Navy S.C qualified to the quarter finals of the Cargills Food City FA cup tournament beating Kalutara Park S.C at Longden Place on penalties after the match ended 2 all at full time.
Kalutara Park dominated the entire game with the help of the mid fielder O.Daniel and their fast moving striker David Osagie. They were able to bounce back in the latter part of the game by equalizing 2-2. The major threat to the Navy S.C was the opposition goal keeper and Manchester United trained star Sujan Perera and the three Nigerian stars. Unfortunately it was not there day. So many mistakes inside the penalty box gave more scoring opportunities to the sailors. Navy won the game with their experienced players such as P.Lakshitha, D.Rathnayaka and DilanPerera. Captain of the Navy S.C , goal keeper Ajith Kumara was brilliant with his saves and his leadership qualities. Navy put up a good show with the help of the captain and the coach Mr. Balendran Anthony.
Navy Mid Fielder Chathuranga Sanjeewa was the ball supplier for the wingers D.Rathnayaka and Dilan Perera. He did not forget to put pressure on the goal keeper as well. His powerful shots were saved by Sujan. Chathuranga’s lob pass from the center of the ground to the left corner was collected by Rathnayaka who gave an amazing cross to the top of the goal keeper. Sujan failed to collect the ball due to lack of communication with his defenders. Veteran striker P.Lakshitha intercepted and was successful with his backflip kick which ended up with a goal in the tenth minute.
Before the short whistle Kalutara Park managed to bounce back to equalize the game with 1-1. Navy S.C goal keeper Ajith Kumara had touched the ball out of the box. A free kick was awarded to Kalutara Park in the 27th minute right in front of the goal post. Foreign star O.Daniel did not fail to score a goal with the chance he got. A classy shot to the far post and the ball reached the nets. Navy had almost given up the game after the equalizer.
Both the teams had one goal each at half time.
After the break both the teams had a good start in the second half. Navy strikers rushing to grab the ball from the opponents added some pressure to the Kalutara Park boys. From the beginning of the second half Navy winger Dilan showed up some amazing skills with his crosses and shots. Though it did not end up with a goal it made a major impact on the opposition defense line. Yet again Rathnayaka made a through pass to the mid fielder Chathuranga Sanjeewa who dribbled the ball in between the defenders and lobbed it directly to the striker P.Lakshitha. Striker facing the goal keeper one on one popped the ball over the top of Sujan who could not save the goal. Navy S.C led the game 2 goals to 1.
Boys from Kalutara started playing a bit rough with too many fouls and few cautions. Navy S.C started defending after they started leading the game. It was an advantage for the Kalutara Park players. The ball was roaming around in front of the Navy goal post for a while. Finishes were not successful though they tried their level best. No.08 and striker Osagie confused the navy defense line by running tactfully before he received the ball. It helped him to score the second goal for his team by a rebound which was punched by Ajith Kumara. The game was equalized with Osagie’s goal 2-2.
Nalaka Roshan of Navy S.C controlled the ball from an out kick and dribbled it straight away to the opposition defender Oladimeji who blocked the striker with a knee tackle. Referee Tharanga Pushpakumara had to send him off with a Red card. Few minutes later the final whistle was blown.
Both the teams had to face a penalty shoot out to decide the winner of the game. Kalutara Park started off with the penalties and ended up scoring only 4 penalties out of 5. Ajith Kumara managed to a save one penalty. Luckily Navy S.C scored all 5 penalties and qualified for the Quarter final stage of the tournament.
