Barberiyan SC and Great Star SC won 3-0 and 3-1 respectively against YM SC and Golden Rise SC in the FA Cup 2ndround match ups.
Barberiyan SC v Y.M SC
Barberiyan SC secured an easy win at a FA Cup 2nd round match against Y.M. SC 3-0 at Vernon Fernando Sports Complex in Kalutara.
Both teams seemed to struggle with ball control and passing in the first 6 minutes of the match. Barberiyan SC tried shooting from way back a couple of times, hoping the ball would go in the net, but lacked the energy each time to make them count.
Not long after, their first organized attack against the Y.M. SC net, Amrul Hisham from Barberiyan SC headed a corner kick, nicely delivered by Faumu Ishaq, inside Y.M. SC’s net. It was one for the highlight reel.
Y.M. SC panicked, looking for an equalizer and Mohammed Insaf of Barberiyan SC took advantage of the situation and scored two back to back goals for his team, one in the 32nd minute, running through an opening in the Y.M. SC defense; and another in the 35th minute taking advantage of an assist by Mohammed Nafly, making it much harder for their opponents.
Barberiyan SC didn’t give up trying to increase their lead. Abdul Cader would have been successful in scoring a 4th goal for them in the 38th minute, if the linesman hadn’t raised his flag. Insaf kept trying to score a hat-trick.
Barberiyan defenders refused to let anyone through in the first half, making life easy for their goalkeeper, Mohammed Rifas.
Y.M. SC had an aggressive approach in the second half, desperately trying to score a goal.
They were successful in launching a couple of good attacks, but all of it ended badly for them. Their shots went either wayward or right into the hands of Barberiyan goalkeeper Rifas.
Other than a couple of examples of nice ball control and a couple of through balls that should have been converted to goals, the second half of the match was rather uneventful.
Great Star SC v Golden Rise SC
Great Star SC won a close match against Golden Rise SC 3-1 at a FA Cup 2nd Round match at Vernon Fernando Sports Complex.
Some great wing play was displayed by Great Star SC from the opening whistle. Mohammed Nusrath in particular showed some good ball control with a couple of well-directed crosses.
Great Star SC dominated possession of the ball throughout the match. Excellent communication among the players was shown which made completing passes child’s play.
Golden Rise SC took lead with a goal in the 7th minute, which turned the game upside down for a while. A Golden Rise midfielder picked the striker A.R.M. Yasry very well with a good ground pass which was cleverly chipped over the out-stretched hand of the advancing goalkeeper Mohammed Sajan.
Great Star SC players seemed to focus more on attacking the opposition net after the Golden Rise goal, which was evident by their attacking formations during free kicks and corner kicks, leaving only the goalkeeper in their half of the pitch.
Dinesh Abeyrathne of Great Star SC tried to even the odds by shooting a free kick towards the opposition goal, which was fisted off its course by the Golden Rise goalkeeper M.A.M. Faslan.
Great Star SC’s Riyaz Mohammed scored an equalizer in the 22nd minute bringing his team back into the game. Dinesh backed him up with another goal in the 43rd minute. He was able to redirect a well-directed cross by Nusrath into the right hand corner of the net.
Both teams seemed to execute aggressive game plans in the 2nd half of the match. Both teams had some good opportunities. Some good crosses and through balls were wasted due to the strikers failing to receive them properly.
Great Star SC striker Mohammed Safran came up with another goal in the 56th minute, making it much harder for the opponents as the rain was starting to come down.
Golden Rise defenders gave him plenty of space to guide the ball to the bottom left corner for an easy goal.
Great Star SC showed some good skills, even on the slippery pitch towards the end, some of them never seen before at a local match, which suggests a brighter future for football in Sri Lanka.
All the Great Star players wanted to participate in launching attacks and seemed to trust each other with the ball, which was aided by good passing skills, which was a good sign.
