After 15 years of existence, Isipathana and Kingswood both have four
President’s trophies each to brag about and the 1st semi final of this
year’s tournament today at Royal Complex shall be a critical milepost
for whoever is willing to take a focused turn at usurping their
opponent of the even pedestal they presently live.
Isipathana
could be more ravenous since their final nexus with the knockout
trophy was way back in 2001 and since their withering; Kingswood and
St.Peter’s have pressingly accumulated three titles on the trot. With
St.Peter’s having jolted their path into the semi finals with a hard
fought victory over Science, increasingly the odds favour for a five
time champion although Trinity might disagree.
Kingswood’s plain sailing against St.Anthony’s may be the cushion
they needed to stir up their spirits and the two Perera’s –Oshan and
Lavanga- will be ready to unleash their fury. Their form has stuttered
during the year, but a straight shootout is an ideal place to spring
back to life.
Coach Nalaka Weerakkody was safe in his
assessment but was ensured they’ll leave everything on the field.
"St.Anthony’s game was a nice start to us, but that’s gone. This is a
new match and we’ll see." Asked whether a 5th title was high on the
agenda, Weerakkody was quick to reiterate that they’ll plan game by
game. "We don’t want to put undue pressure onto ourselves. Before the
final we have a major trap to escape in Isipathana. Let’s talk about
the final if we qualify."
Isipathana, fresh off their most fruitful league season after a long
time will be itching to strike gold when the iron is hot. If not for a
cruel penalty kick which went astray in the match against eventual
champions Royal, the last rites could have been so different, but as it
unfolded a meagre point is what separated the two sides. Devinda
Prasad, the fly half and the captain, has been in first class form all
over the season and his playmaking expertise could be one aspect
Kingswood should watch out for. Sajid Suhaib is as versatile as he is
stylish and the tackles he has orchestrated has allowed Isipathana to
block others scorecard from moving.
Speaking to ‘The Island’
coach Viraj Prasanna was point blank in that Isipathana is going to
come out victorious. "Their side is a good side, but we are a better
side. The match is going to competitive, it always is when you face
Kingswood, but I’m very confident that we can pull this off."
Isipathana didn’t have the luxury of a quarter final as they were
awarded a walkover, but Prasanna was confident that it won’t be an
issue to write home about. "No, I don’t think it’ll have any harmful
effect. We played a friendly match against Army B that day." And
Isipathana coach mentioned the necessity of drug tests before the match
too. "I have asked our committee to do tests on all my players. That’s
a step everyone should take I feel in these times, "he said.
If
confidence is the material, Isipathana have already won this game and
they’ll step in to Royal Sports Complex as the favourites, but as
sporting history suggests, making pre-conclusions are shallow and
Kingswood could have something up their sleeve. Last time these two
teams got together it ended in a nervous 10-5 triumph for Isipathana.
Both possess strong backlines and whoever guards better will have gone a
long way for the final.
Squads-
Isipathana- Nipuna Devinda, Prasad Madusanka,
Thusitha Yasodha, Arun Kumar, Ganindu Lakshan, Wasala Wimalaweera,
Kumendra Dharmadasa, Sajid Suhaib, Kavindu Costa, Prasad Devinda
(captain), Shenal Dias, Shamal Chathuranga, Ashan Gallage, Mekalanka
Pramod, Chanaka Kumara. Reserves- Udaya Kumara, Danuka Dissanayake,
Shenal Deelaka, Hastha Udyoga, Sudeera Shamantha, Pabasara Madhawa,
Malin Jumadh, Hirantha Perera, Uditha Premathilake, Panchama Chanaka.
Kingswood- Chamila Abeygunaratne, I C Samarakoon, S R Fernando, R R Premathilake, S Vithanage, N N Jayasinghe, U K Ariyaratne, Kalhara Silva, A Borhan, Lavanga Perera, Mohammad Nazri, H M Bandara, Oshan Perera, K P Piyasena, Thilina Weerasinghe. Reserves- K T Herath, R D Ilangangedara, A Medagedara, I C Kumara, K P Chathunga, K M Perera, N L Chathuranga, G H Piyumal, Buwanaka Wijebandara, S U Karunaratne.
Friday 23rd September, 2011 - The Island
