Jaffna University retained their Sri Lanka University Games football title when they defeated University of Sri Jayawardenapura 1-0 in the final of the tournament that was played at the Wayamba University premises from the 10th to the 12th of September.
The hotly contested tournament had its usual share of thrills and spills with the traditional powerhouses all surviving the group stages to make it to the knockouts.
In Group A, last year’s Inter-University Games winners Sabaragamuwa University had to work hard to qualify after a defeat to South Eastern University left them in a precarious position, but both teams did enough against Uva-Wellassa University to secure qualification to the next round.
Group B saw University of Jaffna brush past University of Peradeniya and Ruhuna University with scores of 4-0 and 3-0 respectively, before Peradeniya got the better of Ruhuna 1-0 to qualify in 2nd place. Eastern University topped Group C, with University of Sri Jayawardenapura in 2nd place as hosts Wayamba failed to progress to the knockouts following losses to both Eastern and Sri Jayawardenapura.
Group D which featured 4 teams was the pick of the lot for the action as University of Colombo beat University of Kelaniya and Rajarata on penalties before getting the better of rivals University of Moratuwa 1-0 in their final league game to top the group. Moratuwa qualified behind them after registering 5-0 and 2-1 wins over Rajarata and Kelaniya respectively.
The quarters saw Jayawardenapura knock out Sabaragamuwa University on penalty kicks after a tight game finished 1-1 at the final whistle, whilst South Eastern University got the better of Eastern 2-0 in an action packed clash between the two rivals. Jaffna beat Moratuwa 2-0 to knock them out for the second consecutive time in the quarter final stage, and a last gasp winner saw Colombo eke past Peradeniya into the last 4.
The two semi finals were totally different types of games with a goal fest between Jaffna and South Eastern University ending 5-2 in favour of Jaffna whilst penalties were needed to ensure Sri Jayawardenapura progressed against Colombo University after a scoreless draw.
The final was a tight affair but Jaffna University who beat University of Moratuwa 4-1 in the 2013 final played in Colombo, did just about enough to seal their place at the pinnacle of the university football arena with a 1-0 win over Sri Jayawardenapura. South Eastern University clinched the third-place playoff with a 1-0 win over Colombo, who had to settle for 4th place for the 2nd year in a row.
The Sri Lankan University Games also known as SLUG is a mini-Olympic style sporting tournament conducted between state universities, held every 3-4 years. University of Sri Jayawardenapura were adjudged overall champions in this year’s edition, winning the title for the first time in their history.
