Ashfaq Ayub’s howler midway through the second half gave Zahira the equalizer and the momentum as they came back from a goal down to defeat St.Peter’s College 2-1 to be crowned the first ever Kotmale Chox Schools U19 Football Champions.
The turning point of the match was the goalkeeping error by Ayub who let in a routine stop burst through his hand and into the goal. It was all St.Peter’s until that point and they were poised to become champions in their first ever major final.
For Zahira it was their 15 year old midfielder Aqeel Ahamed who stole the show with the two goals and had a brilliant game showing maturity beyond a 15 year old in a pressure final match.
Zahira’s resolve was tested in the group stage itself against Hameed Al Husseinie when they lost 4-2 but won against Lumbini College 5-0. Against Joseph Vaz in the quarter final Ahamed Shakir’s goal was the difference between the sides in a keenly contested match.
In the semi finals three goals inside the opening 20 minutes was enough as they defeated Maris Stella College 3-1 to book a place a in the final.
St Peter’s had been in excellent form this tournament with a close 1-0 win against their arch rivals St Joseph’s College in their opening group game, hard fought 2-2 draw against a strong Joseph Vaz side and cruised in the next couple of games with 5-1 and 8-0 wins against Holy Cross Kalutara and Lyceum International School respectively.
In their quarter final they met the all-conquering schools football powerhouse Hameed Al Husseinie and simply outplayed and outclassed the Kotahena lads 3-0. In the semi-final against De Mazenod St.Peter’s again showed their ruthless form in a 4-0 rout.
In this final, in the opening exchanges Zahira came out on top as their experience in major finals let them ease their nerves quickly and start to dominate play. They created a few chances but the Peterite defense led by Captain Thusitha Jayasinghe and Mohomed Mujeed held firm.
It was not until the 25th minute the Peterites found their rhythm and got into their groove with their midfield linchpin Niresh Suntharaj, Afam Akram and Isuru Sampath having an outstanding match. Most attacks were down the left flank with Akram creating havoc for Zulfikar Ahamed. Minutes before halftime St.Peter’s had the opportunity to take the lead when Niresh went down the right crossed the ball into the box but Isuru could only sky it over the cross bar from close range.
In the second half St.Peter’s started from where they left off in the first half, attacking with intent. In the 54th minute Zahira’s Mohomed Shaheel lost the ball in midfield trying to do a fancy pass only for Niresh Suntharaj to put in a delightful kick through to Isuru Sampath going one on one with Mohomed Usman and calmly slotting in to give the Peterites the lead. Zahira captain and central defender Azeem Azmy who had a scorcher of a game in defense and attack could not prevent the inevitable.
Not content with the one goal advantage the Peterites went in search of a second. Against the run of play Zahira equalized through Aqeel Ahamed when his hopeful effort on goal from 30 yards out burst through the hands of Ayub and into the goal. That livened the Zahira fans and the momentum was now clearly with the Maradana lads. Peterites could not recover from that shock error after having played a brilliant match.
With minutes left, Mohomed Humaid won himself a free-kick near the left corner flag. In a set move he passed the ball to Aqeel Ahamed on the edge of the penalty box who drilled a fierce shot into roof of the net sending the Zahira fans into frenzy. St.Peter’s tried hard to equalize but to no avail.
One should congratulate both teams for playing clean and open football at this school level and Zahira for maintaining their household brand image for football and Peterites who are not only the find of the season but also proved that they have taken Football, the global game very seriously and sure to create history in the coming schools tournaments.
The Kotmale Chox Golden Boot for the highest goal scorer was won by Maris Stella College’s Dilip Peiris for his 12 goals in the tournament and the Kotmale Chox Most Valuable Player of the final was double goal scorer Aqeel Ahamed who carried away the Kotmale Chox Golden Ball award.
