Renown recorded an upset one goal to nil win over Up Country Lions in their eighth-round fixture played for the ‘Super League’ Championship at Sugathadasa Stadium yesterday.
It was a belligerent performance by the inexperienced young Renown team, that scored a goal in the second extra minute on the brink of halftime, which put their rivals out of contention from reaching the pinnacle.
The star-studded Up Country Lions team were tipped as the favourites at the beginning of the game. They gave a poor show in the field due to a lack of a well-executed game plan according to the strengths and the weaknesses of their opponents. Making use of the opportunity Renown imposed enormous pressure on the rivals and adapted an offensive strategy.
After some anxious passage of play, in the second minute of extra time, Renown surged ahead towards the rival goal area. O. Job Michael broke the deadlock by chipping in the ball to the goalmouth, off a rebound kick where Up Country Lions goalie Sujan Perera completely misread the movement of the ball and failed to collect the rebound kick. Both teams went for a breather with a 1-0 scoreline.
After the turnaround, the much-hyped Nawalapitiya lads once again failed to make amends. They played in patches and ran short of ammunition to fire.
Moreover, the underdog’s Renown held their nerve and defended well to foil the moves of the rivals as referee A.A.Tharanga blew the full-time whistle after six minutes of extra time to record a memorable win for the Colombo lads. With this loss, the Up Country Lions’ hopes of qualifying for the final of the Super League faded.
Meanwhile, in the other match played at Race Course, Sea-Hawks edged out Ratnam 1-0 after a goalless first half. Subash Madushan scored the solitary goal for the winners.