Matara City FC clinch maiden Champions League title
Matara City FC were officially declared champions of the Football Sri Lanka (FSL) organised Champions League Tournament 2022 after their game against Java Lane SC ended in a 1-1 draw at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Java Lane SC emerged runners-up of this 14-team tournament, with matches being played in Colombo, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Galle and Jaffna. The Champion Matara City FC ended up with 10 wins, one loss and two drawn encounters from their 13 matches for an overall aggregate of 32 points and collected a cash award of Rs. 1 million. This was also the first major title for Matara City FC, which started playing competitive football recently.
Matara City FC netted a total of 28 goals from their 13 matches and conceded only 11 goals to their opponents. In fact, Matara City FC also won two special awards with their overseas
recruit Boadu Prince claiming the Golden Ball Award for the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament with 11 goals to his credit. In addition, Matara City FC custodian Rusiru Dilshan won the Golden Glove Award for the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament.
However, the Golden Boot Award for the Top Goal Scorer of the Tournament went to Evans Asante of Serendib SC having netted a total of 15 goals in the competition. The Fair Play Award of the Tournament was won by Crystal Palace FC for their magnanimous display both on and off the field during the three-month competition.
Meanwhile, the runners-up Java Lane SC finished with eight wins, one defeat and four drawn games from their 13 matches for an overall tally of 28 points. They collected a cash award of Rs. 750,000 from FSL. Pelicans SC secured the third place of the tournament with seven wins,
three defeats and three drawn encounters from their 13 matches for an overall tally of 24 points. .
They were followed by Crystal Palace FC (21 points), St. Mary’s SC (19 points) and Negombo Youth FC (18 points) in fourth, fifth and sixth places respectively.
Special awards:
Best Goalkeeper: Rusiru Dilshan (Matara City FC).
Most Valuable Player: Boadu Prince (Matara City FC),
Top Goal Scorer: Evans Asante (Serendib SC).
Fair Play Award: Crystal Palace FC.