The Nadi team won the coveted New Zealand Fiji Football (NZFF) Inc IDC Trophy at the final match held at Bill McKinlay Park in Panmure, Auckland on October 22.
The team, which was the defending champion, beat Nasinu (3-1) in an exciting finish on Labour Day holiday.
Both teams scored in the first half and Nadi was held onto one-all-draw at half time. Some Nasinu players displayed excellent soccer skills and managed to get near the Nadi goal, but their team work was poor at times.
The strike force of Nadi was too lethal in the second half for Nasinu to contain.
The four semi-finalists in the Tuckers Ice Cream IDC 2012 were Navua, Nasinu, Nadi and Labasa.
They will take part in the Pacific Cup matches to be held this month.
There were 16 Teams in the IDC Tournament that included pool plays that began on October 18.
Nasinu was beaten in pool play by a strong Navua side with a lone goal and ended as a Runner-Up.
Nadi, on the other hand, was given the chase in pool play by Rewa but the formidable side held high and came through as pool winners.
Rewa was beaten by Labasa in the quarter-final in extra time. But Labasa was thrashed by Nasinu in the semi-final. Nadi beat Navua to reach the final.
Pacific Football Cup
The Pacific Football Cup Tournament will be held from November from 21 to 25 November 2012 at Mount Smart No 1 Stadium.
Organised by the NZFF Inc, with the support of Fiji Football Association (FFA) and Australia-Fiji Soccer Association (AFSA), it will feature ten teams from three countries as follows:
|
POOL A |
POOL B |
|
BA FIJI |
LABASA FIJI |
|
LAUTOKA FIJI |
NADI FIJI |
|
SYDNEY |
WAITAKERE |
|
NZ LABASA |
NZ NAVUA |
|
NZ NADI |
NZ NASINU |
This would be a family and fun-filled event with Pacific flavour, featuring a variety of food stalls.
The Australian team will be strong with a number of great players.
NZFF President Sachin Dutt said that officials have worked hard for this tournament, along with Yusuf Mohammed, Fiji Liaison Officer based in Auckland.
“Fixtures will be drawn on November 8 and we are in the process of getting the list of players from all the teams. New Zealand First Leader and Member of Parliament Winston Peters will open the Tournament with a number of Guests of Honour including Nick Sharma (President AFSA), Rajesh Patel, (President FFA),
Jitendra Kumar and Tarunesh Reddy (Vice-Presidents FFA).
We invite readers to contribute articles to appear in our Souvenir, which will be published at the Tournament. Please contact Sachin Dutt (021-717504), Rajesh Jattan (021-414128), Yusuf Mohammed (021-02543813).
Shiu Verma is the Interim Secretary of the New Zealand Fiji Football Inc based in Auckland. He can be contacted on 027-4994418.
