CAPTION: The men in Black line-up in an earlier outing. Photo: BA FA.
By VIJNESH CHAND
Sanni Issa’s hat-trick helped the Men in Black a confirmed spot in the OFC semi-finals from group A, after thumping Solomon Warriors 5-0 at Govind Park this afternoon.
The lanky marksman Malakai Tiwa opened the flood gates as he capitalized from a defensive blunder by Solomon Warriors. Tiwa fired a shot from outside the box to give Ba the lead.
Solomon Warriors quickly settled and orchestrated attacks on Ba goal mouth, but were denied by Jone Ralulu and Rumeru Takiata.
At the breather Ba led by a goal to nil.
Sanni Issa scored in the second minute of the second half to increase the deficit and continued his excellent display of footwork.
Later he increased his tally after being setup by Laisenia Raura to hand Ba a 3-0 lead. Substitute Tuimasi Manuca helped Sanni to his third goal in the 70th minute.
The crafty striker has now scored seven goals in four matches and is also the leading goal scorer for Ba in the OFC playoffs.
Laisenia Raura also added his name on the score sheet in the 82nd minute, firing a shot from an awkward angle, to give Ba a much deserving five goals to nil win.
Solomon Warriors had no answer to a brilliant display of football by the Ba players.
Ba outclassed the Solomon Warriors with an astonishing win. Ba Leads pool A with 10 points, and is through into the knockout stages.