Unbeaten Jaffna footballers surge ahead | Sunday Observer

Unbeaten Jaffna footballers surge ahead

6 February, 2022
Northern Province player M Nishanthan celebrates scoring a hat-trick of goals
Northern Province player M Nishanthan celebrates scoring a hat-trick of goals

Northern Province went ahead at the end of the third stage matches of the inaugural inter provincial tournament played for the Independence Trophy and conducted by Football Sri Lanka (FSL) at various venues throughout the country.

The table leaders Northern Province launched their campaign with a scoreless draw against Sabaragamuwa at the Maligapitiya ground in Kurunegala on the opening day of the tournament late last month.

Jude Supan a Sri Lanka player led them at the curtain-raiser and they surged ahead by defeating Uva Province 2-0 at the Duraippah Stadium in Jaffna.

They were able to have a goal in each half through V. Geethan and K. Thenushan. With this they kept the momentum going and continued their winning streak as they went on to beat Southern Province 3-1 at the Webber Stadium in Batticaloa a few days back.

Midfielder M. Nitharshan was instrumental in scoring a hat-trick of goals to seal the victory in the match which eventually made him share the top goal scorers’ position along with Mohamed Hasmeer of Western Province who also booted an equal number of goals. The Northern Province team has now collected seven points from two wins and a draw.

Meanwhile Sabaragamuwa Province retained the second slot with five points earned from a single win with the remaining two games ending in draws. They drew 0-0 in their curtain-raiser over Northern Province and managed to edge out Southern Province by one goal to nil while their last game against Eastern Province ended in a scoreless draw.

The Rajarata team occupies the third position with a win, a draw and one defeat.

The top four teams which end up based on their performance will qualify for the semi-final line up which is scheduled to kick off on February 22 and 25.

The grand finale of this tournament is scheduled for February 28 where the venue will once again be decided on the team qualification.

The tournament coincides with Sri Lanka’s 75th year of Independence and has attracted some of the best players in the business.

Football Sri Lanka expects new discoveries to surface during the tournament that could swell the national pool ahead of international matches.

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