Saunders SC vs Java Lane SC - DCL Stage 5 - Kelaniya Football Complex - 17/07/2016 - Naveen Jude (R) puts the ball into the net as Saunders keeper Asanka Viraj can only look on
Saunders beat Java Lane 4-2 in an entertaining game of football at the Kelaniya Football Complex to seal their second win of the group stage.
Both teams were in desperate need of all three points to breathe some life into their campaign but it was the lads from Price Park who came away the happier lot.
Java Lane started brightly and a miscommunication between Saunders goalkeeper Asanka Viraj and the defense line saw Naveen Jude round the keeper and then keep his cool to finish under some pressure to put Java Lane 1-0 up in the 7th minute.
From that point in though, it was all Saunders as they dominated the midfield with crisp sharp passing, causing problems for the Java Lane defense.
They eventually did get their reward when Suntharaj Niresh was hacked down in the box for a penalty and Sajith Dharmapala coolly converted the spot kick to draw them level in the 27th minute.
Niresh was brought down again for a second penalty 15 minutes later, this time whilst getting on the end of a cross from Abdel Mohamed, just minutes after the Ivorian had missed a gilt edged chance to put Saunders in the lead.
Dharmapala stepped up again and converted for a second time against Dammika Senarath to send Saunders 2-1 up.
Niresh then scored a goal of his own, after some brilliant work from Abdel Mohamed resulted in his low cross finding Niresh 2 yards out to tap home in the 45th minute.
Half Time – Saunders SC 3-1 Java Lane SC
Saunders got off to a dream start in the second half when Hamed Traore rounded keeper Senarath to score the fourth of the evening for Saunders, just 5 minutes after the restart.
Java Lane then made some attacking changes in a bid to make an unlikely comeback which resulted in them playing some much better football.
In a thrilling passage of play Mohamed Aleem hit the post for Java Lane and saw his follow up cleared off the line and shortly afterwards Naveen Jude powered home a header from a corner in the 63rd minute to bring Java Lane within 2 goals of a draw.
However the Java Lane push for parity ultimately ran out of steam and despite Abdel Mohamed having another great opportunity to extend Saunders lead, no further goals were scored as Saunders held on to take home all three points.
Full Time – Saunders SC 4-2 Java Lane SC
ThePapare.com Player of the Match: Sundaraj Niresh (Saunders SC)
Speaking to the coaches after the game they had this to say;
Saunders Coach Sumith Walpola,
“The first goal was a communication issue on our part but it was brilliantly converted by the youngster Jude. I think we had good morale coming into the game and the young strikers we played really made a difference for us. Every game from now on will be key for us and we are in good form which is important for us. We haven’t played badly despite our position in the table, it’s just that something has been missing.”
Java Lane coach Jagath had this to say,
“There were some mistakes in defense today and by conceding the two penalties we couldn’t maintain our early advantage. Our skipper Rizkhan is still injured and we do feel his absence in the line-up, hopefully he can return for the last few games and depending on the results of other games we can qualify for the Super 8s.”
Goal Scorers
Saunder SC: Sajith Dharmapala 27’, 42’, Sundaraj Niresh 45’, Hamed Traore 50’
Java Lane SC: Naveen Jude 7’, 63’Bookings
Yellow Cards: Rohana Ruwantillake 9’ (Saunders), Muneer Sally 27’ (Java Lane), Fawaz Ramjan 89’(Java Lane)
