Ba coach Imdad Ali reveals that teamwork was the secret to his side’s success.
“It’s not only the hard work from my side, it’s the hard work from the boys,” he says.
“I’m not a god. It’s the effort from the boys and the dedicated training they had taken from me which has made them the victors.”
Ba forced the match in their favour from early on as Abbu Zahid snuck the opener in the 21st minute after Nadi goalkeeper Vereti Dickson mishandled the ball leaving an empty goal for the ruthless Zahid.
Without hestitation, the striker finished neatly to send the home crowd into raptures.
Nadi had an attacking force of their own with Samuela Drudru and Fiji U-23 striker Napolioni Qasevakatini at their disposal to break down the defence.
Proving a threat on numerous occasions they were denied time and again by high-flying goalkeeper Josaia Ratu to retain Ba’s 1-0 lead going into the break.
Kamal Swamy’s Jetsetters returned to the field for the second half with a renewed desire to secure an equaliser.
However, a lapse in concentration in the Nadi defence proved costly as Zahid once again took advantage of his opponent’s defensive error to smash in a second for the hosts.
Nadi fought to pull themselves back into the title race but Ba refused to budge, holding out their opponents.
Goalscoring hero Zahid says his contribution to the victory made it a special match.
“I’m so emotional to help Ba win a tournament after two long years,” says Zahid, who was also the hero in his side’s 2-1 win over Nadi in the 2013 IDC final.
“Many people have lost faith in me because of injury, but I wanted to show them that I still have what it takes to help Ba win.”
In the individual awards, Player of the Tournament went to Zahid’s teammate Alvin Singh.
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