Lankans take on Seychelles in search of maiden win
Sri Lanka National soccer team will make their second appearance against Seychelles in the four Nation Inaugural International Invitation Football Tournament for the ‘Mahinda Rajapaksa Trophy’ at the Racecourse grounds today. The kick-off is scheduled at 9.00 p.m. under lights.
Sri Lanka will be in search of their much needed maiden win against Seychelles after a belligerent performance in their curtain-raiser where they managed to hold the mighty Maldivians to a 4-all draw, which eventually was a one-sided affair until Lankan striker Wasim Razeek rose to the occasion with a heroic performance scoring all four goals within 27 minutes to secure them a draw from certain defeat. As per team sources, they are likely to retain the same eleven which played against Maldives. After a few team meetings with the players and coaching staff, they have rectified their lapses and are to come out with some strategic plans against their rivals.
“We had a poor start on Tuesday but managed to bounce back to force a draw. Wasim has been a livewire in our team and repeated a magnificent performance to bail us out from defeat. As I always say, we possess a young side which needs more time to become a major force. The positive sign is that the boys are learning quickly how to adjust to the big occasion which is great for Sri Lankan football.”
“We have drawn up a couple of strategies against our opponent and will execute from the start. We want to get into winning habits for which an offensive playing pattern is vital. Nevertheless, we are going flat out to get a positive result today,” said Amir Alagic the Lankan head coach.
On the other hand, Seychelles held Bangladesh to a 1-all draw after trailing for almost two-thirds of the game. They too had a scrappy game and played in patches. One might think that since it was their first appearance, it took some time favor them to settle as a unit, and they might have done their homework well to confront a better opponent today. A great game of football is expected.
The first match will be between the two Southeast Asian giants Maldives and Bangladesh at 4.00 p.m. Both teams are hunting for their maiden victory after their earlier matches ended in a draw.