Police beat Army to clinch Plate Championship

Police Sports Club (PSC) in one of the most dramatic comebacks of the Nippon Paint Inter Club Rugby League pulled off a last gasp win to beat Army Sports Club (ASC) 42-37 in the 2nd-Round clash at Panagoda on Friday (9) to seal the Plate Championship with a match remaining. 

Police clinched victory from the jaws of defeat with hosts Army in a commanding cruise control with a lead of 14-points in the 66th minute leading at 37-23, however the resilient cops pulled off a gallant comeback in the final stages to seal the game. A total of 79-points were scored in this high octane game. 

Hosts Army skippers Ashan Bandara kicked off proceedings on a bright and humid day at the Panagoda base amidst a poor turnout of spectators.  

2nd minute- Sudaraka Dikkumbura the danger man scored the opening try off a brilliant show and go to give the home side a dream start. Conversion was missed by Ashan Bandara. (ASC 5-0 PSC) 

6th minute- Vihanga Pivithuru of Police equalised, scoring off a quick tap taken by full-back Shane Hopwood ,Prince Chamara missed the extras. (ASC 5-5 PSC) 

8th minute – Saw the first Yellow Card of the game given to Lahiru Thilakarathne of Police for tackling the Army full-back in the air. 

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15th minute- Youngster Shane Hopwood put the cops on the lead through a penalty. (PSC 8-5 ASC) 

18th minute- Ashan Bandara the home skipper went under the post and converted in a powerful strike. (ASC 12-8 PSC) 

20th minute- Soon after Bandara’s try, Prince Chamara’s well timed lovely cross kick saw winger Sujan Kodithuwakku chasing and scoring in the left flank with Hopwood putting over a tough angled kick. (PSC 15-12 ASC) 

25th minute- Sudaraka Dikkumbura went under the post for his 2nd try with skipper Bandara converting to go up (ASC 19-15 PSC). Dikkumbura was unstoppable with his running ploys and absolutely stunning footwork.  

28th minute – Sujan Kodithuwakku hit back for Police to score with good passes given out by Prince Chamara . (PSC 20-19 ASC) 

30th Minute – Bonus point sealed by the Soldiers with Dikkumbura with a sublime run of a lifetime passed to Lasantha Kumara to score with Bandara adding the extras. (ASC 26-20 PSC) 

By this point the game reached a peak of great competitiveness with both sides exchanging points in a tit-for-tat affair which was a wonderful sight to enjoy for a rugby lover due to the high paced free flowing and fast open running rugby. 

36th minute- Just before lemons, Army skipper Ashan Bandara put over a penalty. (ASC 29-20 PSC) 

Half Time : Army 29 (4T 3C 1P) – 20 (3T 1C 1P) Police 

Police made a lot of silly errors in the latter part of the first half and strong words were spoken from the sidelines for the cops to get their act together.  

42nd minute – Police put first points on board through a Hopwood penalty.(PSC 23-29 ASC) 

51st minute – Naveen Perera of Army scored in the right flank and almost sealed the deal for the hosts. (ASC 34-23 PSC) 

66th minute- Ashan Bandara in a smart move put over a penalty to go for a comfort cushion of 14-points. (ASC 37-23 PSC) 

Photos – Army SC vs Police SC | Nippon Paint Rugby League 2023/24 – Week 9

At this point Police almost emptied their bench while Army still played almost the starting XV, with fresh legs on the park, the cops made positive strides towards the opponent’s red zone. 

70th minute- Hirantha Perera scored in the left flank adding the cops first try of the 2nd half. Naveen Kanishka put over a corner flag conversion to put the game within a try’s reach. (PSC 30-37 ASC) 

77th minute – Army suffered a major blow with big man Danilsha Dissanayake sent to the sin-bin. 

79th minute- Almost at the brink of full time,Hirantha Perera scored with Hopwood equalising for the cops.(PSC 37-37 ASC) 

It was an evens-stevens, ding-dong battle with both teams deadlocked at 37 a-piece, Police were on hot pace with Army under tremendous for the first in the game after the shell-shock comeback by the cops. 

80th minute- At the very last move of the game, the 2-try hero Sujan Kodithuwakku became 3-try hero for Police as scored his third try to mark a memorable win for the lads from Police Park. (PSC 42-37 ASC) 

Sujan Kodithuwakku shined as Police won the Plate, helping him win the Black Knight Player of the Match award. Hats off and kudos to Sudaraka Dikkumbura of Army for putting on a stellar show to remember for the ages. 

Gihan Yatawara refereed. 

Match Breakdown: 

Full Time : Police 42 (6T 3C 2P) beat Army 37 (5T 3C 2P)  

Black Knight Player of the Match – Sujan Kodithuwakku (Police) 

Yellow Cards – Lahiru Thilakarathne (Police), Danilsha Dissanayake (Army)