The Inaugural Water Polo Encounter between Royal College and Nalanda College, Colombo was held on Saturday, the 27th of May 2017 at the Royal College Swimming Pool. The match began at 4.30 p.m. following the arrival of the two respective Principals, along with the other invitees, and was played in a full house, drawing in large crowds from both schools, with Royal emerging victorious with a final score of 15 – 08.
Royal dived ahead less than a minute in to the game with a swift goal from Dulanjan Fernando, and moved on to a comfortable 4 goal lead, with goals from Shamod Edirisinghe, Isiwaruna De Silva and Sawinda Dissanayake. A. Perera scored for Nalanda at the end of the quarter, for Royal to go into the 2nd quarter with a 4 – 1 lead.
The 2nd quarter saw a more improved performance from Nalanda, with goals from S. Perera and R. Jayathilaka, but opposing goals from Omira Lokuge, Isiwaruna De Silva and Dilisha De Fonseka saw the Royalists stay ahead, going into half time with the scores at 7 – 3.
Royal were once again dominant in the 3rd quarter, which saw the Nalanda Goal Keeper earn himself a Yellow card, with two quick goals from Nithila Illukpitiya, along with goals from Shamod Edirisinghe and Isiwaruna De Silva. S. Perera scored Nalanda’s solitary goal to close out the 3rd quarter with the scores at 11 – 04.
The final quarter of the match was more competitive, with Nalanda giving a desperate last-minute effort to score four goals, including an early penalty, off A. Perera (3) and R. Jayathilaka, which Royal matched with goals from Sawinda Dissanayake (2), Dulanjan Fernando and Dilisha De Fonseka. The match ended with a score of 15 – 08, with Royal emerging victorious, and Sawinda Dissanayake and Isiwaruna De Silva top-scoring with three goals apiece.
The match was refereed by S. Abeywardana and S. M. Ranasinghe

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