The 86th FMF Inter-District Championship kicked off with an action-packed opening day in Suva, with teams across the Super Premier, Premier and Senior divisions beginning their campaigns.
At the HFC Bank Stadium, defending Super Premier champions Stratum/Lincoln Rewa FC made an emphatic start to their title defence with a 5-0 victory over Nasinu FC.
Ramzan Khan opened the scoring in the fourth minute before Merril Nand doubled Rewa’s advantage in the 23rd minute.
Junior Sela made it 3-0 in the 49th minute before Nand completed his double in the 67th minute. Substitute Epeli Valevou rounded off the scoring in the 82nd minute.
Rewa finished the match with 10 men after substitute Neemish Prasad was sent off in the 71st minute.
Dayals Steel Ba FC also collected maximum points after defeating Khelvin Realtors Lautoka FC 2-1.
Etonio Dogalau put Ba ahead in the 30th minute before Luciano Orzo equalised for Lautoka in the 35th. Dogalau struck again in the 40th minute, with his second goal eventually proving to be the winner.
Vantex Solutions Navua FC enjoyed an impressive start with a 3-0 victory over Pacific Heavy Industries Nadi FC.
Walter Leoru was the star for Navua, scoring in the 40th and 44th minutes before completing his hat-trick in the 90+3 minute.
Nadi finished with 10 men after Saheel Valentine was shown a red card in the 87th minute.
Extra Supermarket Labasa FC also opened their campaign with three points following a 2-1 victory over Kells Investment/Global Care Suva FC in the final Super Premier match of the day.
Simione Ragoneturaga gave Labasa the lead in the 22nd minute before Andrew Naicker equalised for Suva in the 27th minute.
With the match heading towards a draw, Christopher Wasasala struck in the 90th minute to secure the victory for the Babasiga Lions.
Premier Division
Seaqaqa FC started their Premier Division campaign with a 4-2 victory over the Kiribati National Team at the HFC Bank Stadium.
The encounter was a historic one for Kiribati, who made their first appearance at the FMF Inter-District Championship.
Crusoe’s Retreat Tailevu Naitasiri FC and Tavua FC shared the points following a 1-1 draw in their Premier Division encounter.
Senior Division
The Senior Division also produced some competitive football on the opening day.
Nadogo FC defeated defending champions Cooling Down California Rakiraki FC 2-1 at the Fiji FA Academy Ground.
Taveuni FC secured a 3-0 victory over Savusavu FC, while Dreketi FC defeated Lami FC 3-1.
Bua FC completed their opening assignment with a narrow 1-0 victory over Northland Tailevu FC.
The opening day has set the platform for an exciting week of football as teams continue their battle for places in the knockout stages of the 86th FMF IDC.
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