Football: Blue Eagles, Colombo FC open account in FFSL President's Cup 2020

Blue Eagles SC edged out Crystal Palace FC 2-1 after the scores were tied 1-1 at half time for a sparkling win under lights in the Vantage FFSL President’s Cup 2020 at Sugathadasa Stadium on Tuesday.

L.H. Kavindu Ishan gave Blue Eagles the lead in the 16th minute while secured the equaliser when M.T.M. Zaid found the net five minutes before the interval.

The winning strike for Blue Eagles came off the boot of W. Nethma Malshan in the 60th minute.

Colombo FC produced a superb second half rally after a blank first half to post a 3-0 win over SLTB Sports Club in the opening group E match.

After keeping Colombo FC at bay in the first half, SLTB’s defence was breached in quick succession after the interval with Y.S.J.F. Momas opening the floodgates in the 51st minute.

M.N.M. Fazal (63rd) and M. Zarwan Johar found the net within the space of seven minutes (70th) to seal victory for Colombo FC.

This is the first time a major football competition is being held after the coronavirus outbreak. The tournament will run until August 31 with the participation of 20 leading clubs in the country.

The tournament is being played within closed doors and following strict health regulations because of the coronavirus.

The 20 teams were divided into five groups with each team guaranteed at least three matches during the preliminary rounds.

Selected matches would be streamed live through FFSL’s official YouTube channel ‘Sri Lanka Football TV’ for local fans set to enjoy a football bonanza of 30 matches before the knockout stages.

The quarter-finals are scheduled to be worked off on August 23 and 24, the semifinals will be played on August on 27 and the final on August 31.

Results:

Group E

Colombo FC 3 (Momas 51’ Fazal 63’ Johar 70’) SLTB SC 0

Blue Eagles SC 2 (Ishan 16' Malshan 60') Crystal Palace FC 1 (Zaid 40’)