Sri Lanka destroy Pakistan 7-1
4 April 2008
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Weeraratna Jayasuriya fired three goals as Sri Lanka ripped apart Pakistan 7-1 here at the Chungshan Stadium on Friday to take a big step towards the AFC Challenge Cup 2008 finals even as Chinese Taipei whitewashed Guam 4-1 in the other Group A qualifying encounter.
Two goals inside the first 10 minutes by Jayasuriya in the seventh and ninth minutes set the tone for Sri Lanka and Channa Ediribandanage compounded the Pakistanis' misery with another strike in the 13th minute. The first half ended with Jayasuriya netting his hat-trick three minutes before the break.
Anton Dehiwalage hit two more goals (72, 77) before Ediribandanage rounded off Sri Lanka’s stylish win with an 82nd minute goal. Pakistan’s only goal came through Adnan Ahmed in the 17th minute.
Guam took the lead in the second match through James Pangelinan in the 17th minute but it took the hosts just three minutes to level the score through Chang Han. Huang Wei-yi (28) made it 2-1 for Chinese Taipei before Chen Po-liang (33) and Chiang Shih-lu (44) ensured the win.
Sri Lanka meet Chinese Taipei in the last match on Sunday while Pakistan play Guam. |
