Army SC hosted Air Force SC today (08th of February) in a crucial Week 9 clash of the Mastercard Club Rugby League 2024/25 at the Army Rugby Grounds in Panagoda. After a very close tussle, Air Force got the job done against the hosts 27-19.
Air Force knocked the ball forward from the kickoff and Army made use of the early attacking opportunity as Buddi Sreemantha managed to break the Air Force defensive line quite easily. Isuru Medagedara added the extras for the home team (ASC 07 – 00 AFSC)
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10 minutes later Air Force made use of a penalty they received as Gayantha Iddamalgoda took his team towards the 5m mark with a phenomenal territory gainer. From the line-out the visitors kickstarted a rolling maul which ended up being their first try as Shamika Kaushan touched down for his 9th try of the season (ASC 07 – 05 AFSC)
Army SC then faced a very similar situation as they received a high tackle penalty and Ashan Bandara found touch just 5m away from the whitewash. The hosts then returned the favor with a rolling maul try through Chalika Sandaruwan. However a couple of minutes later Pramoth Pathmasanka kicked through a penalty for Air Force SC to bring the deficit down to 4 points (ASC 12 – 08 AFSC)
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Just few minutes before lemons, Air Force scored a try through Nirmal Wickramasinghe as the forwards kept hitting hard after a line-out and the Army defensive line was finally broken. Pathmasanka converted the try as the visitors found themselves in the lead for the first time in the game (ASC 12 – AFSC 15)
Half-Time : Army SC 12 – 15 Air Force SC
Both the teams failed to show consistency during the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half but Army SC had some luck going their way when an interception from Air Force ended up being a knock forward and Manoj Kumara collected the loose ball and had enough gas to go all the way and score an important try which gave his team the lead again. Medagedara increased their lead with the fabulous conversion (ASC 19 – 15 AFSC)
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Army unfortunately failed to retain their lead for long as Air Force once again used their rolling maul to full effect after receiving a penalty. Shamika Kaushan repeated what he did during the first try as he joined with the tail of the maul after a good line-out throw and finished the job to register his 10th try of the season (ASC 19 – 20 AFSC)
The visitors sealed the deal when Dharshana Dabare produced a scintillating run to fox the Army SC defense with a lovely show and go. To increase the lead further Iddamalgoda converted the try with a solid kick (ASC 19 – 27 AFSC)
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With this win Air Force cemented their spot in the top 4 of the Club Rugby League for the first time in 13 years. Shamika Kaushan was adjudged ThePapare Player of the Match for the 2 tries he scored and for being a huge threat in their defensive efforts.
Full-Time : Air Force SC 27 (4T 2C 1P) defeated Army SC 19 (3T 2C)
ThePapare Player of the Match : Shamika Kaushan (AFSC)
Points Breakdown
Air Force SC : Shamika Kaushan 10 (2T) Nirmal Wickramasinghe 5 (1T) Dharshana Dabare 5 (1T) Pramoth Pathmasanka 5 (1C 1P) Gayantha Iddamalgoda 2 (1C)
Army SC : Buddi Sreemantha 5 (1T) Chalika Sandaruwan 5 (1T) Manoj Kukara 5 (1T) Isuru Medagedara 4 (2C)
 in a crucial Week 9 clash of the Mastercard Club Rugby League 2024/25 at the Army Rugby Grounds in Panagoda. After a very close tussle, Air Force got the job done against the hosts 27-19.){kind=link}