Expolanka vs Amana Takaful- Mercantile Sevens- CR&FC- 24.7.2016 - Rawme Mohideen of Expolanka takes a shot in the Cup Final
Amana Takaful sent Expolanka for a six as they stormed to the Mercantile Football 7’s championship with a 6-1 victory.
The 37th Annual Mercantile Football Championships organized by the Mercantile Football Association was worked off today at the CR & FC grounds. Colombo Dockyards and Amana Takaful Insurance were the teams that managed to walk away with the prizes on offer.
The initial stages were worked off in round-robin format with 8 groups taking part.
The Cup competition consisted off group winners Amana Takaful, Sri Lanka Telecom, John Keells, Smart shirts, Commercial Credit, Expolanka, Commercial Bank and HNB ‘A’.
Meanwhile, Singer Sri Lanka, Seylan Bank, Smapath Bank ‘B’, Lake House, Commercial Leasing ‘B’, Colombo Dockyards, HNB ‘B’ and Asian Aviation emerged Runners-Up in their group and qualified to compete in the Plate category.
The Cup Category
The cup category was a whole different story as the much fancied Expolanka and Amana Takaful sides took on John Keells Holdings and HNB ‘A’ respectively.
Expolanka were able to comfortably cross the finish line as a goal from Rawme Mohideen helped them stroll past John Keels Holdings who were without any major stars.
Meanwhile in the other semi-final, a star studded Amana Takaful took on the HNB ‘A’ team.
Amana Takaful was on the offensive right from the get-go and dominated proceedings. The likes of Dilan De Silva and Mohammed Fazal were key in bagging the goals which resulted in a comfortable win for the Insurance company.
The Cup Final
The cup final was built up to be quite the spectacle with both teams boasting star-studded line-ups littered with club-level players.
Within minutes of the start it was Expolanka who drew first blood, with Zarwan Johar rattling the net with a thunderbolt of a strike from distance.
The joy was short lived however as Renown SC’s Fazul Rahuman and Mohamed Fazal combined to restore parity.
Photo Album – 37th Mercantile Football 7’s 2016
Rahuman was key once again when his defence-splitting pass found Dilan De Silva who managed to sneak in a goal.
Rahuman then went on a daring run down the left flank and squared the ball for Fazal once again, extending Amana Takaful’s lead.
In the second half, Fazul managed to get his name on the score sheet from close range after some good work by Fazal on this occasion.
Amana Takaful then added two more goals to complete the 6-1 rout and claim the title.
Full Time – Amana Takaful 6- 1 Expolanka
A delighted Mohamed Fazal told ThePapare.com;
“We lost to them in the semis last year so we had revenge on our minds. They are a very good team so we planned accordingly and managed to beat them comfortably.”
“We were chasing the game shortly after we took the lead and in doing so, left ourselves light at the back. As a result we lost the game and the players too lost motivation,” said Expolanka and Colombo FC coach Mohammed Roomy.
The Plate Category
Seylan Bank, HNB ‘B’, Colombo Dockyard & Sampath Bank ‘B’ qualified through to the semi-final this segment.
The side from Colombo Dockyards were able to comfortably overcome Sampath Bank in the first semi-final with Mohamed Nujeeb scoring some marvellous goals to help them on their way to a 3-1 win.
Meanwhile, in the other semi-final, the Seylan Bank were overcome by HNB ‘B’ who managed to stroll to a comfortable 2-0 win lacking any major moments of flare.
Plate Final
Surprisingly it was HNB ‘B’ who had the first shot when their point blank effort was parried by the Dockyards’ keeper.
Colombo Dockyards struck back with a chance of their own, but the volley off the corner was halted on the line.
HNB did manage to draw first blood however after some brilliant skill in mid field. Dockyards then responded through their star, Nujeeb, leaving the game at 1-1.
Penalties were required to separate the two sides and it started off horrendously with both teams missing their respective first kick. However, the game finally swung in favour of the dockyards side after some brilliant keeping from their replacement custodian.
The game ended 4-3 in favour of Colombo Dockyards on penalties.
Awards
Cup Category
Best Goalkeeper – Mohamed Uzman (Amana Takaful)
Best Player – Mohamed Fazal (Amana Takaful)
Plate Category
Best Goalkeeper – S.D. Tilakaratne (HNB)
Best Player – Mohamed Nujeeb (Colombo Dockyards)
