CH & FC pulled off their first win of the season scoring a try after stoppage time to edge out Navy Sports Club 23-21 in a thrilling Dialog Club Rugby League Championship 2019/20 first round clash at Racecourse stadium yesterday.
Trailing 13-6 at the interval and 21-6 in the final quarter, CH & FC marshalled by Rohitha Rajapakse rallied magnificently to get their stuttering campaign back on track after being held to a draw by Army and suffering consecutive defeats at the hands of CR & FC and Havelocks.
The fleet-footed sailors punched gaping holes in the CH defence with their Fijian powerhouse Seru Keteitoga Cavuilati putting the finishing touches twice to brilliant three quarter moves. Isuru Kongahawatta converted one of the tries while Chathura Seneviratne knocked over three penalties.
Samuel Maduwantha made no mistake with two penalties as CH stayed in contention with the scores being deadlocked 6-6 until Navy breached the defence shortly before half time with a slicing run by their centre.
However, Navy paid the price for dangerous tackles as Cavuilati and Adeesha Weerathunga were sent to the sin bin in quick succession. CH capitalised with Sudharshana Muthuthantri going over in the 68th minute from a driving maul following a lineout deep in Navy territory. Maduwantha added the extra points.
CH needed to score twice when Radeesha Seneviratne was shown the yellow card with five minutes remaining.
Maduwantha converted a penalty before CH launched an all-out onslaught and phased out attacks on the Navy goal line whose defence finally cracked after two minutes of added time when Chathura Dilshan standing out like a three quarter, dived over the line to level the scores 21-21. Maduwantha calmly goaled the try for CH fans to savour their maiden triumph.
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