Kirula United advanced from the qualifying round of the FA Cup with a convincing 2-0 win over Henamulla United at the Baddedgana Football Complex.
Henamulla United kicked off the game an hour late than the scheduled time but it was the Kirula team who took control right away.
Although they had possession they weren’t quite able to post any real threat to their opposing team and game play took place mostly in mid field.
A vital reason for the low intensity of today’s match could be a result of the scorching weather conditions and the players may have been taking it slow due to dehydration issues.
The Kirula team seemed disturbed and was having in-team arguments half way into the first half, which gave Henamulla a chance to swoop in and take advantage out of their unfocused opponents.
And they did; by winning free kicks and securing the ball on their half, Henamulla United posted some serious threats to the opposing goalkeeper. However, they were not able to capitalize on any of these opportunities.
Kelvin Kenu of Kirula United finally managed to break through and score a simple goal against N.M Rilwan, the goalkeeper of Henamulla, bagging the maiden goal of the match.
Not 2 minutes after that, Isuru Prarthana slyly put away a header getting past the Henamulla defense line with ease. The Kirula team was back on track and leading by 2 goals when half time came about.
A much more confident and focused team came out from the Henamulla corner at the start of the second 45 minutes as they straight away went with their attacking strategies.
This was made easier for them by the Kirula team as goal scorer Kelvin Kenu was called off the field for a substitution.
It is unclear to say to whether he was injured or they were feeling confident about a win today but that gave chance to their opposing team to build more courage for forward plays.
They tried much harder to score than in the first half but they did not have luck on their side as they couldn’t convert any of their tries into goals.
Although in the second half Kirula United took it easy and played back, they didn’t go soft on their defense. They managed to keep their goalkeeper from surrendering to any goals this evening.
T. Clarence of Kirula United suffered an unnecessary red card and was sent to the bench due to fighting and aggressive play just before the full 90 minutes.
If Kirula United were to play with less conflict between their own teammates, they could have put more goals on the board.
