The 15th encounter played for the Orville Abeynaike Memorial Trophy which was held yesterday (12th of November 2014) concluded with the 1st XI Hockey team of Royal College retaining the trophy for the 8th consecutive year!

The crowd gathered at the S. Thomas’ College grounds at 2.30pm for the second time within the past fortnight, since they were sent back the first time (4th November 2014) as the match was postponed due to heavy rain.

The action commenced with the old boys match which raised the curtains for an undoubtedly incredible day for Hockey of both schools! After all this was the big match.

The players of the 1st XI teams of Royal College and S. Thomas’ College, lead by Shaheer Bari and Sachin Rajan respectively, took their places on the field as the clock chimed 4 O’clock, amidst the many “R”s and “T”s that came from the diehard supporters of these hallowed institutions. The first 30 minutes of play displayed sheer talent by both the teams, but Royal proved to be the better side at the end of the first half after Thineth Karunarathne scored the first goal for Royal! The lead continued to extend even during the 2nd half, after two spectacular goals scored by Malithra Yoshan and Nelaka Wedagama respectively.

The referee blew his whistle marking the conclusion of the match after an hour of exciting hockey action of which the end result was yet another Royal victory with the scoreboard reading 3-0! Imaadh Dole was felicitated as the best player for his entertaining and strategical approach which indeed paved the way for the Royal victory.

A wonderful day for Royal sports (see adjoining news article) concluded with the Royal skipper Shaheer Bari lifting the Orville Abeynaike memorial trophy once again!

Tally:   Royal 5   :   S. Thomas’ 7   :   Draw 3

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