Gateway’s dominance in football continues
View(s):The tournament, which was held at the Gateway Seeduwa Sports Complex and Gateway College Ratmalana grounds, saw Gateway become group stage champions with a 1-0 victory over Elizabeth Moir School and a 2-1 win over Lyceum International School, Panadura.
The victorious Gateway football team
As the tournament progressed, the Gateway Under-16 team began to find their rhythm and started to dominate possession in midfield and attack, proving too strong for their opponents. In the quarter-finals Gateway scored seven goals past Lyceum International School, Ratnapura to win 7-0, before beating Gateway College, Kandy 3-0 in the semis. Despite being 1-0 down in the first half of the final against Lyceum International School, Panadura, the Gateway team overpowered their opponents in the second half to achieve a fantastic 7-1 win.
Despite a slow start, Gateway managed to score 20 goals throughout the tournament. The captain of Gateway, Nusraan Nazeer, was adjudged Player of the Tournament, with a commanding display from the centre of midfield. His skillful play and strong finishing contributed to his eight goals and the Golden Boot award. This award was shared with Gateway striker Rehan Jayesingha and Horizon College’s Dulina Wickremasinghe, who also netted eight times throughout the tournament. Gateway College picked up further awards with midfielder Hamood Rizwan awarded Player of the Final and Imadh Shareek, Best Goalkeeper having only conceded twice during the tournament.
For the second consecutive year Gateway College, Colombo won the Under-16, Under-18 and Under-20 International Schools titles. This treble winning school has also faired very well at the national school level having just been placed third at the prestigious Hameed Al Husseinie President’s Cup, as well as placing third at the recently held Zahira College Super 16 Tournament, showcasing Gateway College as one of the strongest footballing schools in the country under the guidance of the head coach James Heath and his dedicated team of coaches.