Dilshan Fernando and Jasuraj Bernard scored within minutes of each other as Army once again failed to secure a win against Air Force which ended 1-1 in the Dialog Champions League Super 8 match at the Sugathadasa Stadium.
The unbeaten Army in the Super 8’s was full of confidence while Air Force had the psychological advantage of having won all three matches against Army in the last three years in the competition which have all ended in 2-1; most recently in the group stage a few weeks back.
Photo Album – Army v Air Force – Dialog Champions League 2015 (Super 8)
The Airmen looked determined from the start as they employed an attacking strategy against the soldiers which almost took them by surprise. It is always a tight battle when it comes to matches between the Forces as both teams clearly went all guns blazing.
It was the Airmen who drew first blood when Sumedha Fernando deflected in brilliant volley by Kavidu Ishan. Initially the ball was sent across by Chathuranga Fernando from a corner which found Kavindu Ishan near the edge of the box who connected a mid-air volley.
Army bounced back from the restart through a brilliant counter attack which was led by Punsara Thiruna.
Thiruna made good ground on the left side of the pitch and curved the ball towards the 6 yard box which found Nadeeka Pushpakumara who managed to fire the ball on target but Prabath Arunasiri managed to get a hand on it. Unfortunately for Arunasiri the rebound fell to Jasuraj Bernard who tapped the ball past the scrambling Arunasiri.
The energy which was shown in the first half by both teams was quite admirable, especially by Air Force who didn’t hold back even though they knew how strong their opponents were. Both teams had their chances to take the lead but they just couldn’t find the back of the net in the first half.
Game was wide open for both teams but the humid conditions got the better of the players. Air Force players clearly looked tired in the second half after the exhilarating performance they showed in the first half of the match. Due to the low fitness levels of the Air Force boys, Army enjoyed the majority of possession in the second half.
It was goalless second half for both teams. Army had created more opportunities but their main strikers Mohamed Issadeen and Thiruna couldn’t step in and carry their team over the line. Three time defending golden boot winner and one of this year’s highest scorers, Issadeen for the second game running struggled to have an impact in the match.
If Army were to win this match they could have ranked themselves at the top of the table jumping over rivals Colombo FC who drew in their third week match against Blue Star.
Air Force on the other hand needed this win to be on the hunt for the league title and they almost did during added time when Kavidu Ishan had an easy shot at goal but only ended up sliding the ball into Kumara Sirisena’s hands.
ThePapare.com Man of the Match: Kavidu Ishan
Army coach Mohamed Fawmy speaking to ThePapare.com;
“We should have won but we missed some easy chances. It’s always tight when you’re up against a forces team. We try our best to be disciplined out there on the field. Wanted to win badly since we haven’t won against them for a while now. We just want to take one game at a time and not focus on the league title.”
His counterpart, Air Force coach Tuwan Raheem;
“Disappointed with the outcome; Kavidu should have scored in that final chance we got but unfortunately he couldn’t. I expected the senior national players to step up take the team over the line but it wasn’t the day, today.”
