Pot is nearer to Police in the battle of the wooden-spoonists
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Table neighbours Police and CH, take each other on in a bottom-of-the table encounter that will provide the CH with, possibly, their last chance of gaining a win. That, too, is not assured as the Police came out on top (46-25) in the first round.
Incredibly, the CH have scored 108 points in their 11 games, while conceding 658. What a fall there has been for a club that was in the late eighties up there at the peak. That was an era when the likes of Chandrishan Perera, Apisi Nagata, Bharatha Hegoda, Saman Jayasinghe et al were the toast of the club.
Over the last two years or 80, the “descent to Avernus” has been steep. Sadly, there is no sign that things will change, that a new dawn will set in. The players deserve praise for fighting against fearful odds. There is no prospect of a break in the clouds that will send rain on a parched and arid Maitland Crescent.
The Police may be seventh in the points table having lost 10 of their 11 games. However, they are a better side than those facts represent. This is a game that Police is expected to dominate. Their second half effort against mighty Kandy, in which they denied them a try, shows what they are capable of.
A three-quarter line comprising Reeza Rafaideen, Chula Susantha, Muhsin Faleel and Mohamed Absal is quite a handy one. In their last few matches they have shifted the emphasis to attack. That is a positive development and, if they keep at it, the tries are bound to come.
The forwards are also a capable unit which has experienced players such as Romesh Acharige, Achala Perera, Joel Perera and skipper Chanaka Suriyapperuma.
To be sure, this is a low-key encounter. But the Police are determined to post their second win of the season. Their first, also came at the expense of the CH. Lakala Perera and Rohitha Rajapaksa, inter alia, will have to show the way to their less-experienced but enthusiastic team-mates. - AK