Saunders SC and their fans turned on the heat in the second half to book a place in the semifinals of the Mayor’s Cup defeating Blue Star 4-2 at the Sugathadasa Stadium.
Photo Album – Saunders SC v Blue Star – Mayor’s Cup 2015 (Qtr Final)
Blue Star lead into half time with a goal from Yankson Richard but it was all Saunders as their new foreign recruits; Traore Mouahamed and Allaba Niangoran were in the thick of things while Fahir Ali scored an own goal to add to the misery.
Blue Star looked determined to put behind their horror Super 8 stage performance in the Dialog Champions League while Saunders who missed out on Super 8 qualification had added reinforcements in Traore and Niangoran.
It was the match-fit Blue Star who got off the blocks quickly as Saunders looked rusty after not playing competitive football for over two months.
Blue Star had a few new faces mainly Kasun Jayasuriya and a few youngsters as they took an early lead through Yankson Richard after a goal mouth scramble.
As the half wore on Saunders got into rhythm passing the ball around with Sunthararaj Niresh, Dilan Kausalya and Traore at the center of it. However they were unable to find the back of the net in the first half.
Coach Mohamed Imran was sent to the stands by referee Ashantha Dias after he showed displeasure with a refereeing decision.
Traore equalized early in the second half sparking the comeback for Saunders. Niangoran then scored directly from a free-kick to the far post from the right sending the fans into frenzy.
Traore then added the third after the initial effort was blocked but the rebound spun away from the goalkeeper and into the path of the scorer who had the easiest of tap-ins inside the six yard box.
Blue Star looked out of sorts in attack and the poor defense which again evident from the Super 8 stages did not help either. Saunders were gifted the fourth when Blue Star Captain Fahir Ali headed back the ball but his goalkeeper Rizvi was out of place and could only look on as the ball trickled into the goal.
Richard halved the lead soon after but it was little too late as Saunders booked a place in the semifinal of the Mayor’s Cup.
