Kandy retain league crown for 8th consecutive year - 2008

Kandy SC retained the league crown for yet another yeat and were crowned chanmps for 2008 at a presentation ceremony that followed the game against CR which they won 13-11 after being led 8-0 at the lemons. The way Kandy achieved their last win in the competition against CR&FC at Longden Place on 19th July will long be remembered by many who witnessed the game at the grounds and on TV. They had to fight tooth-and-nail to ward off a red hot challenge. Ultimately they surged through to 13-11 win with the lead changing hands on no less than four occasions. Kandy collected their points through a goal and two penalties while CR’s points were made up of a try and two penalties.

A win for the Longden Place club in this game would not have altered the course as Kandy had already achieved the league title long before the contest ended. But CR had one intention. That was to make Kandy eat humble pie. But they were simply not up to the mark yesterday to make that happen. Too many mistakes by the players and also a few blunders by referee Pradeep Fernando altered the course of the game.

CR played well in patches and our players showed glimpses of individual brilliance and Suranga Pushpakumara was outstanding during the time he played. But the red shirts could not capitalize on these individual efforts due to lack of support. Even the try that was scored by Dinesh Kumara was almost fluffed due to lack of support to backup the brilliant break by Buksch.

The first half belonged to CR and they scored in the 26th minute through Dinesh Kumar, which went unconverted. This try put CR ahead at 5-0. In the 38th minute CR further consolidated their position when Mohammed Sheriff put over a penalty and CR took the lemons with a 8-0 lead under their belts. CR’s Henry Terence was shown the yellow card and was sent to the sin-bin in this half.

Kandy showed that they were not willing to tarnish thier unbeaten run this season and Saliya Kumara put over a 25 meter penalty in the ninth minute of the second session (CR-8. Kandy 3). CR retaliated quickly through a 40 meter penalty put over by Mohammed Sheriff. (CR-11. Kandy 3) Kandy roared back through a try by Radhika Hettiarachchi and Saliya Kumara converted to put Kandy just a point behind CR at 11-10.

The next minutes produced some exciting play to keep spectators on the edge of their seats. Mohammed Sheriff made a breathtaking break for CR and Saliya Kumara put over a 35 meter penalty for Kandy to put them ahead at 13-11. In the dying moments Sheriff kicked away a penalty and with that any chance of winning the game. Referee Pradeep Fernando was escorted to the pavilion by a tight cordon of security men after the game, I wonder why?

Let me now draw your attention to a statement made by the National Cricket captain Mahela Jayawardena at a recent press conference preceding the series against India. 'A single game plan is insufficient against a team like India' words of wisdom and this shows the professionalism of our National cricket team facing a team that was defeated by them in the recently concluded Asia cup. Did we (CR&FC) have more than one game plan against Kandy? A side we have not managed to beat more than a couple of times in the last 8 years. Kandy has won the league for 8 continuous years and we have ended runners up on a consistent basis. If we are to ever win the league, we need to have more than one game plan and astute and mature leadership on the field, otherwise we will need to content being runners up to Kandy for many more years to come.