Visakha Vidyalaya was able to come on top in an enthralling game of water polo, beating Ladies’ College to claim the Eddirisuriya Trophy for the fourth consecutive year.
The Visakhians opened the scoring in the first quarter, with Limashi Kosgodage continuing her fine run of form from the BC-VV match, opening the tally for her team. Ladies College managed to quickly swing back the momentum in their favour however, with two great long range goals, firstly through Sashi Weerawarana, and then through Shenara David taking advantage of a Visakha exclusion, scoring a fantastic goal to give Ladies’ the lead going into the break. For their part, Visakha seemed too impatient when attacking, rushing into shots and ultimately having nothing to show for it apart from Limashi’s early goal.
Luck was with the Visakhians in the second quarter, as captain Aneka Abeywickramas shot on goal was deflected by one of the defender, completely wrong footing the goalie and giving her no chance of stopping it. Aneka undid some of her good work at the other end however, getting herself excluded which led to Ladies’ reclaiming the lead once again with Anoushka Tissera beating the keeper from a very tight angle. Visakha Vidyalaya had settled down bythis time, shedding the impatience that hindered them in the first quarter, and it led to a fantastic goal by Tusari Ekanayake, finding the top corner from far out, levelling the score once again. Visakha then displayed some great tactical manouvering, with the two wing switching up, leaving the Ladies’ defence absolutely helpless before Shaleena Peiris scored from close range to give Visakha the lead for the first time. They then doubled the lead shortly afterwards, with Limashi scoring her second goal through a long range shot, but the girls from Flower Road hit back immediately, with Sashi Weerawarana scoring her second goal to bring the deficit back up to one. Ladies had an opportunity to level the score before half time, with a long ball finding Anoushka Tissera on the counter attack before she was able to draw the exclusion. The opportunity was wasted however, and at halftime the score read 5-4 in favour of Visakha Vidyalaya.
The 3rd quarter started with Ladies having a two girl advantage, due to a double exclusion that had occurred at the stroke of half time. They were unable to capitalize however, as Visakha won the swimball for the first time in the game, eliminating any danger from that situation. Both teams then saw a number of their shots failing to find the target, with Visakha being denied twice by the crossbar. They finally managed to notch up another goal when captain Aneka drew in two defenders before chipping the ball to Limashi, who had all the tima and space in the world to shoot from long range, completing yet another hat trick and putting Visakha firmly in the driving seat. Ladies refused to bow down however and it was upto Nimashi de Silva, the star in the under 15 game, to score from out wide to bring the deficit back down to one.
The fourth quarter was a tit for tat exchange as both teams took turns in scoring goals. Shaleena Peiris scored two for Visakha, completing her hat trick in the process, while Athulya Maddegoda and Shenara David ensured that Ladies weren’t left too far behind, both goals coming off some patient passing in an extra man situation. With one minute left on the clock, Limashi Kosgodage took it upon herself to put the game beyond doubt, scoring her fourth goal of the game and ensuring that when the full time whistle blew shortly afterwards, it was her team that was celebrating.
Full Time VV 09 – 07 LC
