Police storm back against Renown

Despite trailing by a goal at the beginning of the second half, the footballers from Police were able to mount a furious comeback to earn a 2-1 victory over their opponents Renown SC , in a thrilling Dialog Champions League encounter at the City Football League grounds yesterday.

A Renown wins a header over a Police defender. Pic by Amila Prabodha.

The policemen played a gritty game and against a lesser team would have perhaps romped home to an easy one-sided victory. However, Renown showed admirable skill and tenacity and will rue the fact that they lost a game which for a large period of time they were in command of.

The two crucial goals for Police came from Elpitiya Charaka and Nadeeka Pushpakumara, while the first half goal which buoyed Renown's early play came from Mohamed Safras. The match got off to a balanced start with neither side completely dominating play. Police looked the more disciplined of the two sides and used their sturdily-built defenders to good effect, repelling several early Renown attacks. The ball moved from end to end through much of the first half, and neutral spectators would have been more than enthralled by the ambitious attacking brand of football on display.

Nevertheless, in the 44th minute of the match, Police's seemingly impenetrable wall of defence cracked. Renown used some nifty dribbling to sail a tantalizing ball into the box. The skill of the pass was surpassed by a masterful finish from Safraz when he shepherded the ball into the top corner.
However, as they have throughout the Champion League so far, Police showed they are unafraid of a good dogfight, and duly buckled down and came charging at Renown in the second half. This determined play immediately yielded a goal, when in the ninth minute of the second half, Charaka calmly swiveled inside the penalty area and thundered the ball past Renown's goalie, Yalendran Satheeshkumar.

Through this goal Police had taken a stranglehold on the match, and the relentless pressure finally told on their opponents when a defensive lapse in the 79th minute of the game led to Pushpakumara poking the ball past Satheesh once again, completing a comeback which seemed on the cards since the beginning of the second half.