Isipathana made to work hard for their win

Tough outing for Isipathana against Zahira

By Shamseer Jaleel

Isipathana College were made to work hard for their 17-3 win over lowly placed Zahira in their Singer League first round encounter which concluded at Havelock Park. 

Zahira put up a brave effort and never gave up. They believed in themselves and worked as a unit. Zahira forwards dominated play with some fine cover tackles which kept the Green Shirts away from scoring freely. 

Isipathana drew first blood in the 17th minute of the game through their speedy winger, Rameetha de Silva, with last year skipper Manelka Ruberu doing well to add the extra two points.

After that, play was maintained in midfield with either side playing with more purpose and determination. Zahira’s forwards maintained the pressure on Isipathana who made many handling errors that gave away possession. 

Zahira got off to scoring when the Isipathana defence was caught off side. After the turnaround the visitors continued to play well but lacked the finishing touches.

Ruberu added another penalty for Isipathana to take a commanding 10-3 lead. Mohamed Riyaz scored Isipathana’s second try towards the later part of the second half. Ruberu added the extra two points, not only to take Isipathana for a win, but also to continue their winning streak before they meet Joes next weekend in the final first round encounter.

 Zahira and St Anthony’s are very likely to feature in the Plate segment in round two.