Top spot decider in Inter Club League 2018/2019

Roshan Weeraratne played a key role fo Kandy SC this season

By Shamseer Jaleel

A thriller on the cards at the Park

A mouth-watering clash is on the card between the table leader and the defending champions Kandy SC as they lock horns with the placed Havies which was scheduled to be played under lights and will be now worked off at Havelock Park with the kick-off scheduled at 4 p.m. today.

Kandy SC is leading the points table with 67 points followed by the Park Club with 66 points after their defeat to CH & FC in their last encounter. A win for either of the teams will give them the home advantage in the Super 4 round which will follow soon afterwards with number 1 playing 4 and 2 playing 3. The two winners will meet in the Super 4 final.

Kandy Sports Club did well at home up in the hills but always coming to Colombo is a long journey for them this season. They lost out to CH& FC and their encounters against CR & FC and Navy were never impressive for their usual high standards. One defeat at the hands of Army at home was a difficult thing to digest for their supporters more than the players. 

Yakoob Ali, Sayuru Anthony and Uchithra Jayasoooriya will play vital part in this encounter. Once again Kandy will miss the service of their burly number 8 rock solid Buwanaka Udangamuwa who is still out with an injury along with Srinarth Sooriyabandara who will be missed at the Park today. Roshan Weeraratne, a very important man from the base of the scrum, will be a key player for the up country outfit.

Their three quarter line is a major strength for Kandy. Nigel Ratwatte, Lavanga Perera, Anurudha Wilwara, Dhanushka Ranjan and Thilina Wijesinghe are all star players who could fit into any side easily.

Meanwhile the Park Club has the best forward among clubs, none other than Prasad Madushanka. He is well supported by Ajmir Fajudeen and “Iron Man” Sharo Fernando who missed out the last game and is fit to play along with Dinuk Amarasinghe. 

Mithun Hapugoda who started in the later half in a majority of the games is likely to operate from the base from the early stages of the game. Chamara Dabare and Nirsohan Fernando have played their part with full back and consistent Riza Mubarak being in a class of his own in all the 13 encounters for the Park Club.

Sean Wijesinghe, Kandy SC Head Coach, will want to leave Sri Lanka on a high note before he migrates to Canada in April. Meanwhile, Havies Head Coach Sanath Martis is a tough nut to crack. When all wrote off Havies when they lost eight of their players, he kept faith in the young blood and produced magnificent results to come up to number 2 position in the league and will always want to win the Gold and not settle for the Silver.

It could be anyone’s game with the team settling first having the advantage in the steamy Colombo evening.

Referee: Tasuka Kawahara (Japan) 

CH to continue winning streak

CH & FC remained unbeaten so far in round 2 will be once again all out to continue their good work when they confront the unpredictable soldiers. Their regular skipper Yoshitha Rajapakse after his jaw injury is expected to play in this game before the Super 4 commences next week.

Some experienced players such as Muthuthanthri, Soooriyarachchi, Anuradha Herath and Samuel Maduwantha could take them through without much difficulty in this encounter. Soldiers will need to be consistent in their approach and spread the 80-minute game and play till the end. Rizvi, Gayan Salinda and Ashoka Jayalal are stand out players for the Forces.

Referee: Priyantha Gunaratne

CR out for an easy win

CR & FC will be all out to end their 14 matches with a win against the last-placed Air Force. They almost pulled off a win against Kandy last weekend at home and were hampered by some poor ball handling in the last 10 minutes of the game. 

A Tharinda Ratwatte early start will make a world of difference for the Longdon Place club.  Dixon and Kavindu led from the front in their last encounter. Better ball handling will be required from Omalka Gunaratne in this encounter.

Referee: Ishanka Abeykoon

Could be anyone’s game

Navy hosting the Cops at Welisara could be a thriller and anyone’s game. Both teams lacked continuity and a proper game plan this season. Police started off well but their form was dropping game by game. Same with the sailors.

Shamly Nawas after doing the hard work would have expected a number 4 end at least to feature in the Super 4 but without any big names under their belt they did well but were yards slower in the end.

Referee: Tasuka Kawahara (Japan)