By Shannon Nicholas

Havelock SC made the perfect start to the second round of the Dialog Rugby League 2017/18 when they trashed Air Force SC 34 points to 18 in their fixture played at the Air Force Grounds yesterday.

Havies gathered their points through three goals, two unconverted tries and a penalty while the hosts were only able to score a goal, an unconverted try and two penalties.

Going into the game as favorites, Havelocks started off well but Air Force managed to create quite a stir as they fought back, and saw them enjoy a slender 18 -17 lead at one stage.

It took just four minutes for the ‘Park Club’ players to draw first blood, when Dulaj Perera planted the first try of the evening. Reeza Mubarak added the extras with ease.

Sudam Sooriyarachchi was successful in extending the Havies’ lead when he scored a well-executed try in the 12th minute. With the conversion, the scores read 14-00.

Havelock had many chances there onwards to grab more points but the Airmen stood strong in defense as they made sure that no points leaked from their end.

Air Force struck in the 37th minute when Ishara Madushan valiantly sprinted from the center of the ground, before touching down. Charith Senevirathne made no mistake in the conversion, amending the scores to 14-07.

At the verge of half-time, Mubarak was able to add three more points through a penalty, before the referee brought the first half to a halt.

Air Force looked the better of the two teams when play resumed as they looked to attack more. Soon Senevirathne managed to convert a penalty before Krishan Surya went over the line, cutting short the lead to just two points.

Rejuvenated by the sudden success, Air Force kept pushing up field and were putting the pressure on the visitors. They were awarded a penalty as a result of their attempts, and Senevirathne managed to pip Air Force in front, 17-18, when he bisected the poles.

Havelock were not done yet however, as they replied through two back-to-back tries. Dushmantha Priyadarshana was the first Havies player who managed to get over the line while Chamara Dabare soon followed his teammate with the fourth try of the day, amending the scores to 29 points to 18.

Asmeen Fajudeen sealed the game for the visitors when he marched through the Air Force backline to plant the fifth and final try of the day.

They were sudden bursts of play from both teams in the final few minutes but neither of the two were able to make any difference to the scoreboard.