Sports

Sports

Kandy through, but on a low note
Kandy SC 27 - CH & FC 6
By Rangi Akbar
Kandy SC, who were taken down a peg by the CR a fortnight ago, were not all that impressive as they limped beat CH&FC by 27 points (2 goals, two tries and a penalty) to 6 (two penalties) in their second round Caltex League rugby football encounter at Maitland Crescent yesterday.

At the breather Kandy led 17-3.
The CH forwards won the ball in the set pieces and the line outs but it was Kandy SC who gained possession by their fiery loose play. The Kandy three-quarters were always a danger when in motion.
Somehow it was not CH’s day and Kandy SC too did not impress even though they won by a comfortable margin ultimately.

CH had a golden opportunity of getting ahead early in the game but the penalty they got was kicked astray. In a sudden turn of events Kandy SC’s fly half Fazil Marija scored following a kick-ahead by Nalaka Weerakkody and Kandy led 7-0. Fazil Marija scored again through a smart punt by Malikarachchi to lead 12-0 in the 18th minute Sajith Malikarachchi spotted a gap and was through it like a bee score to increase their lead to 17-0.

CH got into action when Harshana Wijeweera put over a 40 meter penalty. The teams crossed over at this score. A rejuvenated CH gave Kandy some food for thought with some fiery play with Rukshan Wijesinghe, Milinda Jayasinghe, Saranga Jayakody and Berti Jayasekera being in the thick of things. CH started the second session with a penalty put over by Nalin Dissanayake to cut down Kandy SC’s lead to 6-17. CH kept on stumbling and Kandy gained control through another Nalaka Weerakkody penalty to take their score to 20.

CH had several chances of scoring but fumbled with the line staring at them. One such effort was when winger Udaya Kumara dropped the ball like a hot potato. CH certainly put Kandy under pressure but failed to score.
Kandy had the last laugh when standby Malik Silva scored and Nalaka Weerakkody added the extra points to take Kandy SC’s score to 27 and CH‘s score remained at 6.
Referee Anura Jayasekera

Top