Solid SC took just two years to win their maiden championship in the Premier League after getting promoted in 2013.
Solid with a hard fought 1-0 win over relegation -threatened Saunders secured the championship and took it to the North Central Province after the dominance from the Western Province clubs for many a decade. Solid came into the semifinals of last year’s Champions League only to be beaten by eventual winners Air Force SC.
Road to Glory
Solid finished with 48 points from their 20 matches, 6 points clear of their closest rival Colombo FC. The champion club won 15, drew 3 and lost two games, one to Colombo FC and the other to Blue Star while scoring 44 goals and letting in just 14 which elevated them to the meanest defense in the league.
Though they finished 6 points clear of second placed Colombo FC, it was not smooth sailing for these lads from Anuradhapura. After a good start they ended the first half of the season with a goalless draw against relegation battling Police and began the second half of the season with a loss, draw and loss against Blue Star (2-1), Kalutara Park (0-0) and Colombo FC (2-1) respectively. Their trips to the Vernon Fernando Stadium in Kalutara wasn’t fruitful, to say the least. From a possible 12 points they have only got 2 points and were languishing in 5th place while Navy who lost just one at that time were sitting pretty atop the table cruising to the championship. It was a make or break situation for Solid.
“The draws and losses made me realize the guys were over confident after a good start to the season. These guys have the ball play skills, talent, conditioning and tactical knowledge but lacked the mental aspect of the game. In Sri Lankan football they don’t think about the psychological factor. That’s when I implemented mental conditioning into our practices.” the inspirational Solid SC coach Mohomed Jasmin added in an exclusive conversation with ThePapare.com.
“We stressed on the mental conditioning aspect. And it developed the confidence levels of the players. We kept the balance between under and over confidence. In pressure situations when you are leading or down a goal or two any player can crumble. So it was important to strengthen their minds.” There on in Solid went on an unbeaten streak-even through the floods in Anuradhapura where they were unable to practice for long periods of time-while Colombo and Navy withered under the constant pressure.
The Championship Formula
Coach Jasmin is a product of Al Asar Maha Vidyalaya in Mannar and had represented the Sri Lanka national squad. He learnt the ABC’s of coaching from legendary Sri Lanka player P.D.Sirisena, achieving the AFC ‘A’ license and Diploma in coaching from Germany. Since then he has been the Northern Province coach for 8 years. It was a pleasant coincidence for Jasmin that he had to defeat his mentor’s club on his path to glory.
“He taught me everything. I think my win is like Sirisena’s win that’s how much he has taught me.” The ever grateful Jasmin mentioned about the input P.D.Sirisena has given to him as a player and coach.
“I took over the coaching reigns at Solid only 8 months back. I brought in some of the best talent from the Mannar, Jaffna region because I had been working with them in the Provincial side. Solid is the only representative for the Northern Province in the Premier League. Our main objective is to find talent from this area, win championships and show them to the rest of the island.” Jasmin added as to how he assembled this championship side.
A championship side is built around key players and Solid isn’t short of these from defense to attack. At the heart of the defense you have Sri Lanka’s best defensive duo in Solid captain Amith Kumara and former Sri Lanka captain Thilina Bandara. Thilina is the ice to Kumara’s fire; a reminder of Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in 2008-2010. Solid’s defensive record is a testament of how well these two have combined.
“Amith is a good player also is brave and hard in tackling. Bandara is experienced and is intelligent. He gives that added calmness to the defense.” Jasmin added.
While Kumara and Bandara keep a lock on goals conceded, two of Sri Lanka’s rising stars from the north patrol the midfield. Those two are Edison Figurado, his name might sound Spanish but he is from Mannar and Gnanaruban Vinoth who is a final year student at University of Jaffna and current Sri Lanka National Squad member.
“Edison I think is Sri Lanka’s best midfielder. He played every match this season. Exceptional talent and he can play both defensive and attacking midfield positions. Gnana is a hardworking midfielder. He has given us goals when we most needed, like in the game against Army and in the final match against Saunders where we needed at least a draw he scored the only goal.” Jasmin talked about the cream of talent from the North, who are excelling at Solid.
The foreign connection
He was also in praise of the contribution made by their two foreign players, Oluwafemi Shola and Afis Olayemi. Shola was a member of the team which was knockout in the semifinal last year while Afis made the long trip from Blue Star, Kalutara after helping them to the finals of FA Cup last year.
“Afis, Shola as well as Daniel are very good. Only in the second half of the season we got Daniel who has added steal to the defense. Shola is a quiet player who helps me with our tactical decisions as well.” Jasmin added.
“Last year I played well for Blue Star, played in the FA Cup final but couldn’t win against Army. This year I am happy I was able to take revenge on them beating Army 3-1 and scoring a goal.” Afis joined in the conversation.
“Shola convinced me to join Solid after last season. Daniel and I played for Blue Star last year. Daniel makes our defense so strong we got our balance. Main strength was the fortress we built at home, where we didn’t lose a single match. We kept our heads cool. Our secret is our coach, he is very good. He told us we are going to win early in the season. He is a very hard working coach. He passed his tactical nous to us.” Afis let in on another secret behind Solid’s success.
Behind the curtain & future
Sometimes the people behind the success are overshadowed in triumph but Jasmin was quick to acknowledge the tremendous impact Sagara Piyathilaka, Solid SC’s Manager had made.
“Sagara’s contribution, his vision was this and we need to continue this. He always told me that he wanted to build the football in Anuradhapura to a higher standard. His motivation was that. He has made a lot of sacrifices. He wanted to win the title more than I did; he was constantly behind me and the team always giving the perfect environment for the players to get on with their job.” Jasmin waxed eloquent about their man behind the curtain, their pillar of strength.
For Coach Mohomed Jasmin, who has bagged his first major title the road leads him to far more glory. The FA Cup has started; his and his team’s only ambition is to win the FA Cup and crown themselves as double champions.
“FA Cup is our next main target. Last year we were knocked-out by Army in the quarter final. This time we are more motivated to win the FA Cup as we have won the Champions League title. We have some time because we get to play from the pre-quarter finals. The whole Solid family is ready for it.” a buoyant Jasmin finally added.
