By Shamzeer Jaleel
Kandy SC 31 points
CR & FC 26 points
Kandy Sports Club edged out CR & FC 31/26 in a thriller
at Longdon Place yesterday and kept their hopes alive for the top position in
the league with one more match against the Havies.
At the short breather Kandy led 28/16.
Kandy led by 28/16 after a try tsunami in the first 20
minutes of the game saw a clean 28/3 lead in early stages of the game.
Kandy played well in the early stages of the game where the Longdon Place club
did not have an answer. Red Shirts hit back strongly later in the second half
to come closer with a 5 point deficit. Poor ball handling errors and selfish
play cost them the game where they could have humbled Kandy very easily. Kandy
too made some decision making blunders later in the game. When there was a 5
points deficit a penalty offered 30 meters away Kandy opted to kick it to
touch. This was costly as Thilina Wijesinghe was on target easily would have
converted which means they need to score twice to win. Kandy put the pressure
on to themselves.
For CR & FC Sivaraj, Tharinda Ratwatte, Fahmy and Dixon
played well while for the Kandy outfit Roshan Weeraratne, Shehan Pathirana,
Thilina Wijesinghe and Yakoob Ali stood out.
Wilwara try and Thilina Wijesinghe conversion took the Up
Country outfit to a 7/0 lead. Tries by hooker, Uchithra Jayasooriya, and Prop
forward Ashan Darling tries took the Kandy outfit to 21 points where the home
team replied with a penalty by Stepan Sivaraj. Shehan Pathirana try covering
nraly 40 meters on left corner and Thilina conversion took Kandy clear at 28/3.
CR woke up very late in the first half when Wjeed Fahmy
scored. Sivaraj added the extra 2 points. Two more penalties by Sivaraj cut the
deficit to 28/16 at the short breather.
After the turn around things looked different with the Red
Shirts settling down fast in the cooler Colombo conditions. Janidu Dilshan Try
and Sivaraj penalty took the scores to 31/26. CR got plenty of chances in the
last 15 minutes but the Up Country defense was too strong which kept them away
from scoring.
Referee %u2013 Lawrence Wilkinson
photo credit thepapare.com
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