The Seaqaqa Football side is one step away from booking a spot in the Premier Division after coming from behind to beat Tavua 2-1 in the first leg of the Digicel Senior League play-offs at Subrail Park in Labasa last Saturday.
The side will need a draw or a win in the second leg when clashing with the westerners this weekend at a venue yet to be confirmed.
In 2017 both teams played in the playoffs with the first leg ending in a 1-1 draw at Garvey Park and in the second leg Tavua defeated Seaqaqa 3-1 at Subrail Park.
Nippy Rusiate Doidoi was the hero for the Seaqaqa side when he netted the winning goal in the 89th minute of play putting more than 2000 fans in jubilation.
Husseini Khan in the 23rd minute gave Tavua the lead while Seaqaqa defender Josefa Ravula got the equaliser just before the halftime mark.
Seaqaqa coach Mohammed Imran was happy with a winning start.
“It’s good to start with a win and all credit goes to the boys for playing their hearts out,”
“It was not an easy match but they showed guts to fight back against an experienced Tavua side,” said Imran
“We had a game plan and the boys really executed it well but there was a lot to improve,”
Imran said they need to work harder for the next leg.
“We know Tavua will not be easy at their home ground but we will do our best to achieve our aim this year which is to get on to the top division,”
“We have seen the weakness in our first match which is finishing so we have a week to work on it and for sure we will be coming more prepared to Viti Levu on Sunday,” said Imran
Imran said he had faith in his young brigadiers.
“We have a very young side and they proved their worth,”
“Our three under-16 players who are part of the Digicel U17 national team also played in the match and proved their worth,” said Imran
“We know Tavua will come out more prepared in front of their home crowd but we are not letting any stone unturned to book a spot in the Premier Division next year,”
Imran said they were confident of winning the second leg.
The match kicks off at 3 pm.
