IT was good to see Wellington Phoenix striker and Fiji captain Roy Krishna back in action at the weekend.
In fact it is always good to watch the national side live in action at home.
A tactical change at half-time, it seems, paid dividends for the national side, helping us defeat Mauritius 1-0 at Churchill Park in Lautoka on Sunday.
We made a clean sweep in the Three Nations FIFA international friendlies.
It was encouraging to see the Christophe Gamel-coached “Bula Boys” remain unbeaten in the series after downing New Caledonia 3-0 at the national stadium in Suva last Monday.
At the weekend, Krishna said patience was the key in the victory over Mauritius.
He scored the winner following a cross from replacement Malakai Rakula.
Krishna said they created chances, but there was a need to be patient.
“In the first half we had half chances,” he said.
“As a striker, you need to gamble in the box. I knew it but I read his mind (Rakula) before and was lucky to get that touch.
“We are happy with the win and it is not easy for the coaching staff to get a team to jell in three weeks.
“It was not physical but they were frustrated as we moved the ball well.”
Mauritius coach Akbar Patel said it was a tough game and they were unfortunate to lose.
Gamel made a tactical change which he believes made a difference.
“First I pushed up Drudru (Samuela) because he was not functioning well on the flank,” Gamel said.
He pushed up Drudru to trouble the opposition defenders.
Then he pulled in Rakula, with his quality passing game, and dribbling ability to create space.
Mauritius who rank 13 places ahead of Fiji failed to live up to the hype after their 3-1 victory over New Caledonia.
The match would have been welcomed by Fijian fans who have not had too many opportunities to watch the national side in action.
Gamel was proud of the achievements.
“It is amazing what they have done. Beating New Caledonia and Mauritius is no easy feat. It is a positive sign to win consecutive matches.”
Gamel revealed the national side is expected to be travelling abroad, to Vanuatu for another tournament.
The ultimate goal right now though would be to travel to Europe, he offered.
Any victory by the national soccer side would be welcomed and savoured to the brim.
It’s not every time that fans get to watch the team in action, and subsequently win games back-to-back.
We still have a long way to go though, to reach the pinnacle of the sport at international level.
We hope that this is a sign of the times, and a positive reflection of the direction Fijian soccer is taking.
Our challenge though is to be consistent.
