Champions Suva came from two goals down to beat Labasa 5-4 in a thrilling second semifinal2022 Extra Supermarket Futsal Inter District Championship at the Vodafone Arena today.
Mohammed Zaid opened the account for Labasa in the 2nd minute slamming the ball into the roof of the net giving no chance to experienced Suva goalkeeper Shameet Kumar
A few minutes later, a foul by Suva’s Suraj Chand on Labasa’s Ashnil Raju awarded a penalty to Labasa which Captain Edwin Sahayam took and powered directly into the net for a 2-0 lead.
It was Shahil Dave who tried to bring Suva back in the match with a set up to Vineet Nadan right in front of the goalmouth but he kicked it over the crossbar.
Minutes before half-time, Labasa’s Rajiv Sharma was carried out of the court after he sustained a knee injury.
Tampers flared into the match when Chand deliberately fouled Ashnil Raju and match official Rithik Swamy flashed a yellow card to him.
The Babasiga Lions led 2-0 at halftime.
Suva came out threatening in the second spell through Sunny Deol and Shivnal Prasad.
The Northerners had some other plans and a set-up from Zaid saw captain Sahayam take advantage of an empty Suva goalmouth and kick the ball directly into the net.
Suva made a comeback in the match and changed its game plan in the remaining six minutes of the match.
Dave led the comeback and riffled a shot which Labasa keeper Kumar misjudged.
Just seconds later, Deepal Singh further narrowed the gap following through a deep cross from Sunny Deol which caught the keeper off-guard.
An error in the Labasa defence allowed Suva to capitalise on the opportunity and a direct kick from Dave leveled the scores, giving no chance to Kumar at all.
In the first half of extra time, the Labasa attackers despite having more possession failed to get a break with set moves failing to click.
Suva went ahead three minutes into the match through a powerful drive from Dave leaving Labasa defenders stunned.
Just before the half-time mark, the reds finally snipped a chance through Sahayam after a one-on-one with Raju to tie things at 4-4.
A minute later, a foul by Zaid on Suva’s Rajneel Singh awarded a penalty to Suva which Dave took but he kicked it out before Suva’s Deepal Singh copped a yellow card for foul play.
In the last few seconds of the extra time, Sahayam copped his second yellow (a red) for challenging the referees decision.
A successful penalty form Dave sealed the win for Suva.
Suva will play Ba in the final at 6pm.
The teams:
Labasa: Ronal Kumar (GK), Edwin Sahayam ©, Amen Prasad, Mohammed Zaid, Ashnil Raju, Prashant Prasad, Davneet Prasad, Shahzaib Aziz, Shainal Lal, Rajiv Sharma, Sonal Prasad, Eparama Moraica, Shivam Shandil
Suva: Shameet Kumar (GK), Shahil Dave, Deepal Singh, Vineet Nadan, Krishneel Singh, Sunny Deol, Kaliova Tivulu, Rajneel Singh, Suraj Chand, Akitesh Kumar, Shivnal Prasad
