Army skipper Lakshitha Jayathunga gave his team a thrilling 1-0 win over the strong Saunders SC in the Dialog Champions League match played at the Moragasmulla ground.
The second week kicked off in the Champions League after the championship started off in grand style last week at the Race Course grounds when Blue Star SC met Colombo FC. Saunders coming into this match after a tame draw in their first match against Up Country Lions while Army were playing their first match for the season.
There was a good crowd in, mostly supporters of Saunders who are known to have support where ever they go. Despite the fact that it was a home match for Army, there weren’t much support for them.
Saunders kicked off proceedings in the match which seemed to be a thriller between these two teams. Early on both teams looked rusty. It was Saunders who made early inroads into the game. They managed to get through the Army defense with some quality passes but failed to make it count.
It was a competitive match right throughout, intensity was high in the field. Both teams going into heated arguments with the referees and their opponents. Saunders SC were more resound in 
showing their feelings and conceded unnecessary yellow cards in the first half.
First real goal scoring opportunity was created by Saunders when Army was left with only two defenders against three forwards of Saunders but Mohommad Shaheel’s shot was not on target.
Soon afterwards Army bounced back with a shot on goal by Mohamed Issadeen which was deflected over the cross bar by Mohamed Riaz. Saunders had a rough couple of minutes, where they looked out of sorts and Army made the most out of this loose play by Saunders.
Army Came close to draw first blood in 36th minute when left extreme JT Lakmal managed to cross the ball towards the penalty box finding Issadeen who made a mess of that easy ball.
The sole goal of the match came in the 41st minute. Saunders giving a free kick just inside their own half which was taken by Army skipper Lakshitha Jayathunga. He took the chance of trying to make it scoop in over the goal-keeper’s head and he succeeded leaving his opponents, the crowd and even himself in disbelief. It was a costly mistake by Riaz who did not read the high ball properly.
Saunders came out in the second with nothing to lose. Having conceded a goal in the first half they had no choice but to attack from the word go. They looked far better side in the second half as they dominated the match; creating opportunities to score but failing to do that final touch in scoring an equalizer.
Frustration was kicking in on the Saunders players, specially the senior players trying to get their youngsters to produce some magic in the match. Saunders skipper Sanoj Sameera had a splendid game but he couldn’t do it all by himself. His opposite number Lakshitha Jayathunga was equally to the task in controlling the game from the middle of the pitch.
Intensity was really high right throughout the match, not only in the game but in the crowd as well. Saunders having a huge crowd present were not really happy with decisions made by the referee. They thoroughly deserved an equalizer in the second half from the way they were playing but were unable to put the ball into the back of the net.
Army’s perseverance prevailed until the very last minute of the game. Skipper Lakshitha Jayathunga stood out right throughout the match from controlling his players and the game from the middle of the pitch.
Saunders fans were not happy with the referee’s decisions taken during the match. After the referee blew the final whistle just three minutes into injury time, Saunders players and their supporters were in utter dismay. The supporters were on the ground trying to confront the match officials but Saunders players prevented their supporters from doing any harm to the referees and the spirit of the game.
ThePapare.com Man of the Match: Lakshitha Jayathunga (Army SC)
Army SC coach Fawmy speaking to ThePapare.com:
“It was a tough win for us. It was the first match of this season so we are looking forward to improve on our mistakes and go forward in the tournament. Next match we will be facing Crystal Palace and we are looking forward to put up a good performance next week as well.”
