The Nadroga football team secured a place in the 2024 Inter District Championship by defeating Tailevu Naitasiri 4-1 in the Digicel Fiji Premier League match held at Lawaqa Park yesterday. The Stallions had a dominant first half, scoring three goals. Semesa Sacere opened the scoring, followed by Joel Chand who doubled the lead, and Abhishek Ram converted a penalty to make it 3-0 before halftime.
Despite being down, Tailevu Naitasiri showed resilience in the second half, with Sakiusa Saqiri scoring in the 48th minute, offering a moment of hope. However, Nadroga’s goalkeeper Sakeo Tageneca quickly dashed any hopes of a comeback by scoring the fourth goal from another penalty, securing the win.
Following this match, Nadroga now has 17 points, placing them five points ahead of both Tailevu Naitasiri and Nasinu, who are tied with 12 points each and facing relegation risks. As the league nears its final round, Nasinu will compete against Nadroga and Tailevu Naitasiri will go up against Lautoka in critical matches for their survival.
In other matches, Navua narrowly defeated Nasinu 1-0 at the Uprising Sports Complex, with Jared Rongosulia netting the only goal from a penalty in the second half. Suva also pulled off an upset against Lautoka, winning 1-0 at Churchill Park due to Jo Moses’ first-half goal. Additionally, Ba secured a late 2-1 victory over Labasa at the Fiji FA Academy Ground, with Faazil Ali scoring the deciding goal near the end of the match after Christopher Wasasala gave Labasa an early lead which was later equalized by Etonia Dogalau.
The final round of the Digicel Premier League is scheduled for this weekend, leading into preparations for the IDC tournament in Lautoka next month.