The Navua Chronicle
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Both of them Penisoni Tirau's — 8.71
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.71, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Navua
Ali Mekawir was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
Graduation day at Navua
1 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
The terraces8 Mar 2027
The crowd has taken to Penisoni Tirau
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match6 Mar 2027
Penisoni Tirau the difference as Navua beat Nasinu
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Penisoni Tirau. 2‑0 against Nasinu, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Market8 Mar 2027
Roy Cama steps up from the Navua academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Roy Cama has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Avishek Dayal was unplayable
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Laisenia Krishna, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Filipe Baravilala gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Filipe Baravilala is on it.
In brief
- Boardroom No investment in the facilities at Navua
- Squad Words at Navua training over how hard people work
- Squad The first one for Penisoni Tirau