Colombo-Negombo clash at teen soccer finals
The first semi-final of the Kotmale Chox Under-19 Schools Football Championship will get underway tomorrow between two top sides,
Maris Stella College: Anton Fernando, P. A. Jeewantha, Subashana Fernando, Dilan Corera, Mithunga Fernando, Rukmal Gunawardana, Malshan Grero, Udayanga Fernando, Chamil Fernando, Supun Fonseka, Sisith Mabelka, Nimesh Fernando, Emilton Perera, Levan Kusala, Malshan Kweju, Nisal Silva, Priyankara Fernando, Anjana Gunewardana, Isuru Fernando, Nilan Fonseka, Vishan Piero, Mohamed Sajid, Sandeep Fernando, Dilip Peiris, H.M. Indhan.
Maris Stella College Negombo and Zahira College Colombo at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo. The match will kickoff at 3.00pm with both sides looking at achieving the same objective but in different ways.
The cynosure will be on Maris Stella who are yet to experience a defeat so far in the competition while the football-mad Zahira, fielding mostly youngsters, will look at putting a perfect finish to their false start. This semi-final clash will be evidently crucial for both sides.
The unbeaten and heavy-scoring Maris Stella boys will look forward to maintain their unblemished record while despite suffering a defeat in the opening game; Zahira will be aiming a spot in the final. The current progress of the competition makes Maris Stella the definite favourites after recording wins in the league stage as well as the quarter-final clash against equally strong St. Benedict’s College.
Their last win against the fancied Bens was a motivating factor for the Maris Stella boys who scored three goals against one at Kotahena. So far their forward line has combined well, putting the finishing touches by placing the ball into the nets most of the time.
Zahira College: Azeem Azmy, Mohamed Humaid, A.H.M. Usman, A. Shakir, M. Musharraf, Mohamed Shafir, Mohamed Farooth, Mohamed Shaheel, Aqeel Ahamed, Ijaz Ishan, Zulfikar Ahamed, Sabry Sardhar, Sharan Sathar, Aadhil Ahamed, Seyed Hussain Ajaffas, Mohamed Yoosuf, Mohamed Muneer, M.S.A. Raheem, Mohamed Hammadh, Mohamed Akeel, Mohamed Aadhil, Mohamed Rizmy, U.R. Rahman, M.N.A. Asfaque, Mohamed Mifras.
Center forward Dulaj Pieris is having an excellent competition with 11 goals to his credit, which makes him the highest scorer of the tournament. He is well supported by right extreme Ashen Jeewantha, who just returned from a once-in-a-lifetime training camp experience with the Manchester United FC in Old Trafford. In addition their left extreme, Samitha Sulakshana is also in fine form and has been a great contributor for Maris Stella.
The most interesting point in tomorrow’s semi-final will be on how the Maris Stella strikers penetrate the solid defence of Zahira. But their progress and the end result of the game played up to now, gives an impression that the task is not so daunting for them. On their way to the semi-final Maris Stella recorded heavy wins, 5-0 against S. Thomas’ College Mt. Lavinia, 4-0 against Royal College, 6-2 against St. Mary’s College Negombo and a 10-0 thrashing against Royal Institute before pounding St. Benedict’s in the knockout stage. The team from Negombo, which has three Sri Lanka Schools players, is led by Anton Fernando and is coached by Sugath Perera.
On the other hand their opponents Zahira may look forward to validate its colourful and rich football history, with a deserving win. The lads from Maradana suffered a shocking 2-4 loss against arch rivals in football, Hameed Al-Husseinia College. This game was well poised in their favour after drawing first blood in the third minute from the start but the end was unexpected. However they recovered well after learning from mistakes to hand Lumbini College a 5-0 thrashing.
After receiving a walk over from the British School in Colombo Zahira went on to beat Hindu College 2-0 in their final group game. But their true potential was portrayed against the much fancied Joseph Vaz College Wennappuwa, where Zahira managed to stand tall with a 1-0 victory after a great battle.
This is a great step-forward considering the fact that the side is made up with seven Under-17 players. But they have Mohamed Usman and Mohamed Humaid, the two Sri Lanka Schools footballers. The side, coached by Mohamed Roomy, will heavily rely on Usman, who is the goalkeeper of the side and defender Humaid. Mohamed Azain leads the side.
The winner of this clash will take on the team that advances from the second semi-final clash to be played next Friday at 3.30pm, between two of the front runners of the competition, St. Peter’s College and De Mazenod College. The finals will be played on August 19 at the Sugathadasa Stadium from 2.00pm. The losing semi-finalists will clash in the Third Place Playoff at 2.00pm while the two winning sides will clash for the ultimate supremacy from 3.30pm on that day.
The Kotmale Chox Under-19 Football Championship which managed to add excitement and colour to schools football featured 20 teams including four international schools, participating on league and knockout format. The tournament is conducted by the Football Federation of Sri Lanka.