The Ba Team won the top honour at the Premier Division of the Inter District Championship (IDC) Soccer Tournament, one of the most keenly fought and watched soccer events in Australia.
The Battle of Giants champion proved its mettle at the final match against a frustrated Dreketi Fury on October 27.
The Ba team proved that it cannot be held back for long. Its players bounced back with energy and experts agreed that it is the Best Premier team in Sydney.
Its players and officials (Yaad Ram, Pramod Chand, Shalend Jattan, Master Vijay and Rakesh Naidu) dedicated the win to Fiji Soccer legend Farouk Janeman.
Organised by the Australia Fiji Soccer Association, the five-day event saw some of the finest moments in soccer. The matches were played in two categories, namely, Premier and Veteran (Over 40) competitions.
The Premier matches accounted for eight teams.
Dreketi Fury defeated a strong Labasa team by 2-1 in the semi-final.
In the second semi-final, an evenly matched Suva-Ba game resulted in a nil-all after extra time. In the penalty shootout, Debutant Ba goalkeeper Rajan Reddy (the ‘Baby of the Team’) saved a well-placed penalty from Suva’s Bobby (Abdul Hussein).
Saula Waqanicakau was the hero of the team in the final as he scored the lone goal against Dreketi which was enough for Ba to gain the IDC title.
Rajan continued to entertain spectators with his heroic saves as Dreketi applied pressure and Alvin Singh continued to fire bullet shots at the Ba goal.
Rajan won the ‘Goalkeeper of the Tournament’ award, while Eddie John was named ‘Player of the Tournament.’ Alvin was a strong contender for the ‘Best Player’ award.
The Veterans
This year’s Veterans competition was very unpredictable as Suva Veterans turned out to be the giant killers of the day, defeating Ba Veterans in the semi-final by 4-0 and Nadroga by 5-1 in the final.
Suva demonstrated determination and class from the start with Jason Lal and Mircha combining well to continuously threaten the opponents.
Nadroga defeated Navua veterans in the second semi-final by 2-0 with two brilliant goals from Janif.
The team enjoyed its first semi-final under new management of Vikash Pratap.
