Isaac Aba and Christopher Erastus scored hat-tricks as Crystal Palace laid waste to the struggling Highlanders in a 7-0 demolition at the Jayathilake Stadium in the Dialog Champions League.
Erastus scored the opener inside the first ten minutes as him and Aba traded goals with Aba completing his hat-trick as the first half ended 5-0. Highlanders came in with a defensive plan in the second half but still Aba and Erastus scored a goal each.
From the start of the match Crystal Palace forwards tried to reach the visitors goal post but finishing was not successful. However Palace boys started their goal scoring run in 9th minute when stand-in skipper Issaac Aba sent a well-directed corner kick to the middle of the box and center forward Christopher Erastus made no mistake heading it to the middle of the net.
After that Highlander’s forwards tried to level this game but Palace defenders did not give any chances for them. In the 20th minute Crystal Palace mid fielder Jean François gave a delightful through pass by beating the visitor’s defense line and Aba finished it making the score 2-0
In the 25th minutes right winger Nandasiri Ekanayaka gave a pass to the skipper who was in the right corner of the box and he placed it slowly to the second bar to increase the score to 3-0. In 30th minute promising midfielder Shamil Hilmy sent a long pass from the center line to Christopher Erastus and he added 4th goal to his team. Right after that Isaac Aba got his hat-trick by taking a well placed kick to the post. Highlanders tried valiantly but Mohomad Zaid and Charith Rathnayaka were tough in defense for the hosts.
With the start of 2nd half in 48th minute Aba scored his 4th goal and making score board 6-0 and after that the hosts curtailed the attacks as they were in complete control.
However the Palace boys came back into the game with the right winger Buddika Silva and midfielder Jean François tried to score from some good movements but Highlander’s goalkeeper handled them properly. In the last minute Christopher Erastus got his hat-trick by taking a well placed kick into the net from inside the penalty box.
ThePapare.com Man of the Match: Isaac Aba
“As you can see the match was an easy one for us because last week game was very difficult one for us. Because of that this week we really worked hard for this match because without winning this match next match will more difficult for us,” Crystal Palace Assistant Coach Nwachin Soloman told to The Papare.com after the match.
