The final week of the Dialog Champions League 2016 group stage, saw a couple of teams still battling it out for a Super 8 birth and to avoid relegation.
ThePapare.com has chosen the XI who were worthy enough to be named in the ‘Team of the Week’ which comes in a 4-3-3 formation.
Position : Goalkeeper
Name: Dumith Sashika
Club: Police SC
Sashika had an excellent time in a must win game for Police SC, where if they didn’t win they’d have been relegated. He made a few telling saves against Super Sun, who too were hunting for a win for a Super 8 place.
Position: Left-back
Name: Sanjeewa Seemon
Club: Blue Star SC
In another must win game, this time for Blue Star, veteran midfielder Seemon was shifted to a left back position and showed what he is capable of keeping Solid SC’s forward Thakshila Danoj, who has been in goal scoring form, quiet while his fellow men scored the goals on the other end.
Position: Centre-back
Name: Zameeth Rahuman
Club: Army SC
With his confidence boosted by the Sri Lanka call-up, the young centre-back kept a clean sheet as Army punished defending champs Colombo FC with the similar score line (2-0) they were defeated by in last year’s championship.
Position: Centre-back
Name: Hakeem Kamil
Club: Renown SC
Showed the value he brings to the team with a robust defensive performance with a clean sheet as well as creating the only goal in the match against Air Force SC.
Position: Right-back
Name: Chalana Chameera
Club: Navy SC
Chameera’s performance did not have the ‘wow’ factor but it was a solid effort in defence against Saunders SC. The winger who converted to a right –back position both at club and national level, showed his attacking skill whenever Navy were in possession.
Position: Central-midfield
Name: Mohamed Fazal
Club: Renown SC
Renown did not score as many goals as they have been scoring, but that doesn’t take away what Fazal did as he has been doing in the tournament. He was a constant threat on the wings, making runs and creating plays for the FA Cup finalists.
Position: Central-midfield
Name: Idowu Hameed
Club: Blue Star SC
In a must win game Hameed showed his class with a brilliant all-round midfield performance. He controlled the game well throughout the 90 minutes and though his initial goal was disallowed for off-side, he managed to redeem himself minutes later with the opener for Blue Star which set the tone for their win.
Position: Central-midfield
Name: Sajith Kumara
Club: Army SC
Sajith Kumara scored a goal in the first half and combined excellently with Thivanka Chandrasekara in attack. Despite Army resting a few crucial players, he was in the thick of things for the Soldiers.
Position: Forward
Name: Traore Mohamed
Club: Saunders SC
After a rather up and down season, Traore had one of his best outings in the last match for Saunders scoring a goal after threatening a few times.
Position: Forward
Name: Thivanka Chandrasekara
Club: Army SC
A goal and an assist against the defending champions, Colombo FC; what more can you ask for, from a man who was replacing the rested Mohamed Issadeen.
Position: Forward
Name: Nalaka Roshan
Club: Navy SC
Midfielder turned forward, the former Sri Lanka vice-captain seems to be reveling in his role up-front and proved that with an excellent finish in the game against Saunders.
