Ba coach Mohammed Ashif Khan is urging fans to have faith in the team and continue backing the young brigade as they prepare for the semifinals of the 2023 Courts Inter District Championship (IDC) in Suva tomorrow.
The Men in Black topped Group A after beating Labasa 1-0 via a Mohammed Raheem goal and will meet Group B runners-up Navua in the first semifinal.
“Our aim was to qualify from the group and I think we have achieved that. Topping the group is a big achievement for us after playing some tough matches. We will recover and focus on the semifinal tomorrow.”
“We know after a year we have qualified into a tournament semifinal, the expectations are very high from our fans and families who have come to support us. Have faith in the players because our target is to bring back Ba’s lost glory.”
“Playing 90-minute football over three days is not easy but these boys are putting their bodies on the line to make their fans and families proud and all we request from our fans is to keep supporting the team as it boosts the confidence of our boys on the field.”
Khan also mentioned that they are expecting a thriller performance from Navua, whom they are weary of as well.
“Navua will come as a different team in the semifinal. When teams enter the semifinal, they don’t give the same performance as they do in the pool games. They are a strong team and we are expecting a firing performance from them. Either we are ready or not but still, we’ve got to face them and just play according to our game plan to counter Navua.”
“We lost to them last year and this time we have to change our mindset in how we approach the game. Yesterday, we started the match late and we can’t afford to be playing catch up game because once they score, it will be hard for us to get on the scoreboard.”
“It’s very important that when we take the field, we utilise every scoring opportunity we get and at the same time discipline will matter. We don’t want to lose players with yellow cards because that decreases the tempo of the game.”
RC Manubhai Ba will face Aldex Trading/ River Tubing Fiji Navua at 2.30pm.
