CH & FC continued their winning streak, but it was a close game against Army SC with the final scores reading 24 points to 22 in favor of CH. Even though both sides were in two totally different spots on the points table for the league where CH&FC will play for the Cup title and Army SC will play for the Plate in the weeks to come, it was a competitive game in the end.
Samuel Maduwantha kick started the clash as CH looked to continue their winning streak. The CH forwards managed to turn over the ball early and Avantha Lee took advantage, running into the Army red zone. But CH weren’t able to make the most of the early opportunities because of the penalties they conceded. Army was on top of their game early on, particularly Scrumhalf Manoj Bandara who was present at all situations, during every break down. Army were also smart in making proper use of the penalties awarded with Gayan Salinda and Ashan Bandara managing the penalty situation for Army.
>>Photos : CH & FC vs Army SC – Dialog Rugby League 2018/19 | #Match 54<<
CH, not having the game go as they expected due to an handling errors and giving away the ball to their opponents, saw Army SC Centre Sosivita Boila start the scoring for his team, breaking through the CH defense to score. Unfortunately, the conversion was not successful. (CH 00 – Army 05)
CH played a very shabby game while Army was dominating, with good attacking lines and pressurizing CH in defense. Army was able to score for the 2nd time in the match when Danushka Thalawatta scored in nearly identical fashion to Boila, in a 1 on 3 situationt convert – missing out on the two extra points. (CH 00 – Army SC 10)
Due to injuries faced by the Army side they had to make many changes which made things easier for CH as scrumhalf Sudam Sooriyarachchi went over the try line to start the scoring for CH. Maduwantha made no mistakes with the conversion. (CH 07 – Army 10)
The Army players kept the pressure on CH throughout the first half and they made sure they scored once more before half-time as the prop forward Rasika Abeynayaka dove onto the try line as Army went 8 ahead and eventually 10 ahead when Gayan Salinda made no mistake with the conversion this time around. (CH 07 – Army 17)
CH weren’t ready to give up just yet as prop forward Sathya Ranathuga scored from a pick and go to cut Army’s deficit by 5. The conversion was unsuccessful.
Half Time – CH & FC 12 (2T,1C) – Army SC 17 (3T,1C)
CH carried on with their good work which they produced in the last few minutes of the first half and were also gifted a penalty as soon as the half started. Army lost a bit of momentum due to handling errors, But Mohomed Rizvi, the half-back continued to play well, giving his team many scoring opportunities but Army, unfortunately, were unable to capitalize early in the half. Things were going right for CH in the 2nd half and they got on the scoreboard again through Niwanka Prasad. The successful conversion saw CH take the lead for the 1st time in the match. (CH 19 – Army 17)
In the start of the half CH was trying to score and take the lead but once they did take the lead, they slowed the game down and built some pressure on Army. They’ve being dominating while playing the kicking game all season, however, the loss of possession due to handling errors really made things hard for CH at home. Even though Army wasn’t dominating, they kept on fighting and some brilliant play by the three-quarters saw Army Winger Ashan Bandara scoring to take his team back into the lead. Gayan Salinda missed the conversion again, a factor that really didn’t help Army’s chances. (CH 19 – Army 22)
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Even though they were leading, Army’s defense was getting shabbier by the minute and all their efforts went to waste when the season’s highest points scorer Samuel Maduwantha raced through, beating the Army defense exactly seven minutes before the final whistle to score a nice solo try. He wasn’t able to make the conversion however, giving Army a slight chance of a comeback.
In the end, that proved to be the last score of the match as CH kept their winning streak going, while Army was unlucky to lose by just 2 points.
Points Table | Dialog Rugby League
Full Time – CH & FC 24 (4T,2C) – Army SC 22 (4T,1C)
Breakdown
CH & FC: Tries from Sudam Sooriyaarachchi (1), Sathya Ranathunga (1), Niwanka Prasad (1), Samuel Maduwantha(1), Conversions (3) Samuel Maduwantha
Army SC: Tries from Sosivita Boila (1), Dhanushka Thalawatta (1), Rasika Abeynayake(1),Ashan Bandara(1) and Conversion (1) by Gayan Salinda
