Peshala Rajakaruna scored a second half brace as St.Peter’s College outplayed and out classed Hameed Al Husseinie in the quarter final of the Kotmale Chox Schools U19 Football Tournament with a 3-0 win at Kew Points road.
It was a dominant display of controlled and attacking football by the lads from Bambalapitiya which stifled the open football the golden boys of football, Hameed Al Husseinie are known for. St Peter’s have been in ruthless form in the group stages while Al Husseinie did not come across any formidable opponent and had a easy group stage.
However it was Al Husseinie from Kotahena who started off brightly in this explosive match with tackles flying in from everywhere. They controlled the game in the opening stages but the S.Peter’s defense held firm and thwarted any aggression from the Al Husseinie attack. The first opportunity came to Al Husseinie when they were awarded a free kick 30 yards out. It was an inviting cross which was well controlled by Keetige Sandaruwan but there weren’t anyone at the end of his cut back to score a goal.
Midway through the opening half S.Peter’s got into their own and started to make their mark on the game. They found a chink in the Al Husseinie armour, which was their vulnerability to set pieces. The defense as well as goalkeeper, Mahendran Dinesh’s uncertainty under the high ball produced a few errors but St Peter’s couldn’t take advantage of it.
St Peter’s continued the pressure and was rewarded when Mahendran Dinesh again misjudged a looping header by Isuru Sampath from a corner which went just under the crossbar and into the goal to give the lead in the 34th minute. Needing a positive reply Al Husseinie players had a crack at goal and produced a couple of saves from Pete’s goalkeeper Sasika Prabasara.
The Peterites had a few scares towards the end of the first half when Al Husseinie were awarded a free kick and captain Afeel Mohamed’s delivery was headed away but it fell to Mohomed Mujeeb who tried to lob it over the keeper but it went over the goal. Then Mohomed Rahuman went on a lung bursting run down the right flank leaving three defenders in his wake but a brilliant cover tackle by Michael Anandaraj made a stop to the wonderful run.
In the second half it was end to end football as both sides were in search of goals. Early on there was a close call for St Peter’s when Al Husseinie’s Mohomed Rahuman’s rebound effort of a free kick bounced off the upright and went out, while Sandaruwan tried too much trickery without taking a shot inside the Peterite penalty box and the chance was gone for the Kotahena lads.
On the other end Peterite trio of Suntharaj Niresh, Isuru Sampath and Afam Akram were creating havoc with opportunities after opportunities with the best falling to Akram when Isuru lobbed the ball over the defense which Akram controlled well but his volleyed effort was well saved by the Mahendran Dinesh. Then a free kick by Danusha Perera which was heading to the top left corner was brilliantly saved by Dinesh to keep Al Husseinie in the game.
After a penalty appeal by Al Husseinie players were turned down, Pete’s went on the counter attack with Akram driving to the byline and sending a cross towards the far post which was met by an unmarked Peshala Rajakaruna who gave a commanding 2-0 lead in the 78th minute to the utter shock of the Al Husseinie fans. Al Husseinie players were still not done for the day as they created three chances all of which were saved by Prabasara.
With Al Husseinie committing more players forward Peshala added the third deep into injury time with a wonderful run on the left flank past two defenders and slotting the ball past the on rushing Dinesh to the jubilation of the Peterite fans.
Ahamed Shakir’s goal enough to edge past Joseph Vaz
In another keenly contested encounter between two of the elite footballing school’s in Sri Lanka Zahira College defeated Joseph Vaz from Wennapuwa 1-0 to book their place in the semifinal of the Kotmale Chox U19 football tournament.
It was a enthralling encounter with both sides producing their finest attacking display’s but the defenses were equal to the task and the first half ended goalless. In the 72nd minute Ahamed Shakir gave Zahira College the lead and however much the Joseph Vaz attack tried they couldn’t breach the solid Zahira defense.
