Negombo Youth twice came from two goals down to draw 2-2 and dent a huge blow to Colombo FC’s championship ambition.
Colombo FC went ahead after Dimitri tapped in from a goalkeeper fumble, however Negombo Youth went into halftime 1-1 from a wonder goal by Harindra Peiris. Dimitri scored his double midway through the second half but a defensive lapse cost the hosts the win with minutes left with a neat finish pass the on rushing Mohomed Imran.
Speaking to ThePapare.com Colombo FC coach Mohomed Roomy stressed the importance of early goals.
“We are playing attacking football. We need to win these final three matches to have any chance of winning the championship. I’ve told the players we need to get early goals in order to keep pressure. Madushanka is having a slight niggle but he is playing. Negombo Youth have tall defenders. So we are going to spread ourselves in the field and play. If we get packed in the middle it will be tough; going to play from the wings. Also this ground is not suitable ground for football. Shouldn’t be playing any matches here.” he mentioned.
Colombo FC kicked off showing energy and ambition and went ahead in the 11th minute thanks to a horror error by Negombo Youth goalkeeper Chrishan Fernando who is replacing the injured Sanira Waas. It was a routine collection for Chrishan but his fumble let Bodrie Dimitri round off the keeper and score an easy tap in.
Chrishan looked nervous in the early going playing his first game of the season and made a few mistakes which the hosts were unable to make use of. Colombo FC had the majority of possession and created chances at will with the best chance coming to Ahamed Shazny whose thundering volley from outside the box rattled the crossbar. Towards the end of the first half Chrishan grew in confidence saving a point blank range effort by Dimitri.
Against the run of play Negombo Youth equalized in the 33rd minute when Harindra Peiris scored from an impossible angle surprising even his teammates. Harindra went into the box and an intended cross from the dead ball line beat Mohomed Imran at his near post who too was expecting a cross. With the equalizer Negombo Youth finished off the half strongly.
In the 65th minute substitute Dasun Madushanka dispossessed a Negombo Youth player off the ball and fed Mohomed Shakir who delivered an inch perfect cross into the box finding Dimitri who slid the ball pass the keeper for his second of the match. Dimitri had a couple of chances to score his hat trick but Chrishan was on hand to save.
Even with the lead Colombo FC kept on attacking and this led to their downfall as Negombo Youth exploited the disorganized Colombo FC defense to equalize once again. Deep into injury time Colombo FC had the opportunity to snatch the lead but Dimitri’s header was cleared off the line.
“Expected a tough match today but we had no luck. It was their goalkeeper’s day after that early mistake. As I said before kickoff, ground conditions was abysmal, it was crucial to our game plan. Even after going up 2-1 we kept attacking to score more goals but the defense didn’t work properly. We will try to win the final two matches and finish off strong.” Roomy added after the match.
