St.Peter’s College is all fired up for their traditional soccer big match against rivals, St.Joseph’s College.
The 25th Joe-Pete Silver Jubilee Soccer Encounter will be held on the 23rd of October at the CR & FC Grounds at 3.45pm. St.Peter’s will be hosting this year’s big match.
Season thus far
They dominated all their group stage matches in Kotmale Chox U19 Schools Championship, while S.Thomas’ took them to the edge in a 2-1 win. Their stand out performance was against Maliyadeva College in which they managed to score 14 goals.
The other results being; 4-0 victory over Lumbini College, 4-0 win over Dharmaraja College and finally a moral boosting 5-0 victory in their final group stage match against St.Benedict’s College last week. St.Peter’s College were runners-up in last year’s Kotmale Chox U19 Championship after been beaten 2-1 by Zahira College.
They won the FFSL Futsal tournament which was held at Austasia Sports Complex this year. It was a comprehensive 3-1 victory in the final against defending champions S.Thomas’ College. Peterites were placed 4th at the Zahira Super 16 Soccer 7’s which was held last week after being defeated by Royal College in the semi-final and by Zahira in the 3rd place playoff.
The key to success
Peterites have a star studded side with five players who are representing the U19 national side, including Peshala Malik, Afam Akram, Sunthararaj Niresh, Perumal Praveen and Ishan Danusha.
Apart from Danusha and Malik the other three have Premier League experience. Afam Akram plays for Java Lane and Niresh and Praveen plays for Saunders SC and Pelicans SC respectively.
The key for the Peterites will be their midfield and forwards. Sundarajha Niresh, the playmaker will be a major threat in the match, being the highest goal scorer for St Peter’s and with all his experience in club level. He will be well supported by the dynamic winger Afam Akram. With his skill and speed in front any opposing team should be on their toes at all times.
Peterites have a formidable defense led by Captain Angelo Perera, having conceding only 1 goal thus far in the Kotmale Chox U19 Schools Championship. Recent results have shown how dominant they have been but the pressure of a traditional big match could work both ways for a team.
The team certainly has the potential and the skill to overcome any challenge put in front of them. It won’t be an easy task for the Josephians to overcome the challenge this time around.
The side will be coached by former national and Saunders player Isuru Uditha Perera while the goalkeeping coach will be former Java Lane player Mohamed Azwar.
Peterite skipper Angelo Perera speaking to ThePapare.com stated, “We are confident about the big match. Our team certainly has the ability to win but it will all depend on how we are going to perform on that day. We have dominated this season so far but the big match is different. We are playing with pride and with all the expectation of all Peterites weighing on our shoulders.”
