Hameed Al Husseinie beat St. Patrick’s College 1-0 to book their place in the first ever ThePapare Football Championship Finals at the Sugathadasa Stadium.
Hameedia qualified for the final four after a tough 2-1 win over Gampola Zahira College. St. Patrick’s after an amazing battle with Zahira College Colombo, in a game that went into a penalty shootout where the boys from Jaffna emerged 5-4 winners.
The Patricians got the first opportunity when Rajikumar Santhan broke through the Hameedian defense, however his final effort was struck straight at goalkeeper Mohamed Safrin who made no mistake with his save.
Hameedia responded with a chance of their own when Mohamed Rishan took an effort on goal, but it curled inches wide of the post.
As the half progressed play became quite equal and dull, with both sides having their equal share of possession in attack, but neither side able to break the deadlock.
That lasted only up to the 29th minute when Captain Aman Faizer put in a cut-back pass into the opposition box, leaving Mohamed Afkar with the simple task of tapping it in to score his fifth goal of the tournament. Afkar was shown a yellow card for taking his jersey off during the celebrations that followed.
The Patricians won a free-kick in a very dangerous area in the 37th minute, which was well struck by Santhan, but the effort flew inches over the crossbar.
The Hameedians got a golden chance to double their lead, when a good over the top ball into the opposition box required only the deftest of touches by the onrushing Afkar, but the forward missed the ball completely.
Half Time: Hameed Al Husseinie College 1 – 0 St. Patrick’s College
The boys from Jaffna got the first chance of the half when they broke into the opposition box, but after a scramble in the box, the ball was cleared to safety.
Hameedia got their first opportunity of the half when Mohamed Safran took a great strike from range which had goalkeeper Rajith Kijuman in trouble, but the ball went inches over the crossbar.
Aman had a number of chances in the half, but kept failing to get the telling touch. Aman’s best opportunity came towards the end of the game, when he got the ball inside the box, but a poor finish saw him strike the ball straight at Kijuman who obliged with a simple save.
Afkar got a great chance after a cut back pass by Aman, but despite stretching to full capacity, Afkar failed to make contact with the ball. Rishan created another opening when he brilliantly dribbled past 3 defenders using his quick pace, but a poor finish at the end saw his efforts wasted.
Mohamed Sarfan came close to doubling Hameedia’s lead after he headed a cross from Rishan towards goal, but a brilliant reflex save by Kijuman saw the ball tipped over the crossbar for a corner.
The last ten minutes saw Hameed Al Husseinie create a number of chances, but Kijuman stepped up and pulled off numerous saves to keep his side in the running, but his teammates let him down as the whistle blew for full time, sending Hameedia into the first ever TPFC against St. Joseph’s College.
Full Time: Hameed Al Husseinie College 1 – 0 St. Patrick’s College
- ThePapare.com Player of the Match – Aman Faizer (Hameed Al Husseinie College)
Goal Scorers
Hameed Al Husseinie College – Mohamed Afkar 29’
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