Pelicans SC looked to have comeback to win against Crystal Palace but Jean Francois rescued a point with a goal deep into injury time as the match ended in a thrilling 3-3.
Crystal Palace who are on one of the best runs in their history with three wins and two draws from their first six matches and sitting in 2nd place in group A, were favourites against the struggling Pelicans got off to an early lead through a Charitha Rathnayake goal in the 11th minute.
The lead only lasted seven minutes as Kasun Pradeep equalized for Pelicans. Isaac Aba scored in the 29th minute at the visitors went into half time with a 2-1 lead.
In the second half it was quiet but Crystal Palace were in control until captain Mohamed Shifan needlessly got himself sent off. Shifan was booked by referee Mohamed Irshan in the 72nd minute but got his second yellow for dissent which completely changed the complexion of the match.
Pelicans seizing the opportunity made it 2-2 when Daminda Sirisena scored in the 79th minute and six minutes later took a 3-2 lead with the second goal from Pradeep. Crystal Palace were in danger of losing but with seconds remaining Jean Francois produced a rabbit out of the hat to get a point from the match.
Kalutara Park gets first win
In a battle of the two bottom ranked teams in group B without a win, Kalutara Park got all three points in a 3-2 win against Matara City at the Matara Football Complex.
With both teams coming into the match without a win in three matches, this was an important match to get points and make a move away from the relegation zone. It was Kalutara Park who took the opportunity with both hands even though they had a scare when Matara City scored two quick goals late in the second half.
Archie Mwakicha opened the scoring for Kalutara Park in the 26th minute while a goal by Maduike Bismark just before half time made it 2-0. Saloutho Romeo added the third on the hour mark and at this stage it looked like the visitors would cruise to victory.
Matara City had other ideas as A.M.Prassana and Nuwan Sasikapriya scored in the 72nd and 73rd minutes setting up an intense final fifteen minutes. Under immense pressure Kalutara Park held on to record an important win after their 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Blue Star in midweek.
Ranish double gives easy win
Newly promoted division I champions Highlanders had another miserable outing as they lost 3-0 to Police SC at the Kelaniya Football Complex.
A.A.Ranish scored twice on either side of halftime while Shanmugaraja Sanjeev scored the third in an easy win for the cops.
Highlanders held firm in the first half but were unable to create anything useful as a Ranish goal gave Police a 1-0 lead at half time. In the 50th minute Ranish added his second while Sanjeev scored the third in the 61st minute.
Daniel gives Solid win against Air Force
A.O.Daniel scored in injury time as the defending champions got an important three points to resurrect their fading title defense against Air Force winning 2-1 at Prison Grounds in Anuradhapura.
The first half ended goalless but Gnanaruban Vinoth scored four minutes into the second half but a Kavindu Ishan penalty in the 58th minute kept it at 1-1 till the last few second where Daniel scored the winner much to the relief of the home fans.
