Lankan team confident of winning
|
By Champika Fernando The Sri Lankan with their emphatic 1 nil victory in the first friendly international against their South Asian counterpart Maldives on Thursday at the Sugathadasa International Stadium will go out as favourites when the final match of the two match series will kick off at Duraiappa Stadium at 4.30 p.m today. This would be the first ever international match to be played in the war torn Jaffna city between two national teams. |
The Football Federation of Sri Lanka in their effort to support the ongoing peace progress is confident that the people of Jaffna could look forward for an enthralling encounter despite the poor ground and other conditions.
A crowd of over 25,000 is expected to see their local soccer giants fighting for supremacy against Maldives who are equally balanced.
When "The Island" contacted Captain. D.A.H. Gunasingham, a vice president of the Jaffna Football league yesterday said that the event would be a novel experience for the people of Jaffna who would come in record numbers to witness the historic encounter.
" I am sure over 25,000 people will be there at the Duraiappa Stadium to witness this historic encounter," said Gunasingham
Asked about the ground condition, he said " That is our main worry. A religious group has hired the ground for five days from the April 1. We do not know what sort of damage has been caused to the ground,’ Gunasingham said.
Gunasingham said that the ground had been booked several months ago for this religious event, even before the match was planned.
The blend of young and experience Sri Lankan side could give their best to make it two in a row against the Maldives. Sri Lankan won the last two matches against Pakistan who were here in Colombo few weeks ago to play four friendly internationals.
At press conference held on Wednesday Manilal Fernando, vice president Asian Football Confederation said both teams would have to bear with the Federation regarding the facilities and other conditions they could offer during this historical encounter.
" I do not mind who wins and who loses as long as they exhibit good football to quench the soccer thirst of the Jaffna citizens," added Fernando
Teams
Sri Lanka: Mohamed Naushad, Dudley Steinwall (captain), Imran Mohamed, Isuru Perera, E.B. Channa, K.M. Aneez, A. Rauff, K. Fuard, Kasun Jayasuriya, Chathura Maduranga, Nalin Nanda Kumara, Sampath Prabath, M. Kabir.
Maldives: Assad Abdul Ghani, Mohamed Hussain, Ashraf Luthfy, Ishak Essa, Mohamed Jameel, Mohamed Ibrahim, Ibrahim Fazeel, Shah Ismail, Ismail Naseem, Mohamed Fareed, Hussain Kuthfee