Police face acid test against Army today

Police will face an acid test when they lock horns against the immensely improved Army outfit at Police Park today, in the Nippon Paint InterClub Rugby League Tournament where the kick off is scheduled for 3.45 p.m.

After suffering a16-5 defeat last week at the hands of Havelocks at home, the Cops now face a must win situation if they are to remain within the top four. They put up a pathetic performance to leave their home crowd disappointed.

Their performance last week had an array of errors, including basic ball handling, which was one of the key factors for their downfall. As a unit they are a much better team and lack of consistency has been the reason for their downfall.

Nevertheless, coach Nilfer Ibrahim is optimistic his boys will bounce back and regain their form, which suffered a huge setback after their loss against Kandy a few weeks back, which affected their morale as witnessed in last week’s match.

“Well, after the Kandy game the morale of the team was bit low, which was the reason ou rperformance dropped well below expectations last week. But we are a much bettert eam than that. We have to forget the past and give our best in today’s game,which is going to be another tough game. Anyway, we are going to execute an attacking format of play from the start to win the game,” said Nilfer Ibrahim.

Army, the most rejuvenated team in the contest so far, will be eying their second win. They outsmarted Navy last week and are playing as a team.

“This game is not going to be an easy one. After our win last week, the boys are keen to continue their good work and keep winning. More importantly, we have found the much needed rhythm and were able to address our shortcomings within the team.One of the main concerns was a place kicker, which Ashan Bandara has managed to take care and deliver the goods. We hope to give our best and win this game,too,” said Shamly Nawaz

CH & FC vs Air Force at Race Course

On Saturday at Race Course,CH and FC will lock horns with Air Force. CH after their swashbuckling performance against CR, where they went down 23-28, showed their prowess and what a good side they are. After several years, the Gymkhana club lads have shown some winning instincts after jelling as a team.

“We are happythat the team has improved vastly from where they were at the beginning of the season. We might make a few changes due to some injuries to key players, but as a team we are geared up to the task and will go flat out to win this all important game,” said coach Sanath Martis.

Air Force put up a stunning performance in the first half against Kandy last week, but lost the plot in the second half to lose by a big margin. Coach Asela Deshapriya is happy with his team’s performance last week, and anticipates that his players will carry on the good work without making too many errors.

“We had a good start against Kandy last week. But after the interruption due rain and lightning where the game was halted for some time, the pendulum swung the otherway around. But we are determined to give a good show and get into winning ways,”said Asela.

CR & FC vs Navy in Welisara

CR will take on Navyi n Welisara on Saturday. After their nerve tingling win over CH, they are brimming with confidence to continue their winning streak and remain on top of the points table. They will start with the same set of players for this game and looks injury free.

Coach Dushanth Lewke said: “We are very happy with the team’s performance and the win last week over CH has given us much needed confidence to continue our good work. The school leavers have shown tremendous improvement, which is a commendable factor for CR. The group leadership headed by skipper Suhiru Anthony, along with Kavindu Costa and Lasindu Karunathilaka, has given us the much needed impetus and we expect to win this game with a big margin.”

Navy, which is struggling to notch up their maiden win this season, is playing sans 16 players from their last season squad, who have left and joined other clubs. They have lost all of their games so far.

Their incumbent coach Viper Guneratne, who has taken over the herculean task of molding the side, is happy with their performance so far.

“We started from scratch with almost a fresher laden side. After we lost over 16 players from last season it was a tough task for us to rebuild the side. Nevertheless, we were able to transform this young bunch of players who will mature as the season goes on. The other plus factor is that we were able to cross our rivals defences to score even though we lost the game. What I could say is to keep the fingers crossed as we expect to turn tables in one of the upcoming games,”said Guneratne.

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