Navua put up a strong performance to hold Nadi to a 2-all draw at the Uprising Sports Centre today.

Nadi were confident that they had the win after taking a 2-1 lead throughout majority of the match.

But Navua veteran Apisai Smith once again showed his experience, scoring the equalizer in the final minute of play.

The game had kicked off with Navua taking control of the game in the first few minutes.

Navua keeper Jayshneel Shivan kept Nadi at bay at the start of the period with his brilliant saves after Napolioni Qasevakatini and William Valentine made several attempts at goal.

The game slowly picked up its tempo in the last few minutes of the first half after both teams struggled to score a goal leaving them goalless at halftime.

Nadi duo Christopher Kumar and Shivneel Pillay were in impressive form for the visitors, showcasing their athletic skills to keep Navua’s midfielder Thomas Dunn from scoring.

Qasevakatini soon found a loophole in the Navua defense to drive in the first goal three minutes into the second half.

10 minutes later, Qasevakatini got his momentum back and placed another goal neatly into the net to give them a commanding 2-nil lead.

The Green Machine suffered after Joshua Tawake copped a red card for a dangerous tackle against Navua’s Vinal Prasad 36 minutes into the second spell.

Navua used this to their advantage, backed by the home crowd, the host were determined to get a goal through.

With only a few minutes left on the clock, Navua’s Alfred Ali managed to put one through for the home side to get them back into the game.

Nadi started to drop the ball, failing to maintain discipline, this in turn gave Navua a chance to equalize through a free kick.

Smith kicked the ball to the far left, which could have been an easy goal.

Smith made amends, just minutes after to score the equalizer as Navua settled for a 2-all draw.