It was tough picking for the Soldiers who managed to score only a try and a penalty
A strong 2nd half from Havelocks saw them registering a comfortable victory by 27 points to 8 against Army in the Dialog Rugby League 2017/2018 at Havelock grounds.
Full time score: Havelock SC 27 – Army SC 8
The hosts were under some pressure after the defeat last week and the fact that Navy is on their tail would have put more pressure on their head. However, the Soldiers had a horrific start to the game with Sameera Bulathsinghala being sent to the naughty chair in the 5th minute. Havies made the most of the numerical advantage as Azmin Fajudeen was pushed over the try line from a rolling maul. Riza Mubarak added the extras with ease. (Havelocks SC 7 – Army SC 0)
Moments later, Riza added 3 more points from the 22m line to extend their lead going into the second quarter. Both teams had a quiet period in the game before Army opened their account with a penalty by Gayan Salinda. Soldiers followed up with a brilliant try by Ashoka Jayalal. Initial break through was from Krishanth Pushpakumara who took the ball from their own try line and carried it to their attacking half. Unfortunately Gayan failed to add the extras.
Half time: Havelocks SC 10 (1T 1C 1P) – Army SC 8 (1T 1P)
Second half was dominated by Havies. Rain played in favour of the hosts as they ran down 2 more tries in the 2nd half. First try was from Lasindu Karunathilaka. Dushmantha Priyadarshana broke through the defence line which created the opening for Havies. (Havelocks SC 17 – Army SC 8)
Riza went on to add another 3 points with drop goal from the 22m. It was wonderfully set up by Rahul De Silva who did a brilliant job at scrum half. In the final 10 minutes Havies were down to 14 men when Gihan Madushanka was given a yellow card. However it didn’t prevent them from scoring points as Chanaka Bandara touched down for their 4th try to seal victory and much needed points going into the final few weeks of the league.
Full Time: Havelock SC 27(3T, 3C, 1P, 1DG) to Army SC 8(1T, 1P)
ThePapare.com’s Man of the Match: Rizah Mubarak (Havelocks)
Breakdown
Point scores for Havelock SC: Tries from Azmeer Fajudeen(1) Lasindu Karunathilake(1) and Chanaka Bandara(1), Conversions (3) Penalty and Drop Goal by Riza Mubarak
Point Scorers for Army: Try from Ashoka Jayalal Penalty from Gayan Salinda
