It was a thrilling encounter at Subrail Park as defending champions Labasa fought back late to hold Suva to a 1-all draw in their first pool match of the BiC Fiji FACT.
Suva got off to a strong start and opened the scoring in the first half through Siotame Kubu to take a deserved 1-0 lead.
Despite creating several opportunities, the Babasiga Lions were unable to find the equaliser in the first half as thousands of home fans continued to rally behind their side.
Suva’s defence worked tirelessly and looked set to secure all three points as they kept Labasa at bay for most of the match.
However, with only minutes remaining, Labasa midfielder Melvin Mani’s powerful strike took a deflection off Suva defender Remueru Tekiate and wrong-footed the goalkeeper before finding the back of the net to send the home crowd into celebration.
At the final whistle, the score stood at 1-all.
Speaking after the match, Labasa coach Alvin Chand praised his players for their determination and never-say-die attitude.
He says he had faith in his players and knew they could fight back after working hard throughout the match.
Chand says the message at half-time was clear as they needed goals in the second half, and the players responded.
He also thanked the thousands of supporters who stayed until the final whistle to cheer on the team.
In other matches today, Lautoka thrashed Nasinu 4-1, Ba also beat Nadroga 4-1 and Rewa beat Navua 2-1.
In tomorrow’s matches, Nasinu takes on Nadroga at midday, Rewa takes on Suva at 2pm, Ba faces Lautoka at 4pm while hosts Labasa takes on Navua at 6pm.
