9/13 Loss to Old Gold
The second match of the season, and first home match, was against arch-rival Old Gold. New-and-improved Fox Street Field was brimming with a home crowd on a sunny day, a perfect day for rugby. Portland got off to a great start, with both backs and forwards making strong advances into Old Gold's end of the field. Old Gold went up 3-0 on a penalty kick, however, and penalties continued to keep the Boys in Blue out of the try zone until midway through the half. Fred Hayman dove in after juking a few backs off a set piece within the 22 meter line. Back and forth play ended the half.
The second half was a slug fest in every sense of the term, and not until late did Old Gold capitalize on a picked-off pass an an 80-meter try. Portland couldn't mount enough of an offense in the final minutes to even the score. Final score: 15-5.
Portland has another home game this Saturday against Providence, 1:00 at Fox Street Field.
Monday, September 15, 2003
9/6 Portland Loss to Newport
In an opening match reminiscent of this past Spring's game against Newport, Portland got off to a rocky start and didn't get untracked until it was too late to mount a comeback. Newport showed it's strength in its speedy backline, which was too much of a match for the Portland side's patchwork backfield.
Newport got on the board early with two penalty kicks off pressure from their backline. Portland, with three forwards playing in the backs, couldn't get it wide and play was sloppy early on. The Portland forwards began mauling and keeping the ball close late in the first half, and converted a strong try on 6 phases within Newport's 22 meter line. After half, Portland's strategy to keep the ball closer in to the forwards created another driving try, but Newport's speed and chip kicks into open territory were too much of a match.
The final score: 40-10.
In an opening match reminiscent of this past Spring's game against Newport, Portland got off to a rocky start and didn't get untracked until it was too late to mount a comeback. Newport showed it's strength in its speedy backline, which was too much of a match for the Portland side's patchwork backfield.
Newport got on the board early with two penalty kicks off pressure from their backline. Portland, with three forwards playing in the backs, couldn't get it wide and play was sloppy early on. The Portland forwards began mauling and keeping the ball close late in the first half, and converted a strong try on 6 phases within Newport's 22 meter line. After half, Portland's strategy to keep the ball closer in to the forwards created another driving try, but Newport's speed and chip kicks into open territory were too much of a match.
The final score: 40-10.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)