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The SaberCats bounced back from their first loss of the campaign with ae emphatic 38-17 road win over Old Glory on Saturday. Houston’s scrum set the tone with a dominant performance while AJ Alatimu contributed a perfect six-from-six effort off the tee.
It was a sign of things to come when the SaberCats won a scrum penalty and Alatimu took three points. Jason Robertson responded with a kick of his own, but Houston were soon looking for more. The scrum again sent DC backwards and Davy Coetzer cut through the line to snatch the first try of the game.
Just ahead of the hydration break and long passage of phase play from Houston put Old Glory on the retreat. Coetzer sent a well-weighted grubber into the corner and though Mike Dabulas was first to the scene, the bounce was cruel and Christian Dyer was on hand for the grounding. Alatimu nailed the kick from the sideline to make it a full seven.
Houston bungled the restart and the home side got an immediate chance to respond. Cory Daniel broke through the middle of a maul to score, but celebrations were short-lived. The visiting pack went back to work and Maks van Dyk scored seconds after DC skipper Rob Harley was binned for collapsing a maul.
Another kick ahead, this time from Alatimu, had the Old Glory defense scrambling. Dabulas managed to gather the ball but a furious counter-ruck turned over possession and Gideon van Wyk soon crossed for the bonus point try to leave it 31-10 to the SaberCats at halftime.
Though DC’s pack could find little purchase at the set piece, a hard line from Tevita Naqali saw the big second row straight though to give the home side some hope. There would be no further scoring from Old Glory, however, as the SaberCats took a stranglehold on possession. A driving maul try was called back for obstruction but Dom Akina put the game on ice with an intercept try and the final minutes ticked away with Houston in complete control.
It’s a short turnaround for Old Glory who now face a challenging road game against the Utah Warriors on Friday night. The SaberCats will reach the midpoint of their campaign at home against the San Diego Legion on Saturday.
| SCORING |
DC 17
Tries (2) – C. Daniel (23′), T. Naqali (52′)
Cons (2) – J. Robertson 1/1 (24′), No kick (52′)
Pens (1) – J. Robertson 1/1 (10′)
YC (1) – R. Harley (26′)
HOUSTON 38
Tries (5) – D. Coetzer (13′), C. Dyer (19′), M. van Dyk (27′), G. van Wyk (37′), D. Akina (73′)
Cons (5) – A. Alatimu 5/5 (14′, 20′, 28′, 38′, 74′)
Pens (1) – A. Alatimu 1/1 (7′)
| LINEUPS |
OLD GLORY DC
1 Quentin Newcomer (17 Jack Iscaro HT), 2 Facundo Gattas (16 Martín Vaca 50′), 3 Tyler Rowland (18 Cali Martinez 28′), 4 Rob Harley (capt.), 5 Tevita Naqali (19 Bill Whiteside 76′), 6 Collin Grosse, 7 Cory Daniel (20 Brady Daniel 76′), 8 Lautaro Bavaro, 9 Ethan McVeigh (21 Connor Buckley 64′), 10 Jason Robertson, 11 Axel Müller, 12 Tommaso Boni, 13 Damien Hoyland, 14 Perry Humphreys, 15 Mike Dabulas (23 William Talataina HT)
Not used: 22 Gradyn Bowd
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth (17 LaRome White 64′), 2 Tiaan Erasmus (16 Seth Smith 76′), 3 Maks van Dyk (18 Pono Davis HT), 4 Justin Basson, 5 Marno Redelinghuys, 6 Keni Nasoqeqe (19 Tomi Agbongbon 59′), 7 Ronan Murphy (20 Asa Carter 69′), 8 Gideon van Wyk, 9 André Warner (21 Carlo de Nysschen 67′), 10 AJ Alatimu (9 André Warner 76′), 11 Line Latu, 12 Sam Hill (22 Max Schumacher 67′), 13 Tautalatasi Tasi (23 Dom Akina 52′), 14 Christian Dyer (capt.), 15 Davy Coetzer
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, April 20
Venue: Maryland SoccerPlex, Germantown
Kickoff: 17:00 local
Weather: sunny, 67°F (19°C), wind NW 14-21mph (22-34km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
Assistants: Eanna O’Dowd (Ireland) & Craig Sakowski (USA)
TMO: Cam Russell (Canada)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
