A final minute goal by Basith Yakoob allowed Royal College to cut the deficit to a single goal as S. Thomas’ College went on to take major honours in the 1st leg of the 25th Dr R. L. Hayman trophy encounter that was held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Swimming Pool Complex this evening.
Going into the silver jubilee encounter, S. Thomas’ were on the lookout for their fourth successive Hayman title and went in as favourites. Royal hadn’t been on a winning platform at Hayman for a while, giving them the motivation to come out strong.
Kisal Assalarachchi’s Royal team had a dream start to the match with them going for goal from the very first minute. Firing out of the blocks in the second minute was the Royal deputy skipper Thamindu Ranasinghe who drew first blood. His attack was later succeeded by Savindu Dissanayake who took the Royalists to a 2-0 start.
With the underdogs making themselves worthy, S. Thomas’ were put on the back seat but fighting back in the last minute of the quarter were the Thomians with two back to back strikes from Sachitha Jayatilake and Ashane Francis to make it even at the end of the 1st quarter.
The second quarter was the decisive one for the Thomians as they hit the gas pedal going all out on their counterparts. Isuru Kahandawala led the Thomian strike in the second quarter followed up by three quick goals that went unanswered from Sachitha Jayatilake, Ashane Francis and Sanka Molligoda.
Photos: 25th Dr R. L. Hayman Trophy Encounter – 1st Leg
With the Thomian score line changing at pace, the Royal defence was tearing apart giving the Thomians the opportunity for free movement. From three goals down, Daishike Dias brought back hope for Royal as they went into lemons trailing 6-3.
The second quarter went in favour of the Thomians and the determined Royalists went on to prove their worth in the third. Their defences strengthened with fresh legs as S. Thomas’ were deprived of scoring. Royal, however, couldn’t get their attacking game to work as planned in the first few minutes as four chances went begging. However, a long range shot from Anthony Wijayawardena followed by another goal by Savindu Dissanayake saw them going into the timeout with a one goal deficit. (5-6)
With 8 minutes to go for the final whistle, Thomian skipper Ashane Francis got the ball past the Royal goalkeeper but Savindu Dissanayake replied with a goal for Royal. Deputy Thamindu’s second score in the encounter brought Royal once again onto level terms making it 7-7 but two strong strikes from the danger man Sachitha Jayatilake saw S. Thomas’ making it to 9 goals.
With another fixture left to go, Royal’s Basith Yakoob finally got his act together to send in a last minute goal to finish the game with the scores reading 9-8 as S. Thomas’ were adjudged winners of the first leg.
Thomian Sachitha Jayatilake did most of the damage scoring four goals and skipper Ashane Francis helped with his three goals. It was Savindu Dissanayake who aided the Royal score with his hat-trick.
With a single goal separating the two teams, the second leg will definitely be an exciting encounter to decide the victor.
Score breakdown: S. Thomas 9 – Royal 8
S.Thomas’: Sachitha Jayatilake (4), Ashane Francis (3), Sanka Molligoda & Isuru Kahandawala
Royal: Savindu Dissanayake (3), Thamindu Ranasinghe (2), Basith Yakoob, Anthony Wijayawardena & Daishike Dias
