Sri Lanka on Fire

By :Susil Premalal

Sri Lanka produced a splendid performance to beat Chinese Taipei 3-1 in their AFC Asian Cup Qualifier (Saudi Arabia 2027) at the Racecourse Grounds in Colombo.

This was one of the better performances by the Sri Lankan outfit in recent times as they exploited the home advantage to good effect and controlled the game from the kick-off.

Sri Lanka looked the better side throughout the contest as they enjoyed more possession with 15 attempted shots at goal against four from their opponents. In addition, Sri Lanka had nine shots on target and Chinese Taipei had just a solitary shot while the home side also had seven corners, and the visitors had only two corners.

The home side, of course, started off with confidence following their 1-0 morale boosting win over Brunei Darussalam in a FIFA friendly international last week in Bangkok, Thailand. After a blank first half, Sri Lanka eventually broke the deadlock in the 48th minute when Adhani Rajamohan found the net beautifully in front of the posts latching on to an exquisite pass from his left extreme Dellon Senan.

Sri Lanka doubled their lead three minutes later, as striker Dellon Senan mesmerised the opposition goal keeper with a long-range kick after they had won possession close to the goal area.

The hosts virtually sealed the contest when Waseem Razick added their third goal by adding the finishing touches to a superb move, which initiated from midfield.

Chinese Taipei reduced the margin with their solitary goal coming in the 69th minute through substitute Huang Wei- Chien following a free kick. With this win, Sri Lanka drew level on points with three each alongside the Group ‘D’ leaders Thailand and Turkmenistan.

This was also Sri Lanka’s first ever win against Chinese Taipei in an international fixture.