The first quarter final of the Clifford Cup ended with Kandy humiliating CH & FC at the Hill capital stadium Nittawela this evening.
The match ended with a huge margin of 118 points in favour of the home side Kandy. CH would have never dreamt of score line of 121 (19T 13C) points to 03 (1P) points when they made their way to Kandy this evening however this was the case. Kandy ended up not only securing a semi final against CR & FC but they also made sure that they made a mockery of the lethargic CH outfit. Kandy went to the try line 19 times this evening at their home ground and at the end of the 60th minute even the prop forwards started converting the tries for fun.
Thilina Wijesinghe the Kandy full back went over the line for an easy try to right from the kick off. Thilina who had made a name for himself this season under the number 15 jersey was on target with his conversion giving Kandy a early 7 points lead. (Kandy 07-00 CH & FC) Kandy was again on the board twice through the speedster Vishva Mithra Jayasinghe within the next 5 minutes of the game. He ran through and around the CH defence which looked very lethargic. Vishva Mithra had a brilliant game today. He not only created chances but also went onto score 4 tries in the match.
One could have wondered if they weren’t motivated by the fact that they at least kept track of the Kandy attack at Racecourse just last week. Thilina Wijesinghe missed one and slotted one of the two conversions of the Jayasinghe tries. (Kandy 19-00 CH & FC)
Dhanushka Ranjan the Sri Lankan sevens captain was on the board next with a signature corner flag try which he has been scoring all season. (Kandy 26-00 CH & FC) Ranjan scored two tries on either sides of a Richard Dharmapala try in the middle. All three tries were very casual and typical tries scored by the Kandy outside backs all season working the ball to the corners when they receive the ball from the ruck. Thilina Wijesinghe converted both the Ranjan tries but failed to put through Dharmapala’s try which he missed by a whisker. Richard too had a brilliant game having played the full time span of 80 minute he scored a total of 4 tries like his counterpart Vishva Mithra. (Kandy 38-00 CH & FC)
To add to the wounds of the CH players their prop forward Anuradha Ekanayaka receieved straight red from referee Rankothge for stamping his foot on the face of Ganuka Dissanayake who had to be taken off. Kandy reaped rewards as they got another two tries to their score sheet through Yakoob Ali and Tharindu Chathuranga in quick succession. Thilina Wijesinghe was on target this time around making no mistakes bisecting the posts. (Kandy 52-00 CH & FC)
The Kandy scrum proved too powerful for the CH pack where they were completely and utterly destroyed. Kandy won almost all the scrums and they even won the scrums where CH had the put in. Buwaneka Udangamuwa was lethal with his hits and it took almost 4 CH players to bring him down. Shehan Pathirana was punctual with his jumps as he has been all season.
There was one last try before the half time of the game by Richard Dharmapala who ran across the field to score in the right corner flag of the field. Thilina who failed to convert the last Dharmapala try failed again. (Kandy 57-00 CH & FC)
Half Time 57 (9T 6C) – 00 (0T 0C) CH & FC
The second half was no different to the first, Vishva showed his speed and side stepping ability to the CH defenders who had no clue how to stop him before touching down to score. Thilina added the extras with ease. (Kandy 64-00 CH & FC) Roshan then picked and ran through the defence scoring right under the posts. All these tries were made to look easy by the Kandy backs. Thilina converted again. (Kandy 71-00 CH & FC)
CH scored through the only opportunity they received. Shamri Burah neatly bisected the posts without any mistakes. Anthony was the culprit of giving away the penalty due to ahigh tackle.
Buwaneka Udangamuwa was the next to feature in the score board, he picked the ball from the back of the scrum and barged his way through to score under the posts. Thilina did the rest with the boot. (Kandy 78-03 CH & FC)
At this point Coach Sean Wijesinghe decided to take the try scorer Buwaneka Udangamuwa off and he wasn’t replaced. Kandy decided to play with 14 men to match the 14 men of the CH side. Even after this Kandy was still dominant they scored the next 3 tries in quick succession.
Lavanga Perera, Srinath Sooriyabandara and Richard Dharmapala scored those tries. Then Kandy decided to have fun with the game. Yakoob Ali kicked from under the posts to add the extras. The next conversion went astray from under the posts by Lasitha Aththanagoda and the last was put through by Thilina Wijesinghe. (Kandy 102-03 CH & FC)
Jamaldeen, Vishva Mithra and Srinath Sooriyabandara scored a try a piece in the try festival at Nittawela. Kandy will now take on a more tougher outfit CR & FC next in the semi finals of the Clifford Cup and Kandy as predicted do look the favorites to lift it again. (Kandy 121-03 CH & FC)
Full Time – Kandy SC 121 (19T 13C) – 03 (1P) CH & FC
ThePapare.com’s Player of the Match: Vishva Mithra Jayasinghe (Kandy SC)
Score breakdown
Kandy SC
Vishva Mithra Jayasinghe (4T), Dhanushka Ranjan (2T), Richard Dharmapala (4T), Yakob Ali (1T 1C), Tharindu Chathuranga (1T), Roshan Weerarathne (1T), Buwaneka Udangamuwa (1T), Lavanga Perera (1T), Srinath Sooriyabandaara (2T), Arshad Jamaldeen (1T 1C), Thilina Wijesinghe (1T 11C)
CH & FC
Shamri Burah (1P)
 points to 03 (1P) points when they made their way to Kandy this evening however this was the case. Kandy ended up not only securing a semi final against CR & FC but they also made sure that they made a mockery of the lethargic CH outfit. Kandy went to the try line 19 times this evening at their home ground and at the end of the 60th minute even the prop forwards started converting the tries for fun.){kind=link}