Royal College and St. Peter’s College played out a 2-2 draw in the first match of the SLSFA 2016 U19 Division I Football Championship in an early morning encounter at St. Peter’s College grounds.
Both teams scored a goal in each half but had to settle for a draw, as they couldn’t add on to their scores.
The match saw an early kickoff as the boys from Bambalapitiya welcomed the last year’s Division II champions who looked all pumped up to start the tournament on a high.
The match started not in the most extravagant way as both teams hustled and tussled over the ball. It was the Peterites who settled soon and took control of the match.
In the initial exchange, Royal looked like a team without a plan as all they did was clearing the danger possessed by the Peterites.
Photo Album: St.Peter’s College v Royal College | U19 DIV I – 2016
Against the flow of the game, it was Royal who took the lead. The star striker Naveen Jude used the free space he had to perfection as he deposited the ball past the diving goalkeeper with a curler from outside the box.
From that point onwards, Royal gradually started to grow little by little into the game but it was St. Peter’s who had the upper hand throughout the first half.
St. Peter’s got themselves to some great position to score but the attackers were quite hesitant to take the chances coming their way.
On the other hand, Naveen Jude created havoc whenever he got space to open up. Within minutes he rattled the cross bar and then scored a scintillating header off skipper Chathura Avishka’s free kick only to be signaled for off side.
Chathura Avishka received a yellow for booting a St. Peter’s player. The incident looked like it was the end of the match for the Royal captain but the referee was generous enough to limit it to a yellow.
With one minute still remaining for the half time, St. Peter’s pulled things back as Shehan Liyanapathirana converted the free kick into the back of the net. The referee blew the whistle as the Peterites went into the half time with a psychological advantage.
Half Time: St.Peter’s College 1 – 1 Royal College
Coming into the second half, the rejuvenated St. Peter’s started to create attacking opportunities.
The midfielders tried some long rangers to unsettle the inexperienced goalkeeper and the ploy immediately worked.
Shehan tried his luck in the 47th minute from outside the box and the goalkeeper who was forced to make quick saves in the short span of time lost his concentration and misjudged the ball as St. Peter’s went 2-1 up.
But Naveen on the other end of the pitch made sure the lead was short lived. He bamboozled past the defenders from the right flank before feeding the ball to Kosala Hasanjith who made no mistake in tapping the ball into an open net.
When it looked like the match had finally found its pace, players started to go down with cramps under a scorching sun. Both teams looked very tired and the flow of the match was stopped by players going down consistently.
St. Peter’s had their chances to grab the winner but the midfielders took more time to take the shots and the experienced centre back duo of Chathura and Hasanga came to the rescue blocking almost all the shots taken.
In the end match ended as both teams couldn’t find the winner before referee’s final whistle.
Full Time: St. Peter’s College 2 – 2 Royal College
ThePapare.com Player of the Match: Naveen Jude (Royal College)
Talking to ThePapare.com after the match, St. Peter’s Coach Isuru Perera;
“The boys didn’t have much time to practice as a team. The Tournament starting this late a hindrance and the management has to understand it is students and they have year-end exams. But we managed to play well. There are concerns such as fitness level and chemistry issues. But I’m sure the boys will put up a better show which they are capable of.”
Royal Coach Ashoka Ravindra had this to say;
“The boys are still inexperienced and still learning. We tried some new combinations and our regular keeper was missing today. But credits to the boys, they understood the game well and improved throughout. The experienced players showed so much maturity to not let the game slip away. We will work hard in the training grounds and we will continue to improve.”
Goal Scorers
St.Peter’s College – Shehan Liyanapathirana 39’, 47’
Royal College – Naveen Jude 09’, Kosala Hasanjith 50’Bookings
Yellow cardsChathura Avishka 35’ (Royal College)
