Rewa made a winning start thrashing newcomers Nasinu 8-1 in the opening match of the 2022 Extra Supermarket Futsal Inter District Championship at the Vodafone Arena in Suva today.
Just two minutes into the match, Rewa took advantage of an unsettled Nasinu and went up by a goal from Captain Kalisito Veikoka following through a Tevita Waranivalu pass.
Nasinu tried to make a comeback in the match holding off an experienced Rewa and pivot Manit Lal and Ashok Kumar powered in some brilliant shots but young Ayush Kumar was excellent with his save.
Veteran Nitan Kumar came off the bench and tried to get Nasinu on the scoreboard but his strike landed in the hands of goalkeeper Kumar.
Coming off the bench in place of Mohammed Fardeen, sweeper France Catarogo scored back-to-back goals in the 14th minute to extend Rewa’s lead to 3-nil.
Error in Nasinu’s defense opened up more chances for the delta tigers and Waranivalu pounded on an Ifraaz Ali curler which goalkeeper Suibuka misjudged.
In the final minute of the first half, Alvish Ram came off the bench and got Nasinu in the match after beating two Rewa defenders and slamming the ball into the net.
Rewa led by 4-1 at the breather.
Nasinu again made a slow start in the second half and errors in their defense saw Rewa capitalise on the opportunities through Fardeen and Waranivalu bagging their second goal and Rishal Singh also scored his first goal.
Match official Dharmen Chand flashed a yellow card to Rewa goal scorer Catarogo and Nasinu’s Ivan Kumar for foul play in the 33rd and 39th minute.
The teams:
Nasinu: Epeli Suibuka (GK), Ashok Kumar, Manit Lal, Ivan Nikhil Kumar, Justin Kumar, Nitan Kumar, Amit Kumar, Asaeli Tunidau, Alvish Ram
Rewa: Ayush Chand (GK), Tevita Waranaivalu, Kalisito Veikoka, Mohammed Fardeen, Moniesh Shamal Chand, France Catarogo, Zarid Khan,Varun Swarup
