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Anthem came painfully close to a first-ever franchise victory but in the end came up short by a single point at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex on Friday night. The final score read 32-31 in favor of the Miami Sharks in a back-and-forth battle that saw the lead change eight times over 80 minutes.
Martín Elías opened the scoring with a penalty goal after early pressure from the Sharks, but it was Anthem who notched the firs try. Ill discipline handed the home side an attacking lineout and when the maul went over it was Connor Robinson who came up with the ball, with Line Latu adding the extras.
Carolina’s defense was concentrated in the middle of the park, leaving more than enough space for Santiago Videla to cross. In almost identical fashion the Sharks were soon disorganized allowing Latu to step through and reach out of a tackle to score. The frantic action continued as Miami fired back, with Videla’s offload sending Tomás Cubilla into the right corner.
A reply came from Anthem just past the half-hour mark. Sam Golla came around the corner of a ruck and blasted over. Latu’s conversion attempt rang of both uprights but the flags stayed down. The home side were then reduced to 13 men in a matter of minutes as Puna Vuli saw yellow for a high tackle and Dylan Fortune was binned for failing to roll clear at a ruck. This time the defense held, however, as Golla got underneath the ball to spoil a rehearsed lineout move testing the short side.
Just a minute into the second half the Sharks retook the lead on a breakaway score. Guiseppe du Toit and Videla both delivered offloads for Ben Bonasso to sprint clear. Ma’ake Muti was then dispatched to the sin bin for collapsing a maul, and Vuli busted through to put Anthem up by two points.
Another wild passage saw Vuli’s inside pass freeing Erich Storti, the outside center weaving through the defense to score a wonderful individual try. Miami looked to have responded when Manuel Ardao popped off the deck to a trailing Tomás Inciarte, but the score was waved off for an obstruction. A yellow card was brandished to Golla for what looked to be incidental contact in a passive tackle, which allowed Elias to take three points off the tee.
With Anthem now leading by six points Latu had a shot at the posts but he skewed the kick wide right. The Sharks pressed and while a penalty clearance reached touch 20 meters out from the posts, somehow the forwards had the strength to drive the ball every inch of the way with Tomás Bekerman falling over the line for the try. Videla stepped up to take the conversion and made no mistake, and Miami’s defense stopped any further advances before kicking the ball dead on a turnover.
The Sharks head home to take on the Chicago Hounds next Friday. Anthem will have an extra day to rest before they try their luck on the road against Old Glory DC on Saturday.
| SCORING |
CAROLINA 31
Tries (5) – C. Robinson (8′), L. Latu (15′), S. Golla (32′), P. Vuli (47′), E. Storti (56′)
Cons (3) – L. Latu 3/5 (9′, 16′, 57′)
Pens (0) – L. Latu 0/1
YC (3) – P. Vuli (36′), D. Fortune (38′), S. Golla (62′)
MIAMI 32
Tries (4) – S. Videla (12′), T. Cubilla (20′), B. Bonasso (41′), T. Bekerman (73′)
Cons (3) – M. Elías 2/3 (13′, 42′), S. Videla 1/1 (74′)
Pens (2) – M. Elías 2/3 (5′, 63′)
YC (1) – M. Muti (47′)
| LINEUPS |
ANTHEM CAROLINA
1 Jake Turnbull (co-capt.) (17 Dan Hanson 71′), 2 Connor Robinson (16 Ethan Howard 71′), 3 Alex Maughan (18 Joe Apikotoa 47′), 4 Puna Vuli (19 Alejandro Martinez Tapia 60′), 5 Mikey Grandy, 6 Sam Golla (co-capt.) (*20 Michael Ma’afu 69′-72′), 7 Makeen Alikhan, 8 Dylan Fortune (20 Michael Ma’afu 79′), 9 Carlo de Nysschen (21 Ishy Safodien 76′), 10 Karl Keane, 11 Jason Tidwell (23 EJ Freeman 59′), 12 Junior Gafa, 13 Erich Storti, 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Line Latu
Not used: 22 Watson Filikitonga
*20 Michael Ma’afu was incorrectly sent on the field before Sam Golla’s yellow card had expired
MIAMI SHARKS
1 Ma’ake Muti (17 Jonas Petrakopoulos 72′), 2 Kirby Myhill (16 Sean McNulty 51′), 3 Tau Koloamatangi (18 Alex Tucci 65′), 4 Mauro Rebussone, 5 Federico Gutiérrez (20 Tomás Bekerman 46′-48′), 6 Manuel Ardao (19 Chase Schor-Haskin 62′-72′), 7 Benjamín Bonasso, 8 Marques Fuala’au (20 Tomás Bekerman 48′), 9 Tomás Inciarte, 10 Martín Elías, 11 Tomás Cubilla, 12 Guiseppe du Toit, 13 Matías Orlando (capt.), 14 Marcos Young (17 Jonas Petrakopoulos 53′-57′), 15 Santiago Videla
Not used: 21 Damian Morley, 22 Shane O’Leary, 23 Lautaro Soto Ansay
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Friday, February 28
Venue: Mecklenburg County SportsPlex, Matthews
Kickoff: 19:30 local
Weather: clear, 64°F (18°C), wind E 10-17mph (16-27km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistants: Mike Lawrenson (USA) & Dave Edwards (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
