Monday Oct 13, 2025
Monday Oct 13, 2025
Friday, 10 October 2025 04:11 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
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Man of the match Jason Thayaparan in action in their game against Turkmenistan
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By Althaf Nawaz
Jason Thayaparan with his acrobatic defensive play enabled Sri Lanka to notch up a close 1-0 win over mighty Turkmenistan in a key Asian Cup Championship 2027 (Saudi Arabia) group stage game played at Racecourse Stadium yesterday.
Even though the solitary goal was scored by a teammate, Thayaparan became the cynosure of all eyes when he headed away two certain kicks at goal to save his team from defeat and keep their hopes alive in the tournament.
The 138 ranked Turkmenistan had never tasted defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka, but this time around, they were given a torrid time until the last 20 minutes of the game, where they made some teasing moves looking for the equaliser which was foiled by the Lankan defence spearheaded by Thayaparan, who put a swashbuckling performance.
After a barren first half which had some anxious moments of play by both sides, yet no side was able to break the deadlock. After the short whistle it was the hosts who put pressure on the rival camp and took control of the game. In the 68th minute, Manimeldura Leon sneaked through the defence to score a well-executed goal. From there, the game turned out be a ding-dong battle for supremacy as both sides fought hard looking for scoring opportunities, and when referee Tam Ping Wun blew the full time whistle, it was the Lankan camp who walked away with a well-deserved victory.
This is the first instance that Sri Lanka was able to notch up a win over Turkmenistan, who were undefeated until this game. They will travel to Turkmenistan to play the second leg on 14 October.
