A 68th minute goal by the Benedictian attacking forward Chathura Dilshan gave the Bens edge over the Lumbini College XI registering a 1-0 win in their Kotmale Chox Group A game which was held at the Cooray Park Grounds last evening.
An evenly matched encounter in the first half with both teams firing in their possible attacks later turned out to be St. Benedict’s game shortly after the break when they enacted an attacking plan towards the end of play.
Lumbini made themselves several chances in the first half to get themselves up on the score line but smart defending by the St. Benedict’s back line prevented the Lumbini forwards from scoring. The entire first half was dominated by the Lumbini attacking personnel led by their skipper Ujithi Fernando but clever defense strategies used by their counterpart’s back four led by Thiwanka Nawodya made scoring an impossible task.
Lumbini however got the opportunity of a clear scoring chance in the 30th minute of play but Lakshan Thananga did not have the direction as the shot at goal went astray. Lumbini came into scoring territory once again but to the disappointment of the home fans Abhishek Fernando’s shot got deflected off the last Ben’s defender Nawodya depriving them of yet another chance.
St. Benedict’s came into the second half in a different game plan attacking from the very first opportunity. Bens Chamod Dilshan was the highlight in the second half showcasing his skill with his footwork as he single handedly came into the scoring region but failed to get the direction right for his kick.
Rectifying his mistake in the earlier move, Dilshan managed to score the unitary goal in the game in his second attempt as the Lumbini goalkeeper fumbled the ball. Lumbini made several attempts to get back into the game but the Bens goal keeper Yohan Nonis held his ground to preventing the ball crossing the line.
The game ended with St. Benedict’s College taking home another win in their group stage game. Head Coach of St. Benedict’s College had these words to share on the win,
“Overall we played well as a team, there were few goal scoring chances that we missed out in the game but overall we played well. In the first half the opponents attacked but we defended well and I am happy about the overall performance.”
