a champion side and we will have our work cut out for us this week.”
