Maris Stella College – Negombo, St. Joseph’s College – Colombo, Hameed Al Husseinie College and St. Patrick’s College – Jaffna will battle it out in the semi-finals of the inaugural ThePapare Football Championship 2018.

Maris Stella College v St. Joseph’s College (1st Semi-Final)

Maris Stella College will meet St. Joseph’s College in the 1st semi-final on 14th December at 3.00pm at the Sugathadasa Stadium.

Maris Stella College

The Maristonians topped their group (Group B) with 10 points, winning 3 games and drawing 1. Maris Stella finished the group stage scoring the second highest number of goals in the tournament with 15, conceding only thrice.

  • Road to the Semi-Final

Maris Stella battled Bandaranayaka College in their opening fixture and ran riot with a humiliating 8-0 victory. Skipper Tharinda Silva bagged an impressive 4 goals while Ravindu Fernando added a brace. Mohamed Shifan and Ravindu Rishan chipped in with a goal each.

Maris Stella then came back from behind to beat St. Sebastian’s College in a 3-1 win, before drawing 1-1 against St. Patrick’s College.

The Maristonians faced De Mazenod in their final group game and needed a win to secure their spot as group winners. Rajindu Fernando opened the scoring before a brace by Skipper Tharinda Silva saw them come out with a 3-1 victory.

Maris Stella clashed against Mahajana College in the quarter-finals where goals by Rajindu Fernando and Tharinda Silva were once again enough to book their place in the semi-finals.

  • Key Players

Maristonian goalkeeper Prakash Perera has had a great tournament so far, conceding just 3 goals in 5 games, a record which sees them having conceded the least number of goals in the tournament thus far.

His quick reflexes have seen him pull off some great saves, and if he can continue his great form, it is hard to see Maris Stella concede.

Captain Tharinda Silva is currently the leading goal scorer of the tournament with an impressive 8 goals out of Maris Stella’s incredible 17 goals in 5 games. He has set the tone for his side and they will look to him to lead them on into the final. His pace and composure in front of goal could prove decisive against any opposition defense.

St. Joseph’s College

Joes, despite being favorites to top their group (Group A), finished second with 6 points, winning just 1 of their 4 games, behind Gampola Zahira College. St. Joseph’s scored 9 goals in the group stage while conceding 5.

  • Road to the Semi-Final

St. Joseph’s College clashed against Mahinda College in their opening game. A brace by Asela Madushan and goals by Chamath Rashmitha, Dumidu Dulshan and Shenal Sandesh saw Joes register a formidable 5-2 win.

Joes then clashed against Gampola Zahira who were coming off a huge 4-2 win against Royal College. Despite having the lead on two occasions, they failed to hold on as the game ended in a 2-2 draw.

Live : Maris Stella College v St. Joseph’s College – Semi Final – ThePapare Football Championship 2018

Failure to secure all 3 points against Kingswood College and Royal College saw the Josephians finish the group in second.

St. Joseph’s met archrivals St. Peter’s College in the quarter-finals where they trailed 1-0 at half-time. Joes fought back in the second half with Shenal Sandesh pulling them back on level terms. Kavindya Rupasingha then scored the late winner to book their place in the Semi-finals of ThePapare Football Championship.

  • Key Players

Chamath Rashmitha has been one of St. Joseph’s most outstanding players in the tournament so far, having scored 3 goals.

Marshal Kodikara, the Joes Captain and goalkeeper, has made some incredible saves in the build up to the semi-finals. Kodikara is expected to recover in time for the semi-final after a collision saw him suffer a concussion in the quarter final.

Nimesh Cooray has been the heartbeat of St. Joseph’s controlling the game from the midfield. If Cooray can set the tempo early on, it will make life difficult for their opponents.

Shenal Sandesh meanwhile has stepped into Asela Madushan’s role well, leading their attack from the front and has scored 2 goals. Shenal’s composure in front of goal could prove to be the difference against Maris Stella.

Hameed Al Husseinie College v St. Patrick’s College (2nd Semi-Final)

Hameed Al Husseinie College will meet St. Patrick’s College in the 2nd semi-final on 14th December at 5.30pm at the Sugathadasa Stadium.

Hameed Al Husseinie College

Hameedia finished second in Group D with 6 points, similarly to group winners St. Peter’s College and third placed Zahira College Ginthota. A goal difference (GD) of +3 saw them finish above the boys from Galle who had a GD of -1 while the Peterites had +6.

  • Road to the Semi-Final

They met Baduriya Central College in their first match and came out with a narrow 2-1 win. Next up was Zahira College Ginthota, who shocked St. Peter’s College in week 1, the Hameedians showed their dominance however, registering a strong 4-0 victory.

Hameedia battled Gampola Zahira College in the quarter-finals, with the boys from Gampola topping their group. After a tough battle however the Hameedians stood tall, booking their spot in the final four with a 2-1 victory.

  • Key Players

The Hameedians skipper is a vital cog of Ratnam SC in the Dialog Champions League and his dominance in the midfield could prove decisive against any opponent. His link up plays with Mohamed Afkar and Mohamed Rishan will be crucial to their chances.

Mohamed Afkar has been having a good run of form so far, having scored 4 goals in the tournament, including the first goal of their quarter-final win.

St. Patrick’s College

The boys from Jaffna finished Group B in second place behind Maris Stella with 8 points. The Patricians scored the most goals in the group stage (16) while also conceding the least number of goals (3).

  • Road to the Semi-Final

The Jaffna boys made a dominant statement in their group, registering a massive 8-0 win in their opening match against Bandaranayaka College. St. Patrick’s were however held to a 1-1 draw by De Mazenod College and Maris Stella College at home.

This resulted in a must win game against St. Sebastian’s College if they were to qualify for the knockout stages. The Patricians outclassed their opponents to win 6-0 registering their place in the quarter-finals.

Live : Hameed Al Husseinie College v St. Patrick’s College – Semi Final – ThePapare Football Championship 2018

They faced a tough roadblock in the quarter-finals in the form of Zahira College. They seemed to have the game wrapped up in the first half with an incredible 3-0 lead.

A stunning comeback by the Zahirians however saw the game end 3-3 and go into a penalty shootout. St. Patrick’s held their nerve and won the shootout 5-4 and progressed into the final four.

  • Key Players

Rajikumar Santhan and Hamilton Hains have been two outstanding players for their side, with Santhan the second highest goal scorer in the tournament so far with 5 goals. Hains meanwhile has scored 4 thus far, with both the lads getting on the score sheet against Zahira.

Their goalkeeper R. Kijuman has been a wall in goal, conceding just 2 goals in the group stage and making two crucial saves in the quarter final penalty shootout.

The Semi Finals and the Final of ThePapare Football Championship will be streamed live and exclusive on ThePapare.com and Dialog TV on the 14th and 16th of December.

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