Defending Clifford Cup Champions CR and FC proved their superiority by defeating arch rivals Havelocks 25-10 to retain the Matthysz Trophy, while CH and FC moved to the third position after edging out Police 18-12. Kandy had an easy 48-7 win over Navy and Air Force created an upset overcoming Army 17-14 at the end of the sixth week fixtures last weekend.
It was scintillating performance by the CR lads where they broke loose in the second half to completely overwhelm the Havelocks side and retain the Matthysz Trophy for the 14th time since it was inaugurated way back in 2004 amidst a packed home ground. After trailing 3-7 at the breather, the Red jerseyed lads pulled up their socks and fired on all cylinders to have a complete control of the game and run in four tries, obtaining the much-needed bonus point in the process.
Mohamed Abzal (29) of CH & FC scores a try while his team mate Harsha Maduranga backs up.
Skipper Suhiru Anthony’s charges had a scrappy start and played in patches. This enabled their rivals to make the initial scoring early in the first half. They foiled some threatening moves and managed to restrict them to 7-3 at the short whistle.
But after the turn around it turned out be a one-horse race as the home team changed gears and their game pattern to surge ahead. Their forwards dominated the set pieces quite exceptionally while the three quarters ran riot in the rival’s 22, making teasing moves. They finally found inroads to score three tries in quick succession to win 25-10 quite comfortably.
This win have given them the much-needed impetus to gear up for their big bash against Kandy SC, the only other undefeated team in the competition, next week in the hill capital.
Ishara Madushan of Air Force is brought down by an Army player. Dharshana Dabare of Air Force looks on.
Havelocks started with a bang amd kept up the momentum until the breather. They came close to the rival’s goal line on several occasions but failed to capitalise. Fullback Samuel Maduwantha, one of the key players in their ranks, had an off day as he fluffed a couple of penalties, while also making many ball handling errors. Moreover, the Havies bench when substituted too didn’t make an impression. They also lost skipper Azmir Fajudeen who had to leave the field with an injury to his hand.
Much was expected from them after the short whistle, but all their hopes were shattered when they lost a few key players due to injury, while the changes made by the coaching staff failed to deliver the goods which eventually enabled their rivals to score three more tries and to seal the game. With this loss they have been pushed down to fourth place after occupying third place for five weeks.
Nerve tingling win for CH
CH and FC scored a nerve tingling 18-12 win over Police after leading 18-7 at lemons.
Even though the Gymkhana lads won this game it was the Cops who dominated play in the second half. They exerted enormous pressure and did not allow CH to increase their score.
CH used all their experience to take the lead in the first half, but some solid defensive play held them from crossing the rival goal line in the second. half
However, this win has enabled them to climb up the points table and they have now displaced Havelocks and gone up to third place. One of the best teams in the tournament, Police showed tremendous progress in the first three games. But once again it showed they lose the much-needed momentum and consistency towards the end of the game. In their last few outings, they were able to come close to winning, but lack of aggression deprived them from putting the finishing touches.
Air Force in shock win
Air Force created a major upset when they edged the mighty Army 17-14 at their home grounds. After trailing 10-14 at half time, the Airmen bounced back gallantly to throttle the rivals and to notch up their second win of the season. Earlier they beat Navy in similar fashion, winning by a close margin. One of the unpredictable teams in the fray, Army have several talented players in their ranks. Their biggest issue was not having a reliable place kicker, which they have now managed to rectify. As a team they fell short to overrun their rivals after leading at the breather.
Kandy on a rampage over Navy
Kandy went on the rampage to sink Navy 48-7 and remain on top of the points table by acquiring another bonus point. After leading 17-7 at lemons, they scored at will against a young fresher laden Navy outfit, who have now has lost all their games.
