THE Labasa and Rewa match ended in a stalemate at Subrail Park in Labasa yesterday.
A victory in the National Football League match was crucial for both teams, however, neither side managed a goal.
Labasa rained attacks on the Rewa goal in the first half of the game but Rewa's defence stood well with exceptional play from the likes of James Naka who reciprocated the threats of the local team.
The game boiled to pressure during the final minutes of play as both teams tried their best to score a goal and claim victory but the wet and soggy conditions at Subrail Park meant their attempts were futile.
The stubborn defence of both sides saw some dirty play in the second half which resulted in yellow cards flashed to Labasa's Sandeep Nair and Edwin Shayam and Rewa's Leone Vurukania, Luke Lomasalato, Kelepi Qaqa, Epeli Saukuru and captain Lorima Dau.
Labasa coach Arthur Simmons labelled the match as a waste saying that his boys could not perform to their best under the poor ground conditions.
"I take my hat off to the boys for a performance well done even though the weather was to Rewa's advantage," he added.
Rewa's assistant coach Ravuama Madigi also blamed the ground condition at Subrail Park saying that it affected his team's performance a lot.
Madigi also went after the match referee saying that, "the ground condition was better than the referee's decision".
"We had our chances but we did not capitalise on it given the bad ground conditions but we are happy that we have gained four points at the end of this tour," he said.
Fiji Football Association referees assessor Mukesh Chand said that nothing much could be done about the ground conditions and lauded his referees and match officials for a job well done.