A resilient Royal outfit performed well on the day, but were unable to make up for the lapses in the first leg as the second leg of the annual Royal Thomian Water Polo encounter ended in a seven goal apiece draw, allowing the Thomians to retain the Dr. R. L Hayman Trophy for a third consecutive year, with an aggregate of18 goals to 14.
As dark clouds loomed threateningly around the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, the teams jumped in to the water with the knowledge that the Royalists had a four goal mountain to bridge, just to even things up. That mountain grew even steeper as the Thomians struck first, with Sachitha Jayathilake finding the star of the first leg Deelaka Weerarathne, who coolly lobbed it over the goal keeper to make it 1-0 for the second leg. Jayathilake then went on to add to the score board himself, as the Thomians made good use of an extra man situation to score their second and extend the overall lead to six. The Royalists seemed to have come in with a set game plan that revolved around taking more shots from range, and getting the ball to a couple of key players as much as possible, but a combination of some poor passes, and good defensive work by the Thomians saw them unable o get on the score board in the opening quarter. Isura Kahandawala in particular was very good defensively,
creating turnovers for his team on numerous occasions.
The second quarter brought about drama, and two golden opportunities for Royal College to get on the scoreboard. The Thomian prop Jayathilake was penalized when a Royal defender comically fished out a “box” as the protective guard is colloquially known, after a tussle with the prop for the ball. The captain Chandula Fernando stepped up but was unable to beat the Thomian Goalkeeper Kosala Wijeywardena. The Royalists next golden opportunity came when the Thomians were punished with a two man exclusion, leaving the Royalists with a great chance to score. Chandula Fernando once again took it upon himself to try for goal, but was unable to penetrate the Thomian defence, as what looked to be a promising play for Royal quickly turned to the exact opposite.The Thomians countered fast after the shot was stopped, and Deelaka Weerarathne once again found himself one on one with the opposing goalkeeper, slotting in the ball easily. Ashane Francis then scored a fourth, and an embarrassing rout was in the offing but The Royalists were finally able to make their own mark on the score sheet as skipper Fernando finally found the back of the net, keeping things at 4-1 as the teams headed into half time.
The second half was a much better affair for the Royalists as they fought back hard, scoring six goals to the Thomians’ three. Basith Yakoob and Senith Samaranayake score one apice in response to an Ashane Francis goal, before the Royalists were hit by the loss of Rifat Uwais, who was asked to leave the pool after four exclusion fouls. Ashane Francis then scored yet another goal for S. Thomas’ but the loss did not seem to deter the Royalists as they went on to score four unanswered goals. Anthony Wijewardene and Kisal Asalarachchi scored the first two of these four, followed by a penalty awarded to the Royalists that was slotted in by Basith Yakoob. Asalarachchi then scored a second goal, giving the Royalist the lead in a leg for the first time this year. They would have hoped to take a consolation second leg win home with them, but Deelaka Weerarathne had other plans, fittingly scoring the final goal of the encounter completing his seventh goal and a second hat trick.
