Goals at the start of each half gave Colombo FC a 2-0 win against the dominant Saunders SC in the City FL President’s Trophy 2nd round match at Kew Points road.
Saunders managed to control the game for the 90 minutes but was unfortunately unable to find the goals, which Colombo FC did in rare moments of brilliance to clinch a place in the final.
Captain Bodrie Dimitri put his team in the lead as early as in the 3rd minute with a composed finish.
Colombo FC seemed to have eased the pressure from themselves and gained control but the momentum of the match shifted and Saunders started to dictate terms. They kept the ball in the opposition half, rarely putting a foot wrong but the Colombo FC defense held firm led by veteran Mohamed Ramees.
Photo Album – Colombo FC v Saunders SC – City FL President’s Trophy
To the almost packed fans at the City League Football Complex that turned up to enjoy the match, Saunders would have been the clear victors merely on their performance; however, the game had something else in store.
Saunders skipper SanojPerera and attacker AlabbaNiangorang played a very professional game of football creating many scoring opportunities for their side but the teammates shot too many blanks and let them down more times than they would appreciate.
Colombo FC had no real chance of scoring another goal let alone take control of the ball from the moment they scored the first goal. They played a good defensive game which is what drove them to victory.
First half ended with just the one goal by Dimitri and a few yellow cards for both teams.
Four minutes into the 2nd half, Colombo FC once again got a goal against the run of play through the boot of Tuan Rizni, who scored a magnificent goal stealing the ball out of attention and slyly putting one away.
Saunders supporters and bench were left stunned as Colombo FC celebrated but pushed hard thereafter but were unable to score against the tight defense line. Both teams lost one player each to red cards and were still playing a leveled field as the scorers fell back to defending and Saunders went on pushing with attacking plays.
ThePapare.com Man of the Match: Sanoj Sameera
