Havelock SC managed to hold onto a slender lead at the end of a high-scoring encounter against Army SC at Havelock Park to start off their second round matches of the Dialog Rugby League.
The Army defence lost their composure in the early stages and the dynamic forwards of Havelock SC needed no invitation to capitalize and gain territory. Umesha Madushan eventually went over and recorded the opening try of the match. Sandesh Jayawickrama slotted in the extra points. (Army SC 00 – Havelock SC 07)
It didn’t take long for Army SC to reply, with the soldiers bouncing back through a wonderfully worked set piece play. The Park Club boys put up a valiant effort in their own red zone but the onslaught from the soldiers continued, with Shehan Silva managing to breach the defense to score Army’s first try. Kicker Chamath Fernando helped draw the game with the conversion. (Army SC 07 – Havelock SC 07)
Sandesh Jayawickrama overcooked the restart kick handing the soldiers a 50m scrum. Isuru Madagedara ran the ball all the way to the try line and Chamath Fernando kicked the extra points to put the soldiers 7 points in front. (Army SC 14 – Havelock SC 07)
The Park Club boys returned fire in no time with scrum-half Vimukthi Rahula, who exposed the army blind-side. Winger Keshan Kavinda did most of the work and offloaded the ball to Umesha Madushan, who went over for his second try. Sandesh Jayawickrama converted the try and the havies drew level. (Army SC 14 – Havelock SC 14)
Havelock SC was sloppy once again at the restart as they did not clear their lines and gave away a penalty. Army capitalized on the opportunity and after working the ball down their line, manage to score a beautiful team try through Isuru Madagedara. Chamath Fernando made no mistake with the kick. (Army SC 21 – Havelock SC 14)
However, Army SC gave up the advantage immediately after the restart. Lock forward Nalan Pramanath hit Lasindu Karunathilaka with a late charge and the referee showed him yellow.
The resultant penalty brought the Havies close to the try line. Another infringement by the soldiers resulted in scrum and the patented Havelock forwards completely out-scrummed their opposition and after three reset scrums, Lasindu Karunathilaka scored went over for the Park Club Boys. Sandesh Jayawickrama made no mistake with the conversion. (Army SC 21 – Havelock SC 21)
Randy Silva, now a seasoned campaigner, surprised everyone including teammate Naveen Henakankanamge with a horror pass which resulted in a dropped ball. Thusutha Senanayake chased after it but was tackled when chasing the ball by a desperate Havies defender and a penalty try was awarded. (Army SC 21 – Havelock SC 18)
Army Forwards made further inroads, breaching the Havelock defence. Once again the soldiers showed skill and flare, moving the ball down the line. Sudaraka Dikkumbura attacked open space to collect a perfectly timed short pass, scoring a brilliant try. Chamath Fernando maintained his perfect kicking record and slotted in the 2 points. (Army SC 35 – Havelock SC 21)
After the initial shootout, Army SC managed to maintain the pressure and the Havelock defence seemed to buckle under the pressure. The soldiers went into the break with their heads held high.
Half time: Army SC 35 (4T, 4C, 1 PT) – Havelock SC 21(3T, 3C)
Umesha Madushan managed to complete his hattrick not long after the restart as the Havies seemed to come out all guns blazing from the sheds. Sandesh made no mistake with the conversion and brought the deficit down to 7 points. (Army SC 35 – Havelock SC 28)
Umesha Madushan was in the thick of it once more, putting his hand up for his team this time in defence. He managed to strip the ball from the Army player, with the Havies moving the ball fluently and Randy Silva scoring in broken play. Sandesh Jayawickrama failed this time and the lead was cut down to 2 points. (Army SC 35 – Havelock SC 33)
Havelock SC kept mounting the pressure and forced errors from the soldiers. With the penalty line-out, Azmir Fajurdeen, the bread and butter of the Havies, scored and Sandesh made up for the missed conversion before they finally put the Park Club boys in the lead. (Army SC 35 – Havelock SC 40)
Army came roaring back into the match on the back of the excellence of Sudaraka Dikkumbura, who managed to bring the soldiers mere meters off the Havies line. A few phases later it was Sudaraka Dikkumbura who once again offloaded a clean ball to skipper Thusitha Senanayake who went over for the try. Isuru Madagedara made a tough kick look easy and put the soldiers in front once more. (Army SC 42 – Havelock SC 40)
Captain Mithun Hapugoda showed nerves of steel near the Army SC 22-meter line in the dying minutes and iced the game, utilizing a dummy pass and going over for the try by himself. Although the try went unconverted, it gave an unassailable lead to Havelock SC. (Army SC 42 – Havelock SC 45)
A late yellow card was handed to Janindu Fernando for a high tackle but the soldiers failed to capitalize on the man-advantage, with Havelock SC hanging on by the skin of their teeth to win a match for the ages.
Full Time: Army SC 42(5T, 5C, 1PT) – Havelock SC 45 (7T, 5C)
Thepapare Player of the Match: Umesha Madushan (HAVELOCK SC)
Point scorers for Army SC : Shehan Silva 1T, Sudaraka Dikkumbura 1T, Thusitha Senanayake 1T, Isuru Madagedara 2T 1C, Chamath Fernando 4C
Point scorers for Havelock SC: Umesha Madushan 3T, Sandesh Jayawickrama 5C, Lasindu Karunathilaka 1T, Randy Silva 1T, Azmir Fajurdeen 1T, Mithun Hapugoda 1T
