Queen City vs Glendale - Match Report 4/18/15

Saturday April 18th started out as a blistery chilly day. The field was dry and firm. A slight breeze was blowing from the south. The Olde Boys were out in droves to support the club as they prepare to do battle against Glendale D3 squad. The spirits were high and the feeling of victory was in the air.

The match started out with City receiving. The kick-off was botched and the ball was knocked-on giving Glendale an opportunity early in the match. However, the men in Orange and Black stalwart defense held true and kept the men in Blue and White at bay. Mistakes by Glendale and good clearing kicks kept Glendale out of the try zone. Finally, at the 9-minute mark saw Glendale spin the ball wide to the winger who was able to turn the corner and beat the cover defense to race to the try zone. The conversion was wide right and Glendale had the early lead, 0 – 5. The match was a defensive battle as both clubs probed and poked at each others line to no avail. City from the 15-minute mark to around the 35-minute were making good ground into Glendale territory. Finally, at the 26th minute mark from a good recycle ball from a line-out which were working well for the men in Orange and Black, the forwards made a drive at the Glendale line. In an attempt to “jackal” the ball Glendale was called for a ruck infringement by Referee Greg Wolf. Winger Charlie Keener made the men in Blue and White pay for their indiscretion and split the uprights for a 3-pointer to cut into the Glendale lead, 3 – 5. City went right back on attack, driving deep into the Glendale territory. A scrum was awarded to City. No. 8 Dan Herr performed a pick and go; driving hard to the Glendale line. Good recycle ball and a good offload saw Prop Chris Gustafson breaking hard to the line not to be denied to dot down for the first City try on the day. The conversion was missed from the tough angle; but, City had the lead at 8 – 5 at the 34th minute mark of the match. The match remained the same as Referee Wolf blew the halftime whistle.

Second half saw City continue their attack and defensive pressure. Driving deep into Glendale territory saw a scrum result from a knock-on as City was driving hard to the line with their forwards. City forwards turned the scrum and ball came squirting out from underneath the Glendale flanker’s feet. Flanker Loren Baker alerting snatched the ball and dove over the line as he was being tackled by the Glendale defense. The conversion was once again missed; but, the City lead was extended to 13 – 5 at the 48th minute mark. At this time, the wheels seem to come off for the men in Orange and Black. The attack was not as crisp and the defense seem to be on the back foot. Glendale took advantage and scored a penalty kick at the 52nd mark, a converted try at the 54th minute mark, another penalty kick at the 62nd minute mark, and an another penalty kick at the 70th minute mark to take the lead out to 13 – 21. All of this was compounded by the fact that Flyhalf Ryan Clemons was issued a yellow card for what was deemed to be a late hit on the Glendale scrumhalf. A review of the video saw this action to be a bit harsh. Bound and determined to climb back into the match saw life comeback into the City side. The men in Orange and Black relentless drove at the Glendale line with their forwards. Penalty after penalty by Glendale kept giving City opportunities. Finally, since City needed two scores the decision was made by Captain Dan Herr to go for points in front of the posts. Winger Charlie Keener was true with his kick to slice into Glendale's lead at 16 -21 at the 75th minute mark. Knowing that they had to go the distance quickly saw City panic a bit and they turned the ball over. Glendale scored a final try from this turnover ball for which they converted to make the final score 16 -28 at the final whistle by Referee Greg Wolf.

Unfortunately, the match did not go as planned and City suffered their the first league loss. Disappointing and tough loss to say the least. Flanker Loren Baker played his usually hard and physical game afforded him the overall “Man of the Match”. Prop Chris Gustafson ran hard, scrimmaged well, and scored one of the tries to earn himself the second “Man of the Match”. This loss set up the playoff picture. Queen City will now play in a Championship match on May 2nd against Glendale, winner of the spring season, for the right to go the Frontier CR Championship playoffs in Kansas City. City will now have to win that match to advance to the playoff even though we are overall points leader in the League standings and can’t be caught. The match was videotaped and some interesting things came out of the review of the film. All three of Glendale tries came from defensive lapses to the outside that were preventable. City left three very sure tries on the field had better reads been made by the players. The last twenty minutes was not played with as much defensive prowess as the first sixty and City played on the back foot allowing Glendale to make and pass the gain line. Coach Charlie has challenged the team to reflect on this loss, put it behind them, and come out even stronger the next time out. One more League match to play before we get ready to play Glendale once again for the Championship.

Charlie