THE Fiji Muslim side will be looking for a stronger performance in the FANCA tournament after making a slow start at Prince Charles Park on Wednesday night.
The Best Promotions/Sadai Auto Spares-sponsored Fiji defeated United States of America 2-1 in the opening match.
The heavy ground conditions, caused by the afternoon rain, did not help either side.
Henry Abbas Ali scored the opening goal for the home team in the first ten minutes. The visitors levelled before half-time.
Taslim Rahiman scored the winner for Fiji in the second spell.
Fiji team manager Mohammed Hafiz said they hoped to pick up in the tournament.
He said two of their key players failed to join the side.
“Our two strikers Issa Sani and Abbu Zahid did not turn up,” Hafiz said.
“I think they are committed to their districts. However, for us this is an international event and they should have joined.
“We are grateful to the Lautoka and Navua districts for releasing their reps. The USA side played a good game. We can’t really complain about the ground conditions as the weather is beyond our control. But we hope to build on the combinations and try and lift ourselves.”
In another opening round match, Canada upset defending champions New Zealand 2-1.
Today, Australia will take on Canada at 6.30pm while Fiji will play New Zealand at 8pm.
Results: Under-21 New Zealand 4 Drasa 2, Fiji 4 Drasa 0, New Zealand 1 Australia 1; Over-35 Canada 2 USA 0, Australia 1 Canada 0, New Zealand 3 USA 0, Over-42, Canada 4 Australia 0; Main Canada 2 New Zealand 1, Fiji 2 USA 1.