Northern crowned champions as record crowd witness final in Jaffna

By Susil Premalal reporting from Jaffna

Northern Province won the Independence Trophy 2022 Ceylon Inter-Province Trophy final against Southern 3-1 with an unbeaten record after 33 matches were played.

The eight-team tournament, conducted by Football Sri Lanka (FSL), kicked off in January.

The final was played at Duraiappah Stadium in Jaffna and attracted over 10,000 fans from the Northern and Southern teams. It is a record attendance for this stadium.

A northern team is winning a national-level tournament for the first time in several years.
Northern played 10 matches during the tournament, winning eight and drawing two.

FSL awarded LKR 50,000 each to the champion Northern teams’ players and officials, while the runner-up Southern team received LKR 25,000 each.

The final, graced by Sports Minister Namal Rajapakse as chief guest, was not closely contested as expected. Northern enjoyed a 2-0 lead at half-time.

Northern skipper V. Vignesh scored the opening goal in the 23rd minute, while K. Thenushan doubled their lead in the 45th minute. In the 59th minute, Mariyadasan Nidarshan scored the third goal.
Southern scored a consolation goal through Keshan Dimidu in the 85th minute.

 Special Awards:
Fair Play - Eastern
Golden Glove - Mohammed Mursith (Eastern)
Golden Ball - Mariyadasan Nidarshan (Northern)
Emerging Player of the Tournament - Mohammed Munsith (Eastern)