Zahira College romped to a 5-0 victory in their final U19 Division I game versus Lumbini College at Maradana.
The Maradana side came into the game on the back of a 5-0 walloping of Ananda College while Lumbini came into game after being handed a 6-1 thumping by Hameed Al Husseinie College.
However the game had no bearing in the competition as Zahira College lost contention for the semi-finals spot, after Holy Cross College defeated Hameed Al Husseinie College the day before sending the latter two into the knockouts.
As usual Zahira lived up to their tags as favourites and got off to a flyer through Shafran Sathar, who scored after a smart cut-back inside the box.
SLSFA confirm walkovers including Zahira v Hameed Al Husseinie
The Sri Lanka Schools’ Football Association (SLSFA) confirmed the three walkover results in the U19 Division I Championship.
They doubled their lead five minutes later when Mohamed Himash’s strike found the back of the net from close range to end the game as a competition.
The Zahirians dominated the game in all aspects, bossing possession while creating plenty of chances. An under-strength Lumbini College on the other hand were missing six players due to the on-going G.C.E. O/L exams, and certainly looked a side that was patched-up together.
On the half hour mark, Zahira College managed to put the game to bed when Himash grabbed his brace. Farood Faiz put in a beautiful ball to the attacker who managed to control and slot it home.
The dominant Zahirians closed the half with a good chance for Shaheel Azhar who received a peach of a pass from Faiz down the left, but put his shot wide.
Half time – Zahira College 3 – 0 Lumbini College
The second half opened in far more subdued fashion with Zahira College controlling both ball and the tempo of the game. The Maradana side was methodical in building up their attacks and took a while before Shaheel received the first chance; a volley on the counter.
They nearly increased their lead further when Shafran squared a ball only for their number 9 Abdul Rakeep to mistime his run and thus, miss the chance.
The boys in green increased their lead shortly after in the 51st minute when Mohamed Hammadh fired into the top corner after the ball fell to him in the box following a ricochet.
Lumbini College pushed on through Kasun Maduwantha in search of a goal but his efforts were in vain as Zahira’s staunch defence proved too strong for him.
After a period of utter dominance, Zahira made it five through Farood Faiz after Shafran Sathar squared the ball for Faiz, who fired home from 14 yards.
Zahira nearly made it six minutes later when Shaheel Azhar’s run and shimmy down the left gave him space to take a shot, but unfortunately for him the ferocious shot bounced off the far post, thus leaving the scores unchanged.
Full time – Zahira College 5 – 0 Lumbini College
ThePapare.com Player of the Match – Farood Faiz (Zahira College)
“We missed a few players today due to the O level exams, so we were depleted. We have a good side, but considering the side we put out the result is fair”, said Lumbini College coach, Mr. Lalith Perera.
A beaming Zahira Coach Mohamed Roomy said;
“We were inconsistent but we got the result today. We had to recondition the boys and retrain them and now they are ready to play beautiful football again. We are losing 6 players this year and right now I’m working to take necessary precautions.”
Goal Scorers
Zahira College – Shafran Sathar 9’, Mohamed Himash 16’, 30’, Mohamed Hammadh 51’, Farood Faiz 67’
