Glaring mistakes by referee Mohomed Irshan overshadowed a thrilling comeback by Super Sun SC to draw the match 2-2 in an early kick-off at the Sugathadasa Stadium.
Air Force took a 2-0 lead early in the second half from two wonderful strikes from Kavindu Ishan and at one point were cruising to victory.
Buoyed by their fans that travelled all the way from Beruwala, Super Sun staged a remarkable comeback when Nuwan Priyankara and Kavinda Athuraliya bagged two goals within minutes to shock the Airmen.
However the match will be remembered for the refereeing by Mohomed Irshan who failed to award not one but two blatant penalty appeals by Air Force and not properly handling a scuffle between the two sides in the second half which should have been given two red cards to either team.
Super Sun has had an impressive season thus far compared to last season accumulating seven points with two wins, a draw and a loss. Their two wins were against feared opposition in Colombo FC and last year’s Dialog Champions League runners-up Renown SC just last week.
Air Force was bolstered by the arrival of star player Kavindu Ishan and Coach Sampath Perera who arrived in Sri Lanka less than 12 hours earlier from the tour of Seychelles.
It was a cagey affair in the first half with neither side asserting their authority into the game. The only opportunity in the first half went to Super Sun’s Tohokwu Francis who was on the end of a lobbed ball over the defense with just the goalkeeper to beat. However Francis could only volley his left footed effort just past the far post under some pressure from the defense.
Air Force made a few tactical changes and started to spread the ball out wide to captain Janaka Chaminda and Kavindu Ishan. Both of whom started troubling the full backs of Super Sun. Airmen’s tactical approach was rewarded in the 49th minute when Janaka Chaminda went past two defenders on the left and put in a low cross into the box but Francis could only sky the clearance where Kavindu Ishan reacted fast and volley beating the keeper at his near post.
Seven minutes later Kavindu doubled the lead silencing the majority Super Sun crowd. Super Sun goalkeeper Mohomed Ifam came out to clear the ball but could only until Kavindu who was 30 yards away. Kavindu seeing the goalkeeper out of his position tried an audacious volley which crashed into the back of the net which sent him somersaulting in celebration.
In the 71st minute Super Sun pegged a goal back thanks to Nuwan Priyankara’s wonderful individual skills. Priyankara got on the end of a wonderful diagonal pass by Francis but even with only the keeper to beat he had to work for it after his first touch proved too much. As the crowd thought the opportunity was lost Priyankara rounded off the keeper and netted from an acute angle renewing Super Sun’s hopes.
With the game on a knife edge tempers boiled in the middle of the field near the touch line after Super Sun’s Kavinda Athuraliya and Sinnawan Srikanth went at each other’s throats to which a few players also joined in. Srikanth was seen flying a leg in Athuraliya’s direction while Athuraliya twice tried to head-butt an Air Force player who came to stop the scuffle.
Both incidents should have been given red cards but referee Irshan only gave yellow cards for the two which was a slap on the wrist. This was bound to happen after referee ignored few instances where there should have been stern warnings and yellow cards thus letting the game slip out of his control.
Super Sun went on to ride their wave of energy to the second goal which was scored by Kavinda Athuraliya. Credit should go to Mohomed Hafeel who sent in the perfect cross after delightful passing on the left. Kavinda’s header was a weak one but was enough to evade the diving keeper.
Minutes before full time there was a second huge penalty appeal by Air Force after the first a minute earlier was turned down. This was a blatant penalty call where the ball struck the defender’s arm right in front of the referee but referee Irshan waved play on to the utter shock of the Air Force players.
Speaking exclusively to ThePapare.com after the match a dejected Air Force coach Sampath Perera had this to say. “As a coach I cannot go against the referee but these are important three points lost to us. The referee should have done far better, no excuses. As a team it is unbearable to see these decisions going against us.”
“Both sides played well but when it became 2-1 the pressure came on to us and they took advantage of it. Nipuna Devinda was also injured, so that was setback for us. Even now we still have a chance. We are unbeaten with three wins and three draws, all to play for in the Champions League. However my focus will shift to the AFC President’s Cup in the coming weeks which is highly important for the club and country.”
