Rewa defender Madhwan Gounder scored a hat-trick of goals in Tailevu Naitasiri’s huge 8-1 win over Navua in the first match of the 2023 Extra Supermarket Futsal Inter District Championship (IDC) at the Vodafone Arena in Suva today.
The Men-In-Sky Blue were boosted by the inclusion of Suva and Bula Boys midfielder Mohammed Ramzan Khan and Rewa reps Gounder and Josateki Tamudu.
On the other hand, Navua had the services of experienced 11-a-side reps Matthew Charritar and Simione Damuni.
Gounder broke the deadlock in the fourth minute for after he controlled the cross from Clifford Kenhalau and chipped the ball into the left side of the net.
Navua tried to respond through Damuni and Arvind Chand but they were well contained by veteran Naitasiri star Kavitesh Pal.
Four minutes later, Junaid Ali slammed the ball in the top left corner of the Navua goalmouth to double Tailevu Naitasiri’s lead.
Navua attempted to get on the scoreboard through substitutes Shabneet Chand and Kaushal Lal but they were frequently denied by Tailevu Naitasiri goalkeeper Mohammed Khan.
Coming off the bench, Jone Gukilau squared a pass to 2021 Futsal IDC Golden Boot winner Prashant Chand and he tapped past the Navua defence to get the third goal for Tailevu Naitasiri.
This time, Navua managed to respond with a goal from Damuni after he caught Tailevu Naitasiri’s goalkeeper napping and found the net.
Tailevu Naitasiri led 3-1 at the break.
Navua fought hard to hold a much more experienced Naitasiri for the first two minutes of the second half but they failed to contain them for long.
What went from bad to worse for Navua was when pivot Junaid Ali sneaked past the defence and got their fourth goal in the 25th minute.
A set-piece play from Ashneel Chand to Gounder saw him chip the ball into an empty Navua net and no later; he scored his hat-trick finding the Navua goalkeeper lying on the court in the 32nd minute.
Two minutes to full time, Ayush Prakash came off the bench to extend Tailevu Naitasiri’s lead with a goal before bagging his second and sealing the win.
Naitasiri will face defending champions Ba at 5.30pm tomorrow while Navua plays Nadi at 7pm.
The teams:
Tailevu Naitasiri: Moahmmed Khan (GK), Junaid Ali, Prashant Chand (C), Clifford Kengalu, Madhwan Gounder, Muzzamil Hussein, Deepak Chand, Jone Gukilau, Ayush Prakash, Kavitesh Pal, Ashneel Chand, Moahmmed Shaheer, Josateki Tamudu.
Navua: Sahil Goundar (GK), Shivneel Chand, Saimon Lal, Arvind Chand, Shalvesh Singh, Shahil Lal (C), Matthew Charitar, Shabneet Chand, Zuheyr Sharif, Kaushal Lal, Simione Damuni.
