Colombo FL win in penalty shoot out

Junior Inter League Soccer:

S.M. Jiffry Abdeen, Kandy Sports Corr.

Colombo Football League became champions at the Junior Inter-league Soccer Tournament for the Everyday Trophy when they beat Kandy Football League by 6 goals to 5 in a penalty shoot in the final. The tournament organised by the Sri Lanka Football Federation was played at the Bogambara Stadium in Kandy yesterday.

The scores at the end of the regulation time stood at one- all after the Kandy team led 1-0 at the breather.

It was a gallant Kandy team which went down fighting all the way. In the 15th minute of play Kandy team was reduced to 10 players as one of their players was sent off the field for unwarranted play. In the 15th minute of the second half, Kandy FC had only nine players on the field as another player was sent off the field for arguing with the referee.

Time and again the Kandy team was penalised.

This infuriated a section of the Kandy crowd who cast unsavoury remarks on the officials.

The police had to be summoned to control the situation and one person was taken in for questioning.

Colombo team started off in the initial stages of the game and kept pressing during the first five minutes deep inside the Kandy territory.

But a good defence put up by Kandy thwarted their opponents from drawing first blood.

With the ball cleared from the Kandy territory and out from the playing area. A throw in by Colombo was disallowed.

Kandy next took the throw in and right extreme and Golden Stars player Deepthi Hemachandra dribbled past two defenders and made a well directed shot which beat the Colombo custodian Sanjeewa Madusanka all ends up Kandy bad 1-0.

It was after this that Kandy lost a player and had to manage with 10 players and they did well to hold on to their lead till the short whistle.

Kandy did well to keep attacking and also to keep their opponents at bay. But Kandy ran into deep trouble when they lost their second player who was sent off the field. It was nine against 11.

Colombo seized this opportunity to keep pressing and Kandy’s goal keeper put up a good display between the posts.

Colombo did not have to wait for too long for their equaliser when skipper Mahesh Chamara sent a short pass to centre forward Jazlan Navid who booted the goal.

With the result standing at one all, the penalty tie breaker system was implemented to break the deadlock.

At one stage it appeared that Kandy would pull it through as they led 4-3. Two mis-directed kicks at goal in the penalty shoot out saw their chances end up in smoke.

Before the commencement of the match the two teams were introduced to the chief guest Harley Silveira (President FFSL) and General Manager (CP) Sri Lanka Telecom Chinthaka Wijesuriya, former DIG Gamini Randeniya, National Sales Manager Energizer Lanka Ltd. M. Shameel Shibly, Secretary FFSL Hafiz Marikar.

B. F. Mirando refereed.