When Sri Lanka won the SAARC Gold Cup in 1995-by Hafiz Marikar

Source:Dailynews

Sri Lanka’s finest moment in football was on April 2, 1995 – 26 years ago when they won the Bristol SAARC Gold Cup in Colombo beating the strong India Team 1-0 in the final at the Sugathadasa Stadium – under the captaincy of Sampath Perera.

The man behind organising this tournament was Manilal Fernando and the others who gave their support were late J. N. S. Anandaraja, Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera, Chrysantha Perera, T. Wanigarthne, George Ferreira as Technical Consultant, Harold Anthony and the rest of the Ex-Co Members of the FFSL.

In the final, Sri Lanka beat India during extra time. On their way to the final, Sri Lanka beat Nepal 2-1. After a goalless first half, the heavens opened and lighting flashed all around the Stadium. Surely the match would have to be abandoned under such conditions and the teams would have to share the prize as joint champions.

All credit should go to George Joseph, the AFC’s Match Commissioner from the Football Association of Malaysia.

After consulting the local officials, he held on for 45 stormy minutes until the rain relented.

The players were back within a couple of minutes and the second half ticked off on a pitch which looked none the worse for the watery battering it had just taken.

No goals in 90 minute and a sudden-death winner in the first period of extra time. With M. Amanulla out of ammunition and Sampath Perera now also a marked man, Sri Lanka needed another hero.

They found one in substitute K. D. Sarath, a 25-year-old Corporal of the Army, a product of Kandy, who came in the 68th minute for his first senior cap.

In the 108th minute, Perera broke down the left and his low cross was met by Sarath whose diving header flew into the far corner and did the needful.