Suntheraraja Niresh scored twice to help Saunders secure a nervy third straight win this season defeating bottom of the table Highlanders at the Sugathadasa Stadium.
It was perfect weather for football as the sun was behind the clouds throughout the match. Saunders coming in to this match with confidence after scoring 11 goals in their final two encounters against Nandimithra SC and Pelicans SC. The boys from Ratnapura on the other hand were under a lot of pressure having failed to secure a win this season.
Saunders were playing without their skipper Sanoj Sameera and midfielder Mohamed Naleer who received a red card in the last match. Sajith Dharmapala who was acting captain was given the responsibility to marshal his troops to their third consecutive win of this season. Saunders dominated possession from the beginning till the final whistle. They got chances to score but failed to do so due to their own mistakes.
Suntheraraja Niresh was the one to break the shackles for Saunders through a powerful shot from just outside the penalty box which gave Saunders their first goal of the match. Saunders took close to thirty minutes to find that first goal which was alarming when you look into the amount of possession they had.
Soon after that first goal Saunders gave away their lead thanks to a horrific decision by their keeper, Upul Perera. The goalkeeper running away to a loose ball which was outside the box and trying to trick his way out from his opponents but ultimately ended up giving away the ball to Sandaruwan Galaketiya who put highlanders back in the game.
Saunders almost conceded another goal just before the half time when Perera almost repeated the same mistake which cost them a goal. Luckily the defenders came around and prevented the ball from meeting the back of the net.
Saunders were under the heat in the second half. They badly needed the three points in order to move into the top four. First real chance was created by Dilan De Silva, who was denied by Highlanders goalkeeper.
Sandaruwan too came so close to put Highlanders back ahead in the game but this time it was cross bar which denied him from scoring his second goal of the match. Perera was almost replaced for the mistakes he made on the field which could have easily given away the match for Highlanders.
Saunders found their magical second goal in the 68th minute when their acting skipper Dharmapala made a good run in the middle and passed the ball to Niresh who was in perfect position to score the winning goal for Saunders. Niresh stood out amongst the others right throughout.
ThePapare.com Man of the Match: Suntheraraja Niresh
