Blue Star were made to work hard for 3 points against a makeshift Solid SC as they sealed an important 2-0 win at the Kelaniya Football Complex in the Dialog Champions League Super 8 Week 5 encounter.

The game was set as a clash between two teams with contrasting priorities, with Blue Star needing a win to keep them in title contention and Solid looking to regain some pride after a difficult Super 8 campaign.

The Blue Star cause was aided by the fact that Solid had fielded a makeshift team, with no substitutes available on the bench either as injuries ruled many of their key players out of the clash.

It was one-way traffic for most of the early exchanges with Blue Star dominating the game against the makeshift Solid outfit.

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However, despite enjoying the lion share of possession, they struggled to break down a disciplined defensive effort for most of the first 20 or so minutes. They went close twice before eventually breaking the deadlock as Idowu Hameed had a header hit the crossbar, and Afonja Jibola had a goal ruled out for offside.

It was the latter who was heavily involved in the build up to the goal, as he shrugged off his defender before delivering a cross for Mohamed Farzeen to tap home from close range.

Solid did grow into the game as the half grew older as Ismail Abumere proved a real nuisance, threatening the Blue Star goal on several occasions. He had several efforts blocked by scrambling Blue Star defenders, before creating a few chances for his teammates as well.

Manjula Fernando was called into action again late on in the first half as he made a smart save when Shanaka Prabodh unleashed a curling effort that was headed for the bottom corner.

Half time – Solid SC 0 – 1 Blue Star SC

The second half started very much the same way the first did, with Blue Star dominating possession and heaping pressure on the Solid defence.

But as in the first half, they struggled to create opportunities for themselves with Amith Kumara and Thilina Bandara being exceptional in defence.

Solid had fewer chances in the second half than in the first, with players tiring and no one on the bench to replace them. They did have a decent shout for hand ball though as Fazil Ayurdeen hit the ball in to the body of Fahir Ali in the Blue Star box following a goal mouth scramble.

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Blue Star continued to be the better team throughout the game and in a late spell of pressure, they hit the crossbar twice in quick succession with Hameed first unleashing a volley on to the bar before Jibola spun and unleashed a pile driver which hit the crossbar via the gloves of keeper Mohammed Ishan.

They were rewarded late on for their pressure as Farzeen doubled his tally after being played through on goal to seal all three points for the team from Kalutara.

It was a brave effort from Solid SC but Blue Star ultimately proving too much for the makeshift line up.

Full time – Solid SC 0 – 2 Blue Star SC

ThePapare.com Player of the Match – Idowu Hameed (Blue Star SC)

Speaking to ThePapare.com Pradeep De Soysa manager of Solid SC had this to say;

“Because this tournament has dragged on for such a long time many of our players have got injured as they have their regional tournaments as well and it was difficult for us to field a team for the game. However I am very pleased with the way we played against a top team today despite all our problems.”

Chandradasa Karunaratne coach of Blue Star SC had this to say;

“I am not satisfied with the way we played today and we really should have scored more goals today as we missed some good chances. Next week we have a big game against Colombo FC and I will try to bring out the best in my players to try and secure an important win.”

Goal Scorers
Blue Star SC – Mohamed Farzeen 26′ 87′

Assists
Blue Star SC – Afonja Jibola 26′

Cautions

Yellow Cards
Solid SC – Deepal Kularatne 62′
Blue Star SC – E.B. Channa 56′

Substitutions
Blue Star – M.Mazeer for E.B. Channa 71′, M.Rifkhan for F.Ali 89′, M.Sahlan for A.Jibola 90+1′

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