A resounding comeback by Maris Stella College saw them move into the semi-final of the Sri Lanka Schools’ Association U19 Division I tournament defeating St. Joseph’s College 4-2, at the Kelaniya Football Complex.
After an edgy start by both teams it was St. Joseph’s College who drew first blood in just the 3rd minute with a beautifully worked set piece which saw Selverajah Prasanth head the ball home past a stranded goalkeeper.
Unfazed by the set back the boys from Negombo, led by Sri Lanka U19 cap Sandeepa Fernando, took better control of the game as they moved the ball around swiftly, toying with the Joes defense.
Subsequently after a mini phase of dominance the Maris Stella boys broke through the Joes fort as a through ball from Dilip Peiris found the feet of Luke Sanjaya who placed the ball home past a charging keeper in the 11th minute.
The rest of the half produced a mere lackluster spell of football from both teams as they began to lose their consistency. The only highlight of that period came when Amila Dananjaya dribbled into the box and took aim only to thump the bar after beating a diving keeper.
Photo Album – St Joseph’s college v Maris Stella college
The second half saw the lads from Darley road having more possession of the ball which resulted in some clumsy challenging by the Maris Stella boys.
One such incident lead to the Joes taking the lead when Charka Udayanga curled an absolute pearler of a free kick past a helpless goalkeeper after a reckless challenge resulted in a free kick for the Joes.
Yet whilst having the wind in their sails a moment of madness gave it all away when the Joes keeper charged an advancing Supun Lahiru and fouled him inside the box in the 57th minute. Noteworthy that the keeper instead of shepherding the ball out of play decided to barge into a player who was chasing the wind as the ball was well away from his grasp.
The Josephians paid heavily as Dilip stepped up and placed the ball home with minimal effort to put the Maris Stella lads on level terms.
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The charismatic striker who was silent for most of the game took alot of heart with that effort on goal and just gathered momentum for the rest of the game.
The hitman took just 12 minutes to score his brace as he linked up with his captain Supun Lahiru to put his side into the lead on the 70th minute.
The depleted Josephians were at sixes and sevens at the back as Dilip, the Sri Lanka U19 striker, started to weave his magic. With his persistent pressure on goal it took only until the 80th minute for him to spin the Joes defense to score his hat trick and to put the game to bed.
The young number 11 showed immense maturity on and off the ball with his dribbling and movement not to forget his excellent decision making.
ThePapare.com Man of the Match: Dilip Peiris
