Unplayable ground condition due to heavy rain forced play to be held up for two hours during the FMF Inter District Championship at Lautoka’s Churchill Park yesterday.

The Ravneel Pratap-coached Labasa side was to play Navua at 4pm but instead it was moved to 6pm. This would depend on outcome of the ground inspection by the Fiji Football Association officials and the referees.

Head of Fiji Referees Jitendra Reddy said they had to take precautionary measures especially for the ground to be in playable condition.

“The unfavourable weather took its toll on the ground,” he told SUNsports.

“The committee has decided that the game will be delayed, but we intend to complete all the group games. However, the situation will be assessed game by game.”

Reddy said player’s safety remains paramount.

Already, Rewa and Labasa have booked their spot in tomorrow’s semi-finals.

Waiting game for Nadi 

The Raj Dayal-coached Nadi side fought their way back to register a crucial 4-1 win over Nadroga to keep their semi-final hopes alive.

Nadi led 2-0 at halftime with goals from Siotame Kubu and Ratu Tulivou. Nadroga pulled a goal back through Semesa Sacere as they trailed 2-1. Nadi was electric upfront with lanky William Valentine’s drive found the back of the net in the 77th minute of play before Kubu scored his second goal to make 4-1.

Nadi will wait for the outcome of the Rewa, Ba clash to determine their fate. Ba needs to beat Rewa by two clear goals to qualify for the semi-final.

Nadi Football Association president Mohin Rafiq said: “Nadi has four points and will hope that Rewa holds Ba or lose by a single goal. The boys did have to work very hard after the loss on day two. We had to boost the morale of the boys to deliver the goods. We knew that Nadroga would be tough, and we could not take them lightly.”

The other anticipated match is the Lautoka and Suva clash to see who accompanies Labasa to the semi-final. All these matches were played when this edition went to press last night.

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