After a promising group stage Sri Lanka U19 had to settle for 6th place after being defeated 4-0 by Malaysia at the 43rd Asian Schools Football Boys Championship in Baotou, China.
Sri Lanka held a strong Malaysian side goalless at halftime but conceded four goals in the second half. Malaysia scored with the momentum on with three goals in five minutes.
Korea finished first while Iran, Thailand and China were placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. In the group stage Sri Lanka lost to Thailand and China 1-0 after hard fought matches.
Sri Lanka U19 lost their first match, 1-0 to China U19 in the 43rd Asian Schools Football Boys Championship. Sri Lanka and Java Lane SC winger Afam Akram was red carded but the boys defended stoutly only to have their hearts broken with a goal in the final few minutes.
After a disappointing first match Sri Lanka U19 thumped India while drawing against Hong Kong. Sri Lanka thumped India 4-0 yesterday while they drew against Hong Kong 2-2.
Dilip Peiris, Naveen Jude and Anjana Wickramasingha scored in the first half for Sri Lanka against India while Sunthararaj Niresh added the fourth in the second half. Akhil Fernando replaced Niresh for the final quarter of an hour.
In the match against Hong Kong an injury time penalty broke the Lankan hearts. Hong Kong scored the first but Sri Lanka took the lead from a brace by Afam Akram. Afam Akram who was red carded in the first match redeemed himself to score two brilliant goals. However Sri Lanka gave away a 92nd minute penalty as they equalized.
The Sri Lanka U19 team drew 2-2 once again, this time against Singapore.
Red hot Afam Akram and Anjana Wickramasinha scored as the islanders came from a goal back in the second half to draw the match. Akram broke the deadlock in the first half as his powerful shot burst through the hands of the goalkeeper while Singapore equalized through a penalty to end the first half 1-1. Singapore took the lead with a second half strike but Anjana leveled the scores with beautifully placed goal from inside the penalty box.
Sri Lanka U19 were defeated 1-0 by Thailand U19 in their final group clash. Thailand were one of the strong teams in the group and after some good performances by Sri Lanka, they played well in a tight defensive game but were unlucky to lose the match.
Akhil Fernando started in midfield for the first time this tournament as the Sri Lanka U19 played a controlled match as the first half ended 0-0. Thailand scored early in the second half and even though Sri Lanka tried to get back a goal Thailand defended resolutely.
