Nadi will continue their title defence against Ba in a repeat of the 2013 final, while Suva will take on Labasa this coming Saturday.
The Fiji FACT got off to a winning start for Nadi at Ratu Cakobau Park in Nausori as the Kamal Swamy side earned a narrow 1-0 victory over Navua.
“The first game is always the hardest in any tournament,” Swamy said. “Navua had some good players which made our side work hard and I’m pleased with how my players reacted.”
Swamy’s side confirmed their spot in the semi-finals with a come-from behind victory over Lautoka on Saturday, with a game in hand. Despite taking an early lead Lautoka couldn’t hold out the defending champions, eventually going down 3-2, with Swamy praising the fighting spirit of his side.
For 2014 OFC Champions League semi-finalists Ba it wasn’t such an easy run out of the group as they got their campaign underway with a shock defeat at the hands of Nadroga.
The underdogs scored a 14th minute goal which proved enough to down their much more favoured opponents.
“To be honest we came to hold Ba to a draw, we didn’t want to drop points in the first game,” Nadroga coach Arvin Naresh said.
“We treated the match as a final and the boys played from their hearts. We got the victory and boosted the chances of our campaign.”
For Ba coach Yogendra Dutt it was a shock to lose, but he credited the spirited performance of his opponents.
“We lost to a very energetic Nagroga team. I had reminded the players that every team is fresh and at their best in opening games.”
Ba finished out the group stage on a high with a double from Avinesh Swamy securing a 2-0 win over Rewa before the side downed Labasa 3-0 in their final group match with Maciu Dunadamu the author of a hattrick.
“We are proud that we have made it into the semi-finals after a shaky and scary start on Friday. But we are proud of this achievement and are happy with the performance.
“We have a week to think about our next match. At present we can’t think about it but we will go back to training after the recovery session and start working from there.”
Suva march into the semi-finals as the only unbeaten side after topping Pool B with a maximum nine points.
The Gurjit Singh coached side opened their campaign with a 3-0 win over Lautoka before outclassing Navua 4-1. Their final group match saw them beat the defending champions Nadi 1-0.
“We are happy to finish on top and unbeaten,” Singh said. “The players have really stood out in all the pool matches and definitely I will have a tough time selecting the best 11 for the semi-final.
“We came into this tournament with the aim of doing well and making the semi-finals. We have achieved that and now our focus is on winning the tournament and with a positive attitude, hard work and determination, we should achieve this.”
Labasa round out the four semi-finalists and despite starting strong, finished on a disappointing note with a 3-0 loss Ba. A spirited Labasa defeated Fiji FACT hosts Rewa 1-0 in the competition opener after taking an early lead. They continued their winning run on day two taking a second narrow victory, this time a 1-0 win against Nadroga earned them their semi-final berth.
Resting a number of key players to avoid further yellow cards, Labasa fell to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Ba in their final group match.
“We have already qualified for the semi-finals so we just didn’t want to commit. I say this because the semi-final is a very important game and seven players have already received yellow cards and we didn’t want to run the risk of losing them for the semi-final.
“We will return to Labasa and train the players over there because one week is a long time to remain in Suva ahead of the next round.”
The semi-finals of the Fiji FACT 2014 will take place at Ratu Cakobau Park on Saturday 28 June. Ba and Nadi get things underway at 3pm followed by Suva and Labasa at 5pm. The final of the Fiji FACT will be held on Sunday 29 June at 4pm.
For more details on all the Fiji FACT group stage action visit www.fijifootball.com.fj

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