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The Miami Sharks made a game of it but couldn’t quite get the win they wanted in their home debut. Instead it was the visiting Chicago Hounds who did just enough to win the arm wrestle with their forwards getting the edge in the rain in front of 4,500 fans at AutoNation Field on Sunday.
There was barely a minute on the click when Miami conceded a penalty at the breakdown straight in front of their posts. Adriaan Carelse calmly slotted the three points and the visitors were in the lead. Carelse exchanged penalties with Felipe Etcheverry, and then the latter made it two kicks apiece after a Kirby Myhill made good ground on a line break.
Discipline bit the Sharks as the Chicago pack built momentum. This time Manuel Ardao was judged to have collapsed a rolling maul and a penalty try was awarded along with a yellow card. Just as Ardao returned the same fate befell Stan van den Hoven and another seven points went up on the board.
The rain eventually died down but conditions remained slippery and errors from both sides continued From the restart the Hounds gave away a penalty, and with it a chance for Etcheverry to close the gap. He made no mistake and the score stood 20-9 to the visitors at the intermission.
Early in the second half a cross-kick from Etcheverry looked to be too long but Michael Baska couldn’t hang on and the Sharks regained possession. When their pack came up close Tomas Cubelli took it on himself but was held up over the line. From the restart Etcheverry’s snap drop goal sailed wide and the Hounds had a chance to breathe.
Miami kept their foot on the pedal and pushed back to within touching distance of the try line. Initially a driving maul was stopped short but Sean McNulty broke from the back and burrowed in for the try, with Etcheverry tacking on the extras to make it a four-point game.
Eric Naposki suffered the same plight as Baska when a grubber into the corner by Carelse resulted in a knock-on from the Miami winger as he slid past the ball. Chicago’s scrum looked to have the edge but after sustained pressure Ardao redeemed his earlier indiscretion with a turnover at the breakdown in the shadow of his own posts.
A little after the hour mark Miami went on the attack, and the Hounds were pinged for an illegal entry at the breakdown. Etcheverry took the three and suddenly there was just one point separating the two sides. It wasn’t to be for Miami, however, as a similar penalty at the other end gave Carelse all he needed to nudge his team out of kicking range and secure the road win.
Both teams face a short turnaround as they return to action Saturday, and both will play on the road. Chicago head west to take on the Utah Warriors in Herriman and Miami fly all the way to the Pacific coast for a date with the Seattle Seawolves in Tukwila.
| SCORING |
MIAMI 19
Tries (1) – S. McNulty (49′)
Cons (1) – F. Etcheverry 1/1 (50′)
Pens (4) – F. Etcheverry 4/4 (5′, 15′, 30′, 65′)
DG (0) – F. Etcheverry 0/1
YC (2) – M. Ardao (18′), S. van den Hoven (28′)
CHICAGO 23
Tries (2) – Penalty try 2 (18′, 28′)
Cons (2) – No kick 2 (18′, 28′)
Pens (3) – A. Carelse 3/3 (2′, 8′, 73′)
| LINEUPS |
MIAMI SHARKS
1 Rob Evans (17 Jonas Petrakopoulos 60′), 2 Kirby Myhill (16 Sean McNulty HT), 3 Reinaldo Piussi (18 Alec McDonnell 77′), 4 Tomás Casares (19 Rick Rose 60′), 5 Stan van den Hoven, 6 Benjamín Bonasso, 7 Dan Pryor, 8 Manuel Ardao, 9 Tomás Cubelli (capt.), 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 11 Eric Naposki (23 Avery Oitomen 73′), 12 Nick Grigg (22 Guiseppe du Toit 77′), 13 Tomás Inciarte, 14 Marcos Young, 15 Shane O’Leary
Not used: 20 Chase Schor-Haskin, 21 Damian Morley
CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Zura Zhvania (17 Fred Apulu 67′), 2 Dylan Fawsitt (16 Guillermo Pujadas 67′), 3 Ignacio Peculo (18 Charlie Abel 52′), 4 James Scott, 5 George Merrick, 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Lucas Rumball, 8 Luke White (20 Maclean Jones 43′-48′, 60′), 9 Nick McCarthy (21 Jason Higgins 61′), 10 Billy Meakes (capt.), 11 Michael Baska (23 Julián Domínguez 52′), 12 Bryce Campbell, 13 Mark O’Keeffe, 14 Nate Augspurger, 15 Adriaan Carelse
Not used: 19 Mike Matarazzo, 22 Luke Carty
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, March 3
Venue: AutoNation Field, Fort Lauderdale
Kickoff: 18:00 local (delayed from original 17:30 kickoff)
Weather: rain, 72°F (22°C), wind S 5-7mph (8-12km/h)
Attendance: 4,500
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Kahlil Harrison (USA)
Assistants: Miles McIvor (USA) & Tom Ciampa (USA)
TMO: Amanda Cox (USA)
