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Sri Lanka vs Maldives,
Friendly Football at Male Stadium
Sri Lanka held Maldives 0-0
19-Dec-2004
Sri Lanka put their World Cup heroics on display taking on arch-rivals Maldives, who failed to capitalize on home conditions backed by over 15,000 spectators as their international friendly ended in a scoreless draw at the Male National Stadium.
The vociferous Male supporters went odd disappointed as the home team failed to offer the excitement they were looking forward to.
“The result would have been much different had they played to their potentials: a disgruntled Maldivian fan said.
The Sri Lanka team followed a rather defensive approach right thought and prevented the Maldivian strikers from netting in any goals. Although Maldives had several opportunities in the first half, the Sri Lanka defense was hard to crack.
“I’m very happy with the result and the way we played this afternoon: said the Lanka coach Sampath Perera.
Sri Lanka come into the game filled with confidence after some excellent displays daring the World Cup qualifiers and continued their good form playing away from home.
Meanwhile coach Perera said that he intended to bring in some changes to the composition of the team in the near future. “We need to bring in younger players. They should be exposed to these conditions so that we could produce better results in important games” he added.
Accordingly, both teams have now drawn five games out of 11 encounters while winning three each.
Sri Lanka who is ranked 137 are one point behind the Maldives in the FIFA rankings.
| Team |
Highest |
Lowest |
Maldives
|
10-NOV-04 |
17-SEP-97 |
Sri Lanka
|
19-AUG-98 |
07-JUN-00 |
| 2004 |
MDV |
SRI |
| November |
136 |
137 |
| October |
142 |
141 |
| September |
142 |
143 |
| August |
141 |
143 |
| July |
140 |
140 |
| June |
141 |
139 |
| May |
140 |
137 |
| April |
140 |
137 |
| March |
142 |
137 |
| February |
141 |
134 |
| January |
141 |
134 |
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