It finally happened. We went to Kathmandu for the football tournament we had been training three months for. Going into the tournament our team spirit was fantastic. All of us got along extremely well together and we were excited for this tournament. The team was very young. For many, it was their first SAISA Football tournament.
On the travelling day however, Wednesday 07.02.2018, I was not feeling well. I felt ill after training the previous day and had not gotten any better overnight. Our flight was very early, at 5.20 am therefore I had little sleep during the night as I had to be in the school premises by 2.00am for departure to the airport. I felt quite nervous, as I had been training for this tournament extensively over the past three months and I would not want to miss it because of a flu that I got on the day of travel… However, I remained positive and I tried to stay as covered as possible to not worsen my situation. The voyage was split into two with a transit in Mumbai. I slept for most of the flight as I wanted to rest as much as possible before our arrival in Kathmandu.
The approach to Kathmandu was very unique. Our plane was surrounded by mountains as we approached Kathmandu’s airport, the surroundings were beautiful. Outside temperature was quite chilly in Kathmandu, which was quite a change for most of us who had gotten used to the Sri Lankan heat. It was a pleasant change, and it was nice to get a chance to wear pullovers and hoodies. I felt cold however as I was already ill, therefore I was very keen to get to our host’s house as soon as possible to take some medicine and rest as much as possible to be fit for the match the next day.
My roommates, Dominic and Lukas, and I were very happy to finally arrive at our host”s house after a tiring night of travel. We were greeted cordially by our host’s husband, a Nepali man and we were shown our rooms which were very cozy. Afterwards, we devoted the night to rest in order to be fully fit for the game the next day.
OSC’s 2018 SAISA squad. Photo credits: Emma Shrestha
Thursday, 8th of February 2018
The opening day of SAISA Football 2018 began with the reunion of all the participating teams at Lincoln School Kathmandu. We were greeted by the hosts with a hearty opening ceremony during which we appreciated the beauty of sportsmanship and the efforts made by all participating schools in preparing for the tournament and being present.
Following the opening ceremony we soon took off to the grounds which were located approximately half an hour away from the school. The pitch was wider than the one we are used to at OSC, but was rather dry and firm in comparison. Furthermore, it was quite cold and windy so the atmosphere was very different to what we were all used to back in Sri Lanka.
After a 5 minute pitch inspection, we began our warm-up which was ensued by the coach’s selection of the starting line-up. The place was crowding up, students and parents of the players began coming in numbers to support the home team.
Our game was fast paced and very physical, as we had been expecting. The first half began brightly for us, however, we conceded a goal towards the end of it. During half-time our coaches spoke to us about the good and the bad and encouraged us to pull one back and challenge for the win. Although we started very positively with the creation of multiple chances, we were unfortunate to concede another goal at the end of the second half to allow the host’s a 2-0 win to start off their tournament strongly.
A last ditch tackle against Lincoln School. Picture Credits: Emma Shrestha
We were obviously gutted to have lost our first game but we did not let this demoralize us and we told ourselves to put it past and focus on the next game which was against Lahore American School in the afternoon. We had two hours of rest which we used to put into perspective our first game and deduce what we had to specifically improve.
Sooner than we knew it we had to be ready for the second game. This game was an interesting test because the last time they had participated in a SAISA tournament was 3 years ago. Unfortunately for us, the result did not go in our favor. The fatigue of the morning’s game, coupled by injuries on key players meant we lost the game 4-0.
To end off the day positively, we visited the famous Monkey Temple in Kathmandu. The view was incredible, and the experience was very unique as it was the first time I visited such a temple.
Friday, 9th of February 2018
Day 2 consisted of two games that were critical to win: one against Karachi American School and the other against The American International School of Dhaka.
We began our first game off the day against KAS very brightly with an abundance of opportunities, however, we had to wait until the closing stages of our first half to celebrate our first goal from the youngest player in our team, 13 year old Ben Palliyaguru. This raised our confidence and sent us into the break in high spirits. Following brief instructions, we went back on to the pitch to play the second half which proved to be a lot more difficult than the first. KAS were much more confident going forward and created more chances. We conceded after approximately 15 minutes. Although we fought back hard to squeeze in a goal and snatch the 3 points it was not to be and we had to be content with the 1-1 draw. The result was not what we had hoped for but we had to be satisfied with it and focus on the next game as we still had chances to qualify for the 7th and 8th place match.
Our game against Dhaka in the afternoon began strongly with the creation of many chances, however, an extremely strange and unexpected event occurred during the the beginning of the second half. A high tension electricity wire fell from one of its pillars onto the football pitch and landed with a massive thud a few feet away from me as I was about to make a throw-in. Had the wire fallen on me, I probably would have gotten severely electrocuted.
Our captain Hazeem Azhar winning the ball back for OSC. Picture Credits: Emma Shrestha
The coaches and officials were quick to take action and get all players off the field. As dangerous as it was, the situation was also extremely amusing as this was something none of us had encountered previously. We took the opportunity to catch our breaths, eat our meals and exchange pleasantries with some of our opponents.
After a break of about an hour, we resumed where we were interrupted. Mistakes of youth and inexperience in defense meant we lost the game 4-0, leaving us the game for 9th and 10th to play for the following day.
We were very upset, obviously, but Dhaka played much better than us and deserved the result.
Saturday, 10th of February 2018
Our game in the morning was against the International School of Islamabad and proved to be our best game of the tournament. This game was about pride, therefore it was essential that we won it. We started off strongly and soon took the lead through a header from Adrian, our central midfielder. However, ISOI fought back and headed one home themselves to make it 1-1. Our dominance really asserted itself after Andri came on as a substitute and scored a goal to make it 2-1. Shortly afterwards, inspired by the comeback Hazeem attempted a tentative strike from 30 yards out and scored a fantastic goal. With 5 minutes left on the clock and possession at our feet, there was no way back for ISOI.
We were relieved that we had won the game because we were very disappointed with most of the previous results.
The rest of the day consisted of spectating the other games and enjoying our final night in Kathmandu. We were entertained by some excellent football played by LAS and Lincoln School in particular and the night was culminated with a meal at Lincoln School and the awards ceremony.
We were exhausted however, so shortly after we got home we chose to just prepare our luggage for the flight the following day and rest.
Adrian Yanez against KAS! Picture Credits: Emma Shrestha
All in all, we were disappointed as a team to not have achieved what we had all trained for, however, we learnt a lot about playing in different conditions and most importantly the impact of experience and physical attributes in football. It was a wonderful experience, and I will miss SAISA very much!
LOUIS'S CAS BLOG 