The lads from the hill country are on the lookout for a grandeur finish to their 2015 football season with a celebrated title win against S.Thomas’ College in the Annual Football Big Match encounter that is expected to kick off on Thursday, October 15th.
Football came into existence in the school on the hills shortly after rugby was introduced and had been around the livelihoods of the Trinitians for decades. Trinity College has hit its forte in the ball sport many times in the bygone eras and is still in the process of making their breakthrough in the 21st century.
Strong season
The 2015 season has been quite considerate for the Lions who fielded in a fresh side with few players who had donned the college jersey in the previous year. The Trinity 1st XI team finished in the quarterfinals losing out to St. Henry’s College Jaffna in the All Island Public Schools tournament that was concluded in Jaffna few weeks back. The Lions were triumphant earlier this year winning the Central Province schools football title that gave them the qualification for the Public Schools competition.
Other than that, Trinity had registered a land sliding 10-1 win against St. Anthony’s College in their annual friendly encounter. Their comparatively successful run can only be overshadowed by their disappointing 3-1 loss to Kingswood College few days back.
The Lions have had the edge against the Thomians in the annual encounter winning three out of the five encounters they have played since 2010. One game ended up in a draw whilst S. Thomas’ kept the shield in Mount Lavinia for the first time last year. Progressing from last year’s defeat, the contingent from the hill country are all set to regain the trophy in this sixth edition.
Out to regain the shield
Defensive midfielder Tharindu Pitawala leads the Trinity side for this 2015 season and has been a delight to look forward to. Pitawala will heavily rely on his two wings, Wasath Kodithuwakku and Ayesha Edirisinghe to create the goal scoring opportunities when it matters the most. Ayesha Edirisinghe stole the limelight earlier this year in the schools rugby season coming in as a replacement in the fullback position and will look to utilize his expertise in this version of the ball game.
Aiding him will be third-year player Dinura Ediriweera who scored the only goal in the Kingswood game. Despite his small build, Ediriweera is competent of making the sprints in the set pieces in creating opportunities in the middle. The Trinitians will also have the assistance of Ravishka Herath who was a part of the initial Sri Lankan U19 squad and he would want to prove that he is top quality material.
“We are confident ahead of the big clash this time. Last year we did not have a proper team to play so we had to give it away. This time around we are prepped up to give it our best shot and to bring back the shield” added Wasath Kodithuwakku.
The lack of game time will be Trinity’s weakness, as they did not participate in the Kotmale Chox championship at the national level whilst their opponents have had a comprehensive season gaining adequate exposure. In Trinity’s defense will be their home advantage since this year’s encounter will take place in Pallekelle.
Squad:
Pitawala, W. Kodithuwakku, G. Pethiyagoda, A. Edirisinghe, D. Ediriweera, G. Liyanage, S. Amarakoon, A. Shajehan, A. Babaranda, A. Fernando, N. Jayalath, R. Herath, S. Wijewardena, R. Jayasinghe, D. Jayasinghe, H. Weragoda, M. Samarasinghe, M. Prishanth, U. L. Girihagama, T. Liyanage
