Sri Lanka out of SAFF C’ships

Prince GUNASEKARA

Sri lanka had to finish their journey in the South Asian Football Federation Cup Championship when they faced a painful defeat over the hosts India (3-0) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in new Delhi yesterday.

Sri Lankan defence looked much strong in the first half but India came up with a powerful attack in the second half.

The 22 year old Indian J.J. Lal scored the first goal for them in the 50th minute. Indian skipper Sunil Chetri netted the second goal for India in the 70th minute. Sri Lankans players were did some silly mistakes thereafter and Nipuna Bandara netted an own goal in the last few minutes, clearing the hosts’ way towards the semi-finals of the championship.

In the other quarter final, Afghanistan recorded a victory with the second best victory margin in the tournament’s history, 8-1, ending Bhutan’s journey in the championship.

Ironically, it is Afghanistan who were defeated with the biggest margin (9-1) over Maldives in the 2005 championship.