Super Sun SC left it late but managed to score the winner to overcome Serendib SC 2-1 in the FA Cup 4th Round (Round of 32) fixture held at Vernon Fernando Grounds, Kalutara.

Super Sun strolled past Olympic SC 3-0 to book their place in final 32 of FA Cup while Serendib survived 4-2 on penalties against St.Joseph’s SC after it ended 1-1 at full time.

Shafraz masterclass sees Super Sun past Olympic; Navy down Cooray

Sublime 2nd half performance from Shafraz Kaiz helped Super Sun SC to start their 2016/17 FA Cup…

The match started slowly as both teams took their time to settle down. Both teams had a fair share of possession but as the time wore on Super Sun SC started to dictate terms but defensive errors let Serendib to sneak in and threaten on a few occasions.

Super Sun scored the first goal of the match in the 19th minute out of a corner kick. Nuwan Priyankara rose up to the incoming ball as he was left unmarked and deposited the ball past the helpless goalkeeper. 

Super Sun continued to dominate with opportunities created regularly. Farood Faiz’s scintillating curving effort almost doubled the tally but he keeper somehow managed to tap the ball away. 

The game began to wear off in the final minutes of the first half as both teams looked tired. 

Serandib got a wonderful opportunity to level things when they were awarded a penalty on the stroke of half time. Super Sun’s captain Mohamed Hafeel was the guilty party handling the ball.

However Serendib’s Ameer Ali’s effort was feeble as Super Sun goalkeeper managed to fend his kick away to keep the lead in tact going into the half time.

Half Time – Super Sun SC 1 – 0 Serandib SC

Second half started in a livelier fashion as Serendib showed intent to get back on level terms. They did that in the 55th minute when Riyas Mohamed of Serandib SC scored a wonderful goal from outside the box with his outer boot to bring the match alive. 

Serendib knockout St. Joseph’s on penalties

In a ‘Round of 64’ FA Cup tie, Serendib SC overcame St. Joseph’s SC in a close encounter which was decided…

With everything to play for in the last thirty minutes, both teams pushed on trying to find the winner. A collision saw Serendib goalkeeper injuring his head and the match had to be stopped for a while. 

During that passage of play, Super Sun created few corner kick chances to make use of the advantage but the lack of precision meant that scores remained the same. Super Sun threw everything they had in their arsenal to score the winner but Serendib managed keep their counterparts at bay.

The match started to heat up with tackles flowing in. Few players lost their composure and the referee had to intervene to calm things down. Few yellow cards were shown as a result.

Super Sun regained the lead in the 85th minute when Mohamed Hafeel’s through ball broke Shafraz Kaiz free, who calmly rounded off the goalkeeper and slotted the ball into the goal.

Full Time – Super Sun SC 2 – 1 Serandib SC

ThePapare.com Player of the Match – Farood Faiz (Super Sun SC)

Talking to ThePapare.com, the coach of Super Sun SC was happy with his boys;

“They (Serendib SC) were a good side. There is no good or bad side in football and it’s the performance on that day that matters. We created opportunities, they responded with a goal. But we were able to clinch the winner. We are an emerging team and we will try to improve from here and win the next match.”

Serendib SC’s team Manager Mohamed Nawzil was upbeat despite the loss;

“We are very proud about how we played. They were a Champions League team and playing in their home ground. But we came into the match believing on our team and we proved that. Team was positive despite the penalty miss and we showed that in the pitch. Getting into Round of 32 is a big achievement for us and we will build on that.”

Goal scorers

Super Sun SC – Nuwan Priyankara 19′, Kaiz Shafraz 85′
Serandib SC – Riyas Mohamed 55′

Yellow Cards

Super Sun SC – Mohamed Hafeel, Kaiz Shafraz, Nuwan Priyankara, Mohamed Abdullah
Serandib SC – Mohamed Mufeed, Mohamed Basith, Mohamed Munshif