Established in 1988, Solid SC is one of the biggest teams in the Northern Central Province of the country.
At present they are the only team based outside the Western Province to have clinched the Sri Lankan top division, following their Champions League success in 2014.
In addition to that prestigious title, they have also been crowned Anuradhapura League and Knockout champions on numerous occasions, before moving up to the top flight by winning the Division 2 title in 2011.
Quick Facts
Home Ground – Prison Grounds, Anuradhapura
Club Captain – Edison Figurado
Coach – Mohamed Jusmin
2015 Campaign
After being crowned champions in 2014, Solid SC had a tough season defending their campaign and talking to coach Jusmin about it, he had this to say;
“Players missing from injury and our goalkeeper and influential defender Thilina Bandara moving to Super Sun in between seasons were some of the main reasons we had a bad season”.
They failed to qualify for the Super 8s under the pressure of going into the campaign as defending champions, ending up in 6th place of Group A with just 4 wins and 3 draws from their 10 games.
Coach Jusmin also attributes the failure to the loss of Thilina Bandara and their goalkeeper for the 2015 season.
2016 Campaign
This season Solid SC has been back to their very best with the key defence pairing of Thilina Bandara and Amith Kumara back in action for them.
They also brought in three new foreign players in James Henry, A.A. Tunde and Ismail Abumere to freshen up their squad.
Talking to Assistant Coach Upul Thushara, he had this to say on the changes this season;
“We brought in 3 new foreign players for this campaign and we are reaping the benefits of those changes this season.”
Drawn into Group A, Solid secured qualification to the Super 8s with a game to spare when they beat last year’s champions Colombo FC 4-2 at their home grounds. Despite a slight midseason slump in form where they played out 3 consecutive draws against Matara City, UpCountry Lions and Army, they still ended up group 2nd with 15 points.
Key Players
Edison Figurado – Gnanaruban Vinoth – Thilina Bandara – Ismail Abumere – A.A. Tunde
Figurado, Gnanaruban and Bandara have all represented the National Team and are key figures at the club, whilst Abumere and Tunde have been key foreign players for Solid, regularly featuring on the team sheet for them.
Several young stars to also watch out for are Thakshila Danoj and Sagayam Godwin. Danoj, a talented attacking player, has created many openings for the forwards whilst Godwin has already been a part of the National Squad and is also a key player in the Solid setup.
Super 8 expectations
Solid SC did not lose to either Colombo FC or Army SC in the group stage which will give them confidence going into the Super 8 stage.
They do have the potential to replicate their 2014 exploits but much will depend on whether they drop points against Blue Star, New Youngs, Navy and Air Force.
They are not the favourites for the title but if they hit the right gear they can be devastating as Colombo FC found out in the group stage.
Defensively, Solid SC are very strong with Ayurdeen, a very experienced campaigner, between the sticks.
In addition to this, their midfield is also packed full of talent and has been key to their success thus far.
One major disadvantage for the team from outstation will be the travel involved in getting to their games with the midweek games bound to test the fitness levels and depth of the squad. Despite this they are likely to make the top 4 at the very least.
Squad 2016/17
