Army twice fought back from behind to equalize 3 all in regular time and win 4-3 on penalties in an exhilarating Cargills FA Cup Pre Quarter Final clash against the strong Solid SC outfit at Kew Points Road.
The Pre Quarter Final match saw the top two sides from the Champions League Group B which was played at the end of last year. Both sides were famous for their attacking play and possessed two of the best strikers in the country; A.O.Shola for Solid and Mohammed Issadeen who was also the Golden boot winner in the Champions League with 22 goals for Army.
Dominant Shola
The two sides lived upto the hype but it was the team from Anuradhapura who took the lead in the 3rd minute with Shola being the architect of the goal. Shola dribbled down the right wing past two defenders and sent in a delightful cross into the six yard box which was miss judged by the goalkeeper Buddika Bandara and Solid’s No7, D.Wijethunga headed into an open goal.
With the early goal Solid started to dominate the match while Army were left chasing shadows in the opening ten minutes. The pressure kept on coming the soldiers’ way with Shola’s goal bound long range effort was well saved by Bandara diving to his left. Minutes later tiki taka football and a through ball sent Wijesiri clear but the Solid man’s left footed shot was saved at the near post.
It was not until the 20th minute that Army had their first opportunity but the free kick was blazed over the cross bar. They were awarded another free kick a little later outside the box and Sajith Kumara made no mistake as he sent the ball over the wall past the hapless Solid keeper to equalizer. Galvanized by the equalizer Army switched into their attacking mode and a counter attack sent Issadeen one on one with the goalkeeper but his effort was well saved and the rebound shot was cleared off the line by the defenders.
In the 30th minute Army took the lead when Captain Warakagoda slotted a free header after poor defending by the Solid defense. Just before halftime Shola had the ball in the back of the net but he was deemed offside.
Controversial Refereeing
The second half started with both teams displaying fast paced football and in the 50th minute controversy ensured as referee signaled for the penalty spot after Issadeen was fouled by M.A. Kumara from Solid, but after consultation with the line referee he deemed the initial foul occurred outside the box and awarded a free kick. The free kick was cleared off for a corner.
Solid then made it 2 all when Army keeper punched a cross right into the path of African Francis and his volleyed effort bounced off the cross bar and into the goal. On the hour mark a dubious call by the referee saw Army’s Kasun Pradeep given his second yellow and sent off after him and Solid keeper contested for a rebound ball from which the keeper came off worse. It was only worthy of a free kick, not a yellow card.
With around 30 minutes to play with 10 men Army faulted with misplaced passes and let Solid into the game with Shola gave Solid the lead from a header after another miss judgment by the keeper. After which Army’s goalkeeper, Buddika Bandara was subsitituted.
Magical Freekick
Army bounced back swiftly through Sajith Kumara, who had an excellent game curling a free kick into the goal. It was a magical free kick which we have seen from the likes of Ronaldinho. The free kick was given near the left corner flag and Kumara from an impossible angle curled the ball into the far post much to the jubilation of the Army crowd. The goal let way to a hectic few minutes but neither team was able to add to their 3 goals.
Penalty Shootout
The top players from either team, Issadeen and Shola missed their penalties and it was left to the others to battle it out. Army scored from their next four spot kicks and it was left to Solid’s Wijethunga to score from their 5th sport kick to keep them in the game but Army’s substitute keeper Kumara Sirisena became the hero as he judged the kick perfectly and saved it diving to his right.
Speaking to ThePapare.com Army’s Captain Warakagoda,“ We played well but after the red card we somewhat lost our way. With even 10 men we showed what Army are made of. I’d like to thank Brigadier Kariyawasam, Coach and rest of the staff for their wonderful help. We’d limit our mistakes and play our best at the Quarter Final.”
