Sri Lanka shock Chinese Taipei with superb second half rally

Asia Cup (Saudi Arabia) 2027

Wednesday, 11 June 2025 00:55 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The jubilant Lankan camp after winning the game 3-1 against Chinese Taipei

By Althaf Nawaz

A much disciplined second half rally, during which three superb goals were scored in quick succession, saw Sri Lanka defeat Chinese Taipei 3-1 in a key Asia Cup (Saudi Arabia) 2027 qualifier soccer encounter played at Racecourse Grounds yesterday.

After a barren score sheet in the first half, the Lankan Lions got their act together to put out a spirited performance to rewrite history by defeating the 166 ranked team, while retaining their hopes of qualifying for the next stage of the tournament. This win puts the Lankans in third place behind Thailand and Turkmenistan who have a win each after playing a game with 3 points respectively.

The morale boosting 1-0 win over Brunei in Thailand few days ago gave the much-needed impetus for the Lankan lads to win this game. The winners who dominated proceedings from the outset, should have booted a few goals in the first half which went a-begging as lady luck deserted them.

Sri Lanka broke the deadlock in the 49th minute of the game when Dillon De Silva once again joined the party with a superb left footed cross kick which found Adavan Rajamohan, who managed to deftly control the ball and score with a power packed kick which beat goal keeper Huang Chiu-Lin all ends up. This set the momentum of the game in favour of the hosts as they executed enormous pressure on the rival camp.

The Lankan strikers Dillon De Silva and Waseem Razeek were hovering around rival the box area and made inroads into rival territory with some teasing moves. Their efforts were highly rewarded when Dillon booted a magnificent goal (53rd minute) while Waseem surged ahead to score another goal (58th minute) by hoodwinking the rival goalie.

After some anxious moments, visitors reduced the gap with a gifted goal where skipper Sujan Perera should have easily tapped the ball aside but subsequently went in favour of the visitors.

Nevertheless, full credit should go to the hosts who put up an enthralling performance and treated their fans to a great game of football.

Daniel Elder from Australia controlled the game.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.