The reds were forced to play with 14 for 35 minutes after Sharo Fernando was given a second yellow but, they managed to hold on to a hard-fought win by 31 points to 22 against a spirited Army SC in the Dialog Rugby League at Welisara.
It was the visitors who got off the blocks in a bang. The youngster Murshid Zubair drew first blood through a penalty in the 4th minute. Both teams played good free-flowing rugby from the word go and yet the initial stages belonged to the reds. Their first try came in the 13th minute when Milan Suranga barged over from the ruck. Zubair added the extras. (CR&FC 10 – Army SC 0)
The Army made a few inroads but their indiscipline was their downfall. Meanwhile, CR took matters in their own hands and punished Army in the first quarter. Their second try was scored by Zubair. Rahul was sent the from the ruck to Dinuk Amarasinghe who dragged the defenders on to him and then offloaded to Zubair who had ample space to sneak through. He was successful in the conversion as well. (CR&FC 17 – Army SC 0)
In the 28th minute, the rides changed. Sharo Fernando who was making a comeback after a suspension was found guilty for a shoulder charge and sent to the bin. The one-man advantage was used by the Soldiers who found their first try of the game. It was Isuru Madagedara who found the whitewash. From the scrum, the ball was sent across the field and Dikkumbura saw the overlap and drew the defenders towards him and got the offload to Madagedara. (CR&FC 17 – Army SC 5)
Minutes before the half time, CR&FC hit back through a typical winger try from Janidu Dilshan. At first receiver, Zubair hit the gap and sent the long cut out pass to Dilshan who shrugged off his opposite number and touched down.
Half time: CR&FC 22(3T, 2C, 1P) – Army SC (1T)
The second half started in misery for the reds. In the 45th minute referee had a penalty given against CR&FC and Sharo Fernando showed descent on the decision. The referee straight away went to his pocket and showed the second yellow card followed by the red to Fernando which put the visitors in deep trouble.
Army found new life with the advantage and pushed on. In the 52nd minute, Ashan Bandara found a way through for their second try. Army SC ex-pat Tomasi Caqusau got the ball at first receiver and burst through two tackles and got inside the 5m. Bandara who came in for support got the offload and he managed to brush off one tackle and score. (CR&FC 22 – Army SC 10)
CR&FC were put under tremendous pressure by the soldiers and with a man down the reds were struggling. Army found their third try though Lahiru Rathnayake. It was that man once again, Tomasi Caqusau who burst through the defense line from their own 22m and brought to ball towards their attacking 22m. Looking for options, Tomasi saw Dikkumbura on his right and offloaded to him. Rathnayake then received the ball and ran all the way to score. (CR&FC 22 – Army SC 15)
The following few phases Army made inroads but they conceded too many penalties. Two of those were converted into points by Eiza which put CR&FC further ahead in the game. Time was running out but Army kept on fighting as Dikkumbura who pulled off a chip kick and a try to give some hope for the soldiers. Rathnayake added the extras. ( CR&FC 28 – Army SC 22)
Unfortunately, that’s all they could manage as the penalties kept on coming from Army and Riza added another three points to put the game to bed. At the last minute, Dhanushka Pushpakumara of Army SC were given a yellow card and that was it for Army as CR&FC secures an important win to stay on the top tier.
Full Time: CR&FC 31(3T, 4P, 2C) – Army SC 22(4T, 1C)
Dialog ‘ViU’ Player of the match: Gayan Dilshan (CR&FC)
Point scorers for CR&FC: Milan Suranga 1T, Murshid Zubair 1T 1P 2C, Janidu Dilshan 1T, Riza Mubarak 3P
Point scorers for Army SC: Lahiru Rathnayake 1T 2C, Ashan Bandara 1T, Sudaraka Dikkumbura 1T, Isuru Madagedara 1T
