Negombo Youth revitalized their Champions League campaign with a 3-0 domination of local rivals Don Bosco SC played at the Kelaniya Football Complex.
After a dismal 6-0 loss at the hands of Colombo FC away from home, Negombo Youth were under pressure coming into the match against Don Bosco who were undefeated and had kept two clean sheets in two matches.
After a back and forth first Negombo Youth took a strangle hold of the second half with Pradeep Fernando turning in Ishun Achooty’s cross and even though Kasun Jayasuriya missed a penalty he made amends scoring the second while Bawa Mumuni finished off in style with the third.
The pressure Negombo Youth was in, coming into the match was evident as they struggled to get possession of the ball and Don Bosco took full use of it making early inroads. They got a couple of free-kicks but the delivery was not up to the mark while headers from corners were either blocked or went over the goal.
However as the match progressed Negombo Youth stamped their mark with the return of Tharusha Rangana and a few other seniors who had missed last week’s humiliation. They went on to dominate the rest of the first half in possession and territory and it needed a couple of good saves from Chinthaka Sanjeewa to keep Negombo Youth at bay.
At the beginning of the second half Negombo Youth coach Kabir Mohamed introduced the talismanic Kasun Jayasuriya who was still nursing an injury to give add a spark for the side. Jayasuriya was quick to showcase his prowess as he made immediate impact with his runs.
Ishun Achooty took the ball towards the byline but managed to cross the ball under a tackle and Pradeep Fernando was on hand to turn it in from close range to give the first goal in the 55th minute.
Tharusha’s rebound volley needed an excellent save from Chinthaka as Negombo Youth piled on the pressure. One of Jayasuriya’s signature runs caught the Don Bosco defense napping and Chinthaka could only get hold of Jayasuriya’s legs giving away a penalty. Chinthaka did exceptionally well to dive the correct way to deny Jayasuriya the penalty.
Minutes later Jayasuriya made amends for his miss as he converted from an impossible position leaving the goalkeeper stunned. With defenders around him on the edge of the box he drilled in a low effort to beat the keeper at his near post.
Don Bosco had chances to get back into the game with George Durel firing wide from a good position after turning his defender and the towering Henry Appiah heading just over from point blank range.
While Don Bosco missed their chances, Negombo Youth took full advantage of their’s as Bawa Mumuni skipped past Madushka Peiris to fire in a low effort for the third goal towards the end.
ThePapare.com Man of the Match: Kasun Jayasuriya
“Last time two of our seniors (Kasun, Tharusha) were injured. Four of them didn’t come for practice so I had to field a young team which didn’t work for us. We came today to win. Finishing was poor in the first half but after I introduced Kasun he made the change we needed,” a delighted Kabir added after the match.
