Sri Lanka Women’s National team defeated Singapore Women’s national team 1-0 in an exhilarating friendly at the Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore.
Sri Lanka Women also played another friendly against the Singapore Women’s U19 team which they won 3-1.
In the match against Singapore U19 Hasara Dilrangi gave Sri Lanka the lead before halftime and Chalani Ekanayake added the 2nd in the 56th minute. Stephanie Dominguez pulled one back for Singapore in the 67th minute but A.C.Sarukkali put the game beyond doubt with the third goal in the 86th minute.
These two friendlies for the Sri Lanka team were in preparation for the South Asian Games 2016 in which they will be playing against the likes of Nepal, India, Maldives, and Bangladesh. Sri Lanka defeated Maldives in a friendly at the end of the last year in Sri Lanka.
In what was their first international match in two years, Singapore showed enterprise in their play and dominated their opponents for most of the 90 minutes.
However, the youthful side, with an average age of 23, hit the bar twice and failed to finish off their chances as they eventually lost the game narrowly due to an early goal.
They settled into the game the better of the two sides, showing some fluent passing with wingers Chris Yip-Au and Lim Li Xian stretching the Sri Lankan backline.
But it was the visitors who scored against the run of play in the eighth minute, with Praveena Maduki Perera – under intense pressure from Singapore captain Darvina Halini – bundling the ball past goalkeeper Beatrice Tan from ILEK Liyanage’s left-wing cross.
The Lionesses regrouped thereafter and could have leveled matters on 15 minutes, but forward Priscilla Tan’s ambitious overhead kick was too weak to trouble Sri Lanka keeper Amaya Wijerathna.
The home side proceeded to dominate the rest of the first half and forced a number of corners, but was unable to find the cutting edge in the final third.
There was a golden opportunity on the stroke of half time when Fatin Afiqah forced Sri Lanka centre back IM Withange to concede possession inside her own penalty area, the midfielder was superbly foiled by the onrushing Wijerathna.
Singapore carried from where they left off after the restart and went agonizingly close on the hour mark.
From a well-worked throw-in from the left, Sitianiwati Rosielin unleashed a stunning first-time volley from the edge of the box that crashed off the top of the bar and went out of play.
Luck continued to elude the Singaporeans as they hit the woodwork for a second time on 73 minutes.
Substitute Khairiah Azhar’s speculative 40-yard free kick looked destined to dip into the top right corner of goal, before Wijerathna somehow tipped it onto the bar.
They continued to pile on the pressure in the dying moments but there was no way past the stout Sri Lankan defence as they fell to a rather undeserved defeat.
Singapore: Beatrice Tan (GK), Deborah Chin, Angelyn Pang (Jaslyn Leong 88’), Charmaine Lim, Lim Li Xian (Ho Hui Xin 81’), Sitianiwati Rosielin, Chris Yip-Au, Priscilla Tan, Fatin Afiqah (Azima Ahmad 76’), Angeline Chua (Khairiah Azhar 35’), Darvina Halini (captain) (Hamizah Talib 76’)
Sri Lanka: AMAS Wijerathna (GK), RDLR Gunawardhana, ILEK Liyanage, Hasara Dilrangi, RMCK Ekanayaka (KDRUC Karunarathna 84’), AC Sarukkali (KPS Perera 69’), Achala Sanjeevani Perera, PM Perera (D Leelanthi 67’), KPKN Kumari (captain) (SS Pathirana 51’), IM Withange, CS Francis
