Veteran Krishantha Abeysekara scored 5 goals and helped his to team win 6 goals to 2 against Pelicans.
We are into the 8th week matches of this years Dialog Champions League. Weekend matches were postponed to Wednesday and Thursday due bad weather. Saunders SC took on Pelicans SC on Thursday the 17th of Spetember at Sugathadasa Stadium. It was hot and humid conditions as it was an early start. Saunders after claiming their first win of this season were pumped up to gain more points and climb up the points table. Pelicans however having drawn against Chrystal Palace was under a bit of pressure.
Saunders kicked off proceedings in this mid table clash in group A. Saunders didn’t take too much time to hit their strides. Having claimed their first win in the previous match they were high on confidence which was clearly shown on field. Just fourteen minutes into the game Krishantha Abeysekara scored his first goal of the match to put his team in front. Dilan De Silva putting in a brilliant cross making sure Krishantha has enough space and time to find the back of the net. ( Saunders SC 1 – Pelicans SC 0 )
Saunders didn’t stop from that, to be more precise Krishantha didn’t stop from that. He went on to score his second goal in 38th minute thanks to the sloppy defense of Pelicans. He went on to score his hatrick in the next couple of minutes; Krishantha getting to the ball which was cleared from their half and ran through the defense to score his third for the match. Pelicans made a mess of their defense right through out the first half. ( Saunders SC 3 – Pelicans SC 0 )
Few minutes after Krishantha scored his fourth goal which was a carbon copy of his magical hatrick goal. Pelican’s misery continued as Krishantha pilled up his goals tally. Pelicans had their only sigh of relief when they were awarded with an own-goal as Dinesh Ruwanthilaka headed the ball over his own keepers head during the last couple of minutes of the first half. Just before the half time whistle, Saunders mid fielder AM Naleer conceded a red card for shoving away Kugblenu Michael. Second half ended with Saunders leading 4 goals to 1.
Half Time : Saunders SC 4 – Pelicans SC 1
Saunders came out in the second half with the game in their hands while for their opponents it was all about damage control. But the Pelicans continued their sloppy play helping Saunders to score at ease. Saunders 5th goal came at the 48th minute when Pelican skipper Sajith Madushanka slipped and gave away the ball to Saunders just outside the penalty box. Mohommad Shaheel jumping onto the loose ball scoring his first goal of the match to put Saunders way ahead in this clash. ( Saunders SC 5 – Pelicans SC 1 )
Few minutes into the second half, Pelicans lost one of their players due to second yellow card received by the referee. It was Oluwatosin Daniel who had to go out, making matters worse for his team. There was quiet passage of play until Krishantha scored his fifth goal of the match. It was best goal of the match which came in 73rd minute through a free kick. Krishantha Abeysekara making the ball curve in toward the far corner giving no chance to the goal keeper to save the ball from finding the back of the net. ( Saunders SC 6 – Pelicans SC 1 )
Krishantha Abeysekara had many chances towards the latter part of the second half but failed to convert. Pelicans on the other hand kept making sloppy mistakes right through out the match. They found their second consolation goal in the final few minutes through Kugblenu Michael, but it was too little too late. Saunders stamping their authority on Pelicans by winning 6 goals to 2.
Full time : Saunders SC 6 – Pelicans SC 2
ThePapare Man of the Match : Krishantha Abeysekara ( Saunders SC )
Krishantha Abeysekara speaking to ThePapare :
“I’m really happy with our performance, our team did well in the last two matches. We hope to do well in the last few matches and somehow find a spot in the top four.”
