The Junior Bula Boys made a flying start to their OFC U-19 Men’s Championship campaign, producing a dominant second-half performance to defeat Vanuatu 7-2.
Coach Marika Rodu’s side went into the halftime break locked 1-1 before exploding into action after the restart.
Vanuatu had opened the scoring through Roham Masaukalo in the 15th minute, but Fiji responded through Abdul Khairati, who equalised in the 26th minute.
Rodu made a change at the start of the second half, introducing Jovesa Uqe for Jai Naidu, and the Junior Bula Boys immediately lifted the tempo.
Seconds after the restart, Ibraheem Afzal put Fiji 2-1 ahead after receiving a pass from Ryan Naresh.
Krishna Sami Jnr received a yellow card in the 51st minute before Uqe came close to extending the lead two minutes later, only to see his attempt denied.
Uqe was not to be denied for long, making it 3-1 after connecting with a long throw into the penalty area from captain Delon Shankar.
Rodu introduced Apenisa Dulukobau for Khairati in the 57th minute as Fiji continued to control proceedings.
Naresh then took centre stage.
He produced a clinical finish in the 67th minute to make it 4-1 before finding the net again four minutes later for his second of the match.
Akuila Vata replaced Afzal in the 73rd minute, while Shankar was shown a yellow card two minutes later.
Naresh completed a memorable hat-trick in the 77th minute, putting Fiji firmly in control at 6-1.
Having completed his job, the hat-trick hero was replaced by Manasa Kubucauca in the 81st minute.
Vanuatu managed to pull one back in the third minute of added time, but Fiji had the final say when Nicholas Franklin struck in the 90+7th minute to complete an emphatic 7-2 victory.
The result gives Rodu and his Junior Bula Boys the perfect start to their campaign, with the second-half display particularly impressive after the teams had been evenly matched during the opening 45 minutes.
