Football: St. Joseph’s and Royal clash for Under-18 Schools Division I title

Defending champions St. Joseph's College, Colombo will take on Royal College, Colombo in the All-Island Schools Under-18 Division I Football final for the prestigious Renown President’s Trophy at the Sugathadasa Stadium on Sunday (13), with the kick-off set at 3.30pm. 

St. Joseph’s finished second in their group beating De Mazenod College, Kandana 4-2, Kingswood College, Kandy 8-1, Royal College, Colombo 6-3, Holy Cross, Kalutara 3-0, Maris Stella College, Negombo 2-1 and lost to Zahira College, Colombo 0-1. 

In the quarter final Joes beat Al Aqsa College, Kinniya 4-2 and in the semi-final thrashed Kinniya Central 4-0 to reach their third consecutive final. The Josephians are the leading scorers in the tournament with 32 goals. 

The team is led by Sachinthaka Perera and ably supported by vice captain Kaviendya Rupasinghe. St. Joseph’s is coached by AFC 'B' License holder, Anura Sampath. 

Royal College, Colombo had been performing admirably in the last few seasons but to reach this year’s final is a great achievement considering they finished only third in their group. 

In the group they lost to St. Joseph’s 3-6, lost to Colombo Zahira 0-1, drew with Maris Stella 2-2 and winning the last three beating Kalutara Holy Cross 1-0, Kingswood 1-0 and De Mazenod 2-1 to qualify for the final round.    

They beat football powerhouse St. Patrick’s College, Jaffna in the quarter-final and Zahira, Colombo in the semi-final. 

Both matches ended drawn 1-1 after regular time with Royal winning the ensuing penalty shootouts. 

The team is led by Sisan Prabudda and is coached by AFC 'B' License holder Mohamed Roomy, who took reigns at Royal College last year. 

St. Joseph’s College squad: Sachinthaka Perera (Captain), Kaviendya Rupasinghe (Vice Captain), J.A.D.S.S. Jayasinghe, Shenal Sandesh Pingho, K.H. Rony Joy, Jonathan Thomas, P.I.S. Fernando, R.E. Fernando, A.S.L.D. Silva, Shenal Suriyage, D. Cramer, I.P.S. Rashminda, P.P. Gimhan, N. Lakshithan, Anas Hussain, O.T. Jayawardene, K.A.D.K. Perera, M. Denver, C.J.E. Pietersz, Rogan Fernando 

Royal College squad: Kaveesha Shishan Prabudda (Captain), Mohammed Ammar (Vice Captain), Chenura Dias, Mohammed Wassim, Malith Widanage, Michale Gunarathne, Umar Ismath, Mohammed Hamdi, Mohammed Nafeez, Mohammed Saajid, Mavith Kavishaka, Basith Ameen, Inaam Ul Islam, Shamri Faizer, Mishraf (Goalkeeper)