St. Peter’s College came from behind to beat St. Joseph’s College 2 – 1 in the 26th Annual Joe-Pete Football encounter which saw St. Joseph’s College squandering a penalty opportunity in the match held at St. Peter’s College grounds earlier today.
Two of the big names in the Sri Lankan schools football arena came into the match with St.Joseph’s College being the heavy favourites after a strong season.
St.Joseph’s College narrowly missed out on the quarter finals of the Kotmale U19 Football Championship but made amends as they qualified for the semi-finals of the U19 Division I which would take place in two weeks’ time.
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On the other hand, St.Peter’s College had a substandard start as they played out a two-all draw against Royal College before losing to Zahira College and Hameed Al Husseinie College. They were able get back to winning ways as they thrashed Ananda College 5-0 in the U19 Division I Championship.
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St. Peter’s were the brighter of the two at the start as the players pressed for the ball from the word go. But the defense led by skipper Mayuraka Perera weathered the early storm with pinpoint tackles to stop the attack.
Both teams used the width of the pitch by trying to create attacking opportunities through the wings.
St. Joseph’s College drew first blood in the 10th minute when Jayson Fernando made use of St. Peter’s custodian Hirusha Malshan who unnecessarily came out of position by calmly slotting it past the goalkeeper despite a slight deflection off Shehan Liyanapathirana.
St. Peter’s didn’t get bogged down after conceding the early lead as they continued their attacking approach. Few chances came the host’s way but the execution was poor from the Bamba boys.
On the other hand St.Joseph’s College was sitting back and attacked through counter whenever the chance arrived.
The ploy almost worked for them when Vishodh De Alwis went one on one with the goalkeeper, but a heroic save from Hirusha Malshan stopped a certain goal.
However with Ishan Danusha being moved up front from defense St.Peter’s started to dominate proceedings and it paid off in the 30th minute as Java Lane winger Mohamed Shabeer scored a well-deserved equalizer for St.Peter’s College as he judged his run to perfection before heading it home from a Danusha cross.
The end of the first half saw Mohamad Shabeer missing a perfect opportunity to put St.Peter’s in the lead as he failed to make contact with a peach of a delivery from Ishan Danusha.
First half – St. Peter’s College 1 – 1 St.Joseph’s College
St. Joseph’s College were awarded a penalty in the 62nd minute when Johan Wickramasinghe, St. Peter’s skipper, brought down Sachintha Maduranga inside the penalty box. Unfortunately for St. Joesph’s College Chamath Rashmitha dragged his shot wide as the chance went abegging.
St.Joseph’s College paid for the miss when Dhananjaya De Silva finished a beautifully orchestrated play in the 67th minute. After playing a nice one two pass with Ishan Danusha, Dhananjaya curled the ball past the diving goalkeeper to put the Peterites ahead.
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS: St.Peter’s College v St.Joseph’s College – 26th Joe-Pete Encounter (2016)
The 82nd minute saw St. Joseph’s winning an indirect free kick inside the penalty box. Referee correctly noticed Hirusha Malshan wasting time and awarded the free-kick in favour of the visitors. But the effort lacked precision missing the target by some margin.
Shehan Liyanapathirana came to St. Peter’s College’s rescue as he headed away a canny chip from Asela Madushan which was dipping in to the goal post.
Another free kick right at the edge of the penalty box was awarded to the men in blue to get back in level terms. But the free kick couldn’t breach the Peterite wall.
The referee blew the final whistle at last after five minutes of injury time as the home team completed a remarkable comeback to retain the trophy.
Full time: St.Peter’s College 2 – 1 St.Joseph’s College
ThePapare.com Player of the Match – Ishan Danusha (St.Peter’s College)
St. Joseph’s were not in their element today and paid the price for not showing the sharpness they usually display.
St. Peter’s broke the five year hoodoo last year to win back the trophy and regained it at home deservingly in a fiery encounter.
Speaking to ThePapare.com, St. Peter’s College coach Isuru Perera was all smiles,
Our boys played really well today. St. Joseph’s defended well but we dominated the game overall and deservedly won the match. We trained hard coming into the match and we were ready to face them.
Despite going 1-0, we were focused and it paid off. We had a bit of luck when they missed the penalty we adjusted to hang onto the lead. We showed character.
Other Results
U 13- St. Peter’s College 4 – 2 St. Joseph’s College
Player of the match: Milindu Athukorala (St. Peter’s College)U 15- St. Peter’s College 0 – 1 St. Joseph’s College
Player of the match: Shenal Sandesh (St. Joseph’s College)Old boys match- St. Peter’s College 2 – 4 St. Joseph’s College
Player of the match: Sritharan (St. Joseph’s College)
