Ba coach Mohammed Ashif Khan has apologised to the fans for poor results at the 2023 Rooster Chicken/Scoops Ice Cream Battle of the Giants tournament at Prince Charles Park in Nadi.
Ba was beaten 3-0 by Suva and 3-1 by Rewa and bombed out of the tournament despite having a match remaining against defending champions Labasa.
The Ba vs Labasa clash got postponed on Day 1 of the tournament due to a power outage.
Khan said due to the majority of their players named in the Fiji Under 23 team for the Olympic Qualifiers in New Zealand, the traditional football giants were not able to train together and prepare for the tournament.
“We were an unlucky side in this tournament and I would like to apologise to the fans. I know there were a lot of expectations from the Ba team.”
“My apologies to the fans, I let them down. I take all the responsibility in the end as the coach.”
“We were unlucky that nine of our players were selected in Fiji Under 23 team and we were not training together as a team and as coach that’s one area I feel Ba was lacking in combination with what has to be done in defence, what needs to be done in striking, who has to fall player tracks.”
Khan is confident the team will bounce back to its winning ways and live up to the Men-In-Black tag in the remaining rounds of the Digicel Fiji Premier League and Inter District Championship in October.
“If I stay, we’ll come back stronger. Just believe in the young squad that one day Ba will rise but we have to do something in terms of the IDC and the upcoming league games.”
“Come IDC we have to prove the critics wrong that Ba can do wonders.”
“Tournament is a tournament where we can’t afford to make any mistakes otherwise we are out. In the future, when we prepare for the tournament, I hope we train together as a team.”
Meanwhile, Rooster Chicken Ba will play their postponed match against Labasa next month.
