CH & FC's Srinath Wimalaweera breaks past the Police player for the first try
A penalty off the boots of Sandesh Jayawickrema during the dying minutes of the game saw Police Sports Club making it even against CH & FC in a rain-hit encounter at the Dialog Rugby League encounter earlier today.
The game that kicked off amidst a heavy downpour saw Police Sports Club dominating the first few minutes. An early 50 meter kick at goal from Samuel Maduwantha was astray and it was the Cops who drew first blood off the boot of Sandesh Jayawickrema.
Jayawickrema kicked a successful 28m penalty in the 12th minute of play and successfully converted the next opportunity for valuable points to take his team up by 6 points.
CH & FC, counter-attacking, almost made it to the try line on two different occasions during the first half but both efforts saw ball carriers Samuel Maduwantha and Avishka Lee knocking the ball forward.
It took the red stripes 30 minutes to get the scoreboard kicking, as they capitalized on a 5-meter penalty. After several carries by Yoshitha Rajapakse, the ball was swung wide allowing Iranga Ariyapala to score in the far corner. Maduwantha’s conversion gave CH a single point lead. (7-6)
However, their lead was short-lived as Police bounced back right from the restart thanks to the quick thinking of Hashan Gomes, eventually seeing Gihan Silva stepping his way to the line for their first try. (13-7)
Not giving up, CH & FC went into halftime reducing the deficit to a single point thanks to the efforts of Anuradha Herath on the wing plotting a run into attacking territory. With some help from the front rowers, Srinath Wimalaweera crossed the white line. Maduwantha missed out on the conversion in the rainy conditions. (13-12)
Half Time: CH & FC 12 – Police 13
The second half was more of a passive affair in contrary to the first. Continuous infringements by the Cops saw Samuel Maduwantha putting CH & FC into the lead with two penalties but the game was still anyone’s contest with ten minutes to go on the clock.
The late surge by the Police forwards was too much heat for the CH defensive line. The move that was piloted by the Police captain, Rasith Silva saw the Cops making ground phase by phase. With Romesh Archarige strengthening the surge, Hashan Fernando touched down for the breakthrough try.
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Sandesh Jayawickrema missed out on adding the extras but the scores drew even at 18-all.
The game took another twist when Samuel Maduwantha kicked another 3-pointer through and with 4 minutes to go on the clock; Police was awarded a penalty in their attacking half.
It was a wise decision by the Police skipper to go for the posts instead of going for touch and Sandesh Jayawickrema was successful in kicking a 35m angled kick to get his team back to even ground. (21-21)
As referee Irshad Cader blew for the full time, there was nothing to separate between the two teams with the game drawn.
“I can’t be happy or disappointed out of the outcome. We played really well and had a few opportunities. This is a good lesson for us and hopefully we’ll do better next match” added Police SC coach Shamly Nawaz.
The absence of Lee Keegal in the CH & FC colours was clearly felt as the club down at Maitland Place was lacking the sense of creating opportunities. Police Sports Club, on the other hand, had a few bad calls when it came to clearing kicks and struggled in their lineouts. That eventually cost them a probable first win of the season.
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Full Time Score: CH & FC 21 (2T 1C 3P) to Police 21 (2T 1C 3P)
- ThePapare Player of the Match: Sandesh Jayawickrema (Police)
- Referee: Irshad Cader
Breakdown
Police SC – Tries by Gihan Silva, Hashan Fernando. Conversion (1) and Penalties (3) by Sandesh Jayawickrema
CH & FC – Tries by Iranga Ariyapala & Srinath Wimalaweera. Conversion (1) and Penalties (3) by Samuel Maduwantha
Bookings – Sujan Kodituwakku (Yellow)
