Defenders edged out Ratnam by 2 goals to 1 in their inter club soccer encounter played for the ‘Super League’ Championship at Sugathdasa Stadium yesterday.
After leading 1-0 at the breather, the Defenders managed to score another goal in the second half to notch up a close win. Their rivals managed to reduce the deficit off a penalty in the dying stages of the second half.
The more-experienced Defenders outfit imbibed with a composition of several national players in their ranks, took firm control of the game from the start. They made some teasing moves, but luck didn’t favour them until the brink of the first half, when Lakshitha Jayathunga found success. He headed a neatly fired free kick into the net, which hoodwinked the Ratnam goalie to go 1-0 at lemons.
After the turn around Ratnam – fielding a fairly young inexperienced side – improvised well to get into the game by changing their tactics. They adopted an offensive style of play than the defensive approach adopted in the first passage of play. Even though they found their rhythm, their rivals sneaked through to boot the second goal midway in the second half through Rifkhan Mohamed to increase their lead 2-0.
Defenders then tended to play rough to maintain their lead, and were penalised in their own goal box area.
As a result, the referee Lakmal Weerakkody offered a penalty to Ratnam, which Hakeem Kamil made no mistake to reduce the gap 2-1, which stood unchanged until the long whistle.
by Daily News Sri Lanka
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