Eric Hulangamuwa Trophy contest ends in scoreless draw

The third annual encounter for the Eric Hulangamuwa Trophy, played in Matale between St. Thomas’s Matale and S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia, ended in a scoreless draw.

Proceedings began with St. Thomas’s Matale’s school band leading the two teams out along with the school authorities and Old Boys walking towards the Edward Park hockey grounds with large crowds cheering on the teams. 

With Matale being famous for hockey over the years, interest and support for the game is strong with a large crowd gathering at the grounds. The game was sponsored by Nations Trust Bank and Ceylinco Life Insurance Ltd.

The Under-16 teams were introduced to the officials and the game commenced with rainclouds looming in the distance. The teams from both schools were playing a pass-and-play game with the boys from Mount Lavinia exerting more pressure. However, the weather gods were unfair and play was disrupted towards the end of the first half. Thereafter the match officials decided to call off the game, with both teams unable to score and the match ending in a scoreless draw.

The much anticipated 1st XI encounter for the Eric Hulangamuwa Trophy commenced with the duration of the game being reduced to 20 minutes per half. Amidst the large crowds supporting the Matale boys, the boys from Mount Lavinia held their own against their opponents. The first half ended scoreless and the scoreline remained unchanged until the final whistle was blown. 

Rahal Rabukpotha from STC, Mount Lavinia was awarded the Indrawansa Herath Challenge Trophy for the Best Player in the 1st XI encounter. The Eric Hulangamuwa Trophy will be shared between the two schools this year.

The Old Boys encounter was an addition to this year’s edition of the competition and was played amidst a more relaxed atmosphere. The Old Thomians’ Hockey Union (OTHU) Mount Lavinia presented a special commemorative plaque to the Matale Old Boys which was gracefully accepted by Ranjith Wijekoon, an Old Boy of STC, Matale who was a distinguished national hockey player and former representative of the Asian team. 

The match commenced with the Old Boys playing a slow stop-and-pass game due to wet ground conditions. Heshan Fernando from STC, Mount Lavinia received a short corner pass to the top of the dee and took a hard shot which went past the goalkeeper and sounded the boards. That score remained the same until the end of play. The grand awards ceremony was graced by a distinguished gathering, namely Palitha Kohona – former Ambassador to the UN and former Secretary to the Foreign Ministry, Anura Dissanayake - Secretary to the Mahaweli Ministry, Presidents Counsel Mohan Weerakoon, Rev Fr. Marc Billimoria – Warden STC Mount Lavinia and K.A.J. Kulasooriya – Principal STC, Matale. 

Sponsor Nations Trust Bank was represented by Chandana Dodanwela –Senior Manager Emerging Markets and Dinesh Marasinghe – Branch Manager while the other main sponsor Ceylinco Life Insurance Ltd. was represented by Priyantha Bandara – AGM and Senaka Bandara – Branch Manager.