With just 8 teams left in the FA Cup, ThePapare.com looks at each of the quarter final fixtures in detail as 8 footballing powerhouses take the field at the Sugathadasa Stadium over the course of this weekend.
Army SC v Super Sun SC (6th May at 5.00pm at Sugathadasa Stadium)
Road to the quarter finals
Army SC
4 – 1 Navy SC (Pre-quarter final)
20 – 0 Easwaran SC (4th round)
3 – 0 Maya SC (3rd round)Super Sun SC
1 – 0 St.Mary’s SC (Pre-quarter final)
2 – 1 Serendib SC (4th round)
3 – 0 Olympic SC (3rd round)
Army go into this quarter final clash as overwhelming favourites, having registered the biggest win of the tournament so far when they thrashed Easwaran SC 20-0 in the round of 32. Army have their forwards all fit and firing and Super Sun will really need to put in a well-organized defensive shift if they are to get anything from the tie.
Super Sun will be relying on the likes of Nuwan Priyankara and Shafraz Kaiz to convert any of the limited opportunities that come their way.
Key Player
Army SC: Sanka Danushka
Super Sun SC: Shafraz Kaiz
Blue Star SC v Saunders SC (6th May at 7.30pm at Sugathadasa Stadium)
Road to the quarter finals
Blue Star SC
2 – 1 Singing Fish SC (Pre-quarter final)
3 – 0 Leo SC (4th round)
3 – 0 Renown SC (Hatton) (3rd round)Saunders SC
2(3) – 2(1) Negombo Youth (Pre-quarter final)
6 – 1 Up Country Lions (4th round)
9 – 0 Rathnapura MC (3rd round)
Both teams went through tough fixtures to reach the quarter finals with Blue Star beating Singing Fish SC 2-1 in Jaffna and Saunders coming back from 2-0 down against Negombo Youth to win on penalties.
Saunders will have the advantage of already overcoming top division opposition whilst for Blue Star this will be the first such encounter of their FA Cup campaign. Saunders possesses a good mix of youth and experience in their squad and the pace of the likes of Mohamed Shaheel and Suntharaj Niresh could cause the Blue Star backline some problems.
However Blue Star have proven themselves to be tactically adaptable and if they get their high pressing game going, they could cause problems for the Saunders midfield engine.
Key Player
Blue Star SC: Fahir Ali
Saunder SC: Sanoj Sameera
Colombo FC v Air Force SC (7th May at 5.00pm at Sugathadasa Stadium)
Road to the quarter finals
Colombo FC
5 – 0 Pelicans SC (Pre-quarter final)
3 – 0 Young Birds SC (walkover) (4th round)
2 – 0 SLTB SC (3rd round)Air Force SC
3 – 0 Matara City (Pre-quarter final)
1(4) – 1(3) Civil Security SC (4th round)
13 – 0 Reliance SC (3rd round)
Both teams are in good form going into the clash and have their key men Kavindu Ishan (Air Force) and Zarwan Johar (Colombo FC) in fine goal-scoring form.
This will be a good test for Colombo FC, who will be up against first division opposition for the first time in the Cup. The key for them will be to restrict the wing play of the Airmen, which is where their strengths lie.
In recent meetings Colombo FC have found ways to overcome Air Force, but with Colombo FC forced to play without their foreign players, Air Force just might fancy their chances though in the recent meetings Colombo FC won 2-0 (DCL16 Super 8).
Key Player
Air Force SC: Kavindu Ishan
Colombo FC: Zarwan Johar
Renown SC v Java Lane SC (7th May at 7.30pm at Sugathadasa Stadium)
Road to the quarter finals
Renown SC
8 – 0 Brilliant SC (Pre-quarter final)
4 – 1 Golden Rise SC (4th round)
3 – 0 Young Birds SC (Mulativu) (3rd round)Java Lane SC
2 – 0 Crystal Palace FC (Pre-quarter final)
5 – 1 Kirulapone United (4th round)
2 – 0 Prison SC (3rd round)
A mouthwatering clash as two of Colombo’s footballing heavyweights come head to head in the final quarter final clash this year.
Both teams are very good on the ball and play good passing football which will likely result in a free flowing game of open, attacking football.
Mohamed Rifnaz and Mohamed Fazal have been in good touch for Renown whilst the likes of Mohamed Rizkhan and Naveen Jude have been brilliant for Java Lane in their campaigns so far.
Recent encounters between the two teams indicate that they are equally matched and this clash could go either way.
Recent meetings – Renown 2-3 Java Lane (City FL Presidents Cup), Renown 1-0 Java Lane (DCL Group Stage 2016/17, Renown 5-1 Java Lane (FA Cup 2016 Quarter Final)
Key Players
Renown SC: Mohammed Rifnaz
Java Lane SC: Naveen Jude
To catch all the action of the FA Cup Quarter Final stage, stay tuned to ThePapare.com as we bring you live coverage of all the games.
