At the end of January, we hosted a ‘Super 8’ competition for the top four local schools and top four international schools. It provided a great opportunity for our team to make up for their disappointing exit on penalties in the Semi-Finals of the Inter International Schools tournament last term and to see how we compared to the best teams from local schools.

We made a good start by defeating a strong side from St. Jospeh’s in our first group match. We took an early two goal lead, before St. Joseph’s pulled one back, but we were strong enough to hold on. Draws in our other matches were sufficient to take us through to the Semi-Finals as group winners.

The Semi-Final against St. Peter’s was one of the best games our team has played. We were ahead for most of the game but a late equaliser against the run of play took the match into extra time. With the tension rising as extra time drew to an end, we won a last-minute penalty. The entire game rested on Jaah Ziyad’s shoulders but he nervelessly stroked the ball home, sealing a famous victory.

Facing us in the Final were the favourites, St. Benedict’s College, All-Island Football Champions for the last five years. Their side contained several national players, including some who play at Under-23 level, so it was a daunting task for our team. It certainly looked that way at the start as we went two goals down in the opening minutes. Our boys were not to be overwhelmed, however, and fought back strongly, narrowing the deficit after Jaah scored and keeping within a goal of St. Benedict’s until a late free kick sealed their victory.

Our team deserves to be tremendously proud of their achievements. They emerged as the top international school and gave the best football school in the country a real fright, despite playing against schools with thousands of boys to choose from. With the nucleus of the side remaining intact, we can look forward to more success next year.

Group Matches: St. Joseph’s Won 2-1 (Jaah, Arshad)
CIS Drew 1-1 (Hong)
Isipathana Drew 0-0
Semi-Final: St. Peter’s Won 2-1 (Christian, Jaah)
Final: St. Benedict’s Lost 1-3 (Jaah)

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