SL first to reach semis

Kasun slams first hat-trick
Kasun Jayasuriya scored the first hat-trick of the tournament and Ediri Channa netted two goals as Sri Lanka swamped a hapless Bhutan 6-0 in a Group B match of the Bangabandhu SAFF Championship at the BNS on Sunday.
With the second consecutive win Sri Lanka confirmed their semi-final berth with last group match against Bangladesh on Tuesday.
Ediri Channa blasted home from the middle of the box to put Sri Lanka ahead in the 8th minute after Kasun Jayasuriya paved the way for him. Bhutan launched a series of attacks and looked like scoring mid-way through the first-half but a lack of proper finishing denied them of a goal.
Gyeltshen, with all the time in his hand, in the 22nd minute shot over the crosspiece from the middle of the box and three minutes later Nawang Dendup fed by Gyeltshen dribbled past his marker and also an outrushing Sri Lankan keeper Sadishkumar only to see his angular shot from the six-yard box cleared by defender Dudley Steinwall.
Bhutanese defence, however, creaked shortly afterwards making room for wily Channa to double the lead with an opportunistic strike in the 32 minutes. Taking control of a rebound on the edge of the box Channa calmly placed the ball into the far corner.
Kasun went past two defenders with sheer pace and drilled a low shot past Bhutanese keeper Pema to go 3-0 up six minutes before the break, effectively sealing the fate of the game.
Bhutan failed to make any significant move to reduce the margin in the second half and rather conceded another three goals to hand Sri Lanka the biggest win of the tournament so far.
Sri Lanka in their first match beat Pakistan 1-0 while Bhutan suffered a 4-1 defeat to Bangladesh which means they have no chance of making the semi-finals, a feat they achieved last time around.
Kasun took the centre stage in the second half firing on all cylinders with Channa and Gunaratne wreaking havoc from the two wings. Kasun scored his second goal in the 65th after a neat pass from Channa from a handshaking distance and completed his hat-trick in the 78th minute with beautiful sliding push.
Midfielder Izzadeen headed a Gunaratne cross into the box and Kasun leant sideways to place the ball into the far post. Gunaratne was rewarded for his performance with the last goal, a header from a Channa cross from the touchline, just before the final whistle.

Courtesy of NewAgebd