EB Channa’s hat-trick powered Super Sun to a 6-0 thumping win over cross city rivals Blue Star in the final match of the triple header at the Sugathadasa Stadium.
Apart from Channa’s hat- trick Graham Ebernizer scored a brace and Nuwan Priyankara scored the other.
The Sugathadasa Stadium bathed in floodlights was filled with the bipartisan crowd who had travelled from Kalutara and Beruwala, giving a party atmosphere even before the start. Super Sun who got promoted to the Premier Division last year are sitting above their more illustrious opponents, Blue Star. This encounter draws comparisons from the Manchester Derby, with Super Sun being pretenders for the Blue Star’s throne in Kalutara.
From the onset it was a match with swinging fortunes as neither side wanted to give an inch in this heated affair. It took until the 41st minute for the first goal to be scored and it came from the boot of former Sri Lanka veteran striker EB Channa.
Not even two minutes after the first goal, Nuwan Priyankara added the second for Super Sun silencing the Blue Star supporters. The second goal brought about a volatile situation in the stands among the fans, but was controlled by the security present.
Ebenizer had a golden opportunity to make it 3-0 before half time with the goal at his mercy but the Blue Star defense scrambled back to clear the ball.
After the break it was all Super Sun who exploited Blue Star back three’s lack of mobility with their pacey strikers. In the 51st minute Ebernizer made amends for his missed chance in the first half when he scored Super Sun’s third goal with a clinical finish.
With the scorecard pressure as well as the crowd pressure weighing heavily on them the Blue Star defense crumbled conceding a penalty in the 56th minute. Channa stepped up and drilled the ball into the back of the net giving no chance for the Blue Star goalkeeper to make the save.
Channa completed his hat-trick in the 71st minute after a wonderful mazy run through the heart of the Blue Star defense. The stupefied Blue Star fans were seen making their way to the exits amidst the deafening sounds of the Super Sun fans.
With three minutes left in the match Ebernizer putting the final nail in the coffin added the sixth goal of the match past the crestfallen Blue Star players.
