Blue Star SC kept their Championship hopes alive with a nervy win over New Youngs SC today. In a slow-paced game, the Kalutara side took a first half lead through a Afonja Jibola wonder goal but failed to add any more in what was a closely fought second half.
New Youngs – Solid ends in a fiery draw
The 3 rd match of DCL Super 8 Week 03 between New Youngs FC and Solid SC ended in a 1 – 1 draw in the match held at the Kelaniya Football Complex.
Blue Star looked to keep up with the table toppers in gloomy conditions at the Kelaniya Football Complex today. Both Blue Star and New Youngs were coming in on the back of 2-2 and 1-1 draws respectively.
The game started off at pedestrian pace with much of the action taking place in the middle of the park with neither of the teams willing to take risks and thus not being able to penetrate the opposition.
The first significant piece of action came in the second minute when New Youngs’ Foster Amadi took a speculative shot which caused Blue Star custodian Manjula Fernando no trouble whatsoever. Ten minutes later the Wennappuwa side nearly opened the scoring when Mohammed Fawzan’s free kick hit the turf and took an interesting bounce which put off goalkeeper Fernando, causing the ball to ricochet off the keeper and fall into a dangerous area before being cleared.
Blue Star comeback to draw Navy in a four goal thriller
Afonja Jibola inspired Blue Star SC scoring 2 goals in the second half to deny Navy a victory as the match ended 2-2 at the DCL 16 Super 8 Week 3 fixture played down at Kelaniya Football Complex.
Blue Star meanwhile played a more counter-attacking game and nearly went ahead when E.B. Channa’s cross fell to Mohammed Irshan inside the box, only for the Midfielder to mis-control the ball.
New Young continued to try and piece together some structured play and pushed forward through Fawzan, who was a constant threat to his marker, Fahir Ali.
This was until the 24th minute where Afonja Jibola picked the ball on the right corner of the box and let fly with a hopeful effort which flashed across the face of goal and hit the back of the net, leaving New Youngs’ goalie Kaveesh Fernando rooted to the spot.
They nearly made it two when Opayemi, who found himself in attack made a wonderful turn off a Hameed header, shot from the edge of the box. Unfortunately for the defender, the shot flashed wide.
New Youngs had one final chance to get level through their ‘missing’ talisman, Hasitha Priyankara, whose shot from 25 yards lacked any direction.
Half Time – New Youngs FC 0 – 1 Blue Star SC
The second half started off at the same pace the first half did, but saw Blue Star SC dominate far more. The Kalutara side played far more constructive football which saw New Youngs with their backs pegged against the wall.
Mohammed Farzeen had two quick chances in the space of a minute as he firstly saw his shot flash wide and then seconds later, saw Kaveesh smother an attempt after he caught Avishka Perera on the ball.
New Youngs slowly picked themselves up but saw chances come few and far between as the likes of Sogah, Priyankara and Amadi took time to warm themselves up
As the clock ticked on, both sides slowly upped the intensity of the game as the tired legs on both sides saw the game stretch.
Mohammed Fawzan relished this chance as it saw the winger have more space to run into. He cause havoc down the left flank and left Fahir Ali for dead many times, only to have his crosses not met by a single white shirt.
The best New Youngs chance came in the 70th minute when Amadi went down the right flank and found Hasitha Priyankara in the box, but the forward skied his effort from just 8 yards out.
Meanwhile at the other end of the pitch, Afonja Jibola picked the ball up and made a roaring run down the left flank and cut inside, only to find his shot parried away by Kaveesh Fernando.
Fawzan had one final chance to equalize for New YOungs in the 90th minute, but the winger, who only had the keeper to beat down the middle, fired his shot straight at Manjula Fernando.
E.B. Channa nearly made it 2-0 in the last minute of added time after he picked he ball up off a diagonal pass beautifully only to see his effort flash marginally wide of the post.
Full Time – New Youngs FC 0 – 1 Blue Star SC
ThePapare.com Player of the Match – Afonja Jibola (Blue Star)
Speaking to thePapare.com, New Youngs Coach Rohitha Fernando said, “We played well, no complaints in that regard. But we are missing a few players and we are confident that once we have them back, we will be a much better team.”
“We had more chances to score and should have buried the game. But overall we played good football. Both me and my team are determined to win the Championship” said Blue Star coach Chandadasa Karunarathna.
Goal Scorers
Blue Star SC – Afonja Jibola 25’
Bookings
Blue Star SC – Afonja Jibola 75’
