Air Force got thrashed in the first week of the season against Kandy to 78 – 09 and yet again they suffered a big blow as the full time score stood in favor of the hosts Kandy 66 (T10 C8) – Air Force 27 (T3 C3 P2)in week 14 at Nittawela today.
Fazil Marija kicked off the game and Air force struggled to receive the high ball early on. Koto Pongi made a huge impact in the first half as he was using all his strength to destroy the airmen. At the third minute of play Pongi took three defenders in to him and off loaded to Richard Dharmapala who then passed to Christopher Cloete to score the first try. It was a try fest for the hosts from then as they ran 10 times in to opposite post. Roshan Weerarathna added the extras. (Kandy 07 – 00 Air Force)
Hilariously both Pongi and Oscar Ouma were terrific and both the players right boot came flying back 15m, it was seen that airmen went so low to tackle the giant foreigners. Gayantha Iddamalgoda the Air Force scrum half was sin-binned for a foul play in the ruck. Marija with his dancing feet used a long pass to Anurudda Wilwara who made a zig zag run with his usual twinkling feet to score in the corner. Soon after that Lavanga Perera scored in a similar fashion as Wilwara in the other corner of the park. (Kandy 19 – 00 Air Force)
Cloete showing his kicking skills with a peach of a 60m spiral kick to gain territory on lose play was fascinating to watch. Kandy going in to opposite 22m saw Cloete scoring his second with a quick tap & run. Vilikesa Koilage and Opeti Delana the visiting center duo had to put a 150% work rate both in attack and defence as the local players relied heavily on them. Delana’s wonderful break and offload to Suranga Arunashantha saw Airmen scoring first try.
Cloete beat Apisai Naqaliva’s highest try scorer tag so far with his hat-trick and just before half time Wilwara had juicy chance to score but he was undone in the try line by Charith Senevirathne’s solid defense.
Half Time – Kandy 33 (T5, C4) – Air Force 07 (T1, C1)
Soon after the restart Pongi became a little naughty in the ruck and Aruna Rankothge the referee sent him to the chair as a result Nuwan Perera manage to get three more points with a penalty. However, it did not bother for Sean Wijesinghe’s men as Marija sent another long ball which was collected by Richard Dharmapala who scored the try. For the Air Force Opeti Delana over powered three Kandy defenders and off loaded to his countryman Koilagi who had a well-deserved try. (Kandy 40 – 17 Air Force)
Kandy gaining most of possession and territory from a driving maul had Mohamed Ali scoring the next try. Damith Dissanayaka played a major role in the pack for the hosts. Wilwara back from injury found an inside ball through a set phase and scored his second try. Kishore Jehan the bulky prop also put his name in the score sheet with a try. Kandy hands on ruck allowed Perera to add three more points to men in blue. (Kandy 61 – 20 Air Force)
Air Force played much better than they did in first few weeks though their pattern of play was defensive and attacking strategy was so poor. Surely there is something for the coaching staff to work with. Arshad Jamaldeen who replaced for Marija also made a fine try but he failed to convert his own try. Patemeo Kocoturaga who came from the visiting bench also made some good yards and his off load to Lahiru Weerasinghe the full back had the chance to score the final try of the match.
Full Time – Kandy 66 (T10, C8) – Air Force 27 (T3, C3, P2)
Referee – Anura Rankothge
ThePapare Player of the match – Damith Dissanayake (Kandy)
