Tailevu Naitasiri came from behind to hold 2021 runners up at Lami 2-all in their first Group B match of the 2022 Futsal Inter District Championship (IDC) at the Vodafone Arena in Suva today.
The Extra Supermarket sponsored IDC match started off at a fast pace with both sides launching early attacks on goal while the former national rep and Intiaz Khan coached Lami played with a lot of focus and determination.
Naitasiri’s Kavinesh Lal and Prashant Chand threatened the Lami defense and goalkeeper Neemesh Ram with some good attempts.
Hughes broke the deadlock in the 11th minute hammering on a timely cross from nippy Nikil Chand which Naitasiri goalkeeper Mubashir Ali failed to stop.
A few minutes later, match official, Rithik Swamy flashed a yellow card to Lami goalkeeper Neemesh Ram for a foul play on a Naitasiri player at the corner.
Lami maintained their 1-nil at the breather.
Naitasiri came out firing in the second half and could have got on the scoreboard through experienced Kavinesh Lal but he slammed the ball over the crossbar.
A blunder at the Naitasiri defense saw Hughes bag his second goal and double the lead for Lami in the 27th minute swinging in a Chand setup.
A minute later, Chand also received a yellow card for foul play.
After Naitasiri’s Prashant Chand was fouled by Lami captain Navneet Chand in the penalty box, Naitasiri was awarded a penalty which goalkeeper Mubashir Ali took excellently and brought the crowd on their feet.
A minute later, nippy Suva midfielder and Naitasiri Captain Ramzan Khan got the equaliser for the side with a curler in the final minute of play.
The teams:
Lami: Neemesh Ram (GK), Ronish Singh, Aman Naidu, Navneet Chand ©, Ravneel Pal, Nikil Chand, Bruce Hughes, Manasa Levaci,
Tailevu Naitasiri: Mubashir Ali (GK), Kavinesh Lal, Ramzan Khan ©, Prashant Chand, Merrill Nand, Kavitesh Pal, Mohammed Tahir Hussein
