St. Peter’s slip the ball at the pearly gate
St. Joseph's scored twice back-to-back early in the game and went on with 14 men to beat the Petes - Pic by M.A. Pushpakumara
St. Joseph’s College slid and slipped through to claim a 10-5 win over St. Peter’s College in a rain-peppered encounter at Longdon Place yesterday. As for the Petes — their chances of winning the league were ruined all because of one slipped try under the posts.
St. Joseph’s managed to score two tries while holding their rivals to just one. All three tries went unconverted.
Heavy rain before the match left the ground muddied. The game was slow. Both teams relied on their forwards to charge on, as it drizzled ceaselessly.
Joes’ Tharindu Maduranga scored the first try in the opening ten minutes off a Peterite scrum. This came right after Josephs’ knocked on at the try line. Fly-half Santhush Algama missed the conversion.
St. Joseph’s dominated possession in the first fifteen minutes with the Peterites barely making any effective move.
The second try for Joseph’s came a short while later. Shevon Gregory scored it off an offload on the open end of the field.
The Peterites got into the game in after the first twenty minutes. A few threatening moves were made by the three quarters off passes from the ruck, but a wet field, slippery ball, and a tight Joes’ defence prevented any scoring.
The Bambalapitiya side picked up speed amidst a slow game and scored their first try off a line-out. Kenneth Wimaladasa scored the try.
Peters’ got their second chance in the closing minutes of the first half. It was Kenneth Wimaladasa, again, who dashed down the centre of an open field off a scrum. However, the wet ball rolled out off his fingers at the try line. The fans were furious.
As the game resumed after the break Peters’ dominated it entirely on the attack. They worked the ball with the forwards throughout; with lose breaks by the three-quarters. The Joesphian defence met this strongly, leaving a scoreless second half.
Despite the expected tensions in a decisive match, and the Joe-Pete rivalry, the game was played in good spirits mostly. The Joes’ win spelt the end of the Peterite unbeaten streak. Josephs’ now have 15 wins against their rivals’ 40, in the Friar Basil Wiratunga Shield.
Match referee: Aaqil Jamaldeen