New York v Western PA at Pittsburgh

“Come on down to South Park and meet some friends of mine ….”

The Magpies made their inaugural trek to Pittsburgh to face the newest USAFL side, the Western Pennsylvania Wallabies. New York was wary of an opponent they had not played before coming off their first win, but spirits were high after a solid win against Baltimore in the previous round. Due to Western PA only having 15 available players (still a terrific effort in their first year) the game was reduced to 14 a side, which suited the small but well grassed field in the middle of the South Park Fairgrounds.

A win would see the Magpies secure a spot in the NEAFL grand final, while a loss would place the team back in the pack, and would result in a virtual elimination final against Baltimore to finish the NEAFL regular season. The Pies were keen to lock in their grand final appointment early.

In a mostly untidy first half, the Pies found much of their drive from across half back. Recent convert to Centre Half Back, Wayne Andrew, was not caught lounging around and was extremely solid in the air, as was Paul Anderson at full back, back for his first game for the year after an extended premiership hangover. Coach Paterson mopped up effectively across half back, and while the coach was confused at times due to the guernsey clash and both teams wearing dark shorts, he was ably supported across half back by Andrew “Molly Meldrum” O’Flaherty, who had no doubt which team he was playing for during the day (although some doubts were expressed later in the evening due to his Tour de France leaders jersey).

The New York forward line, wasteful in front of goal in previous games, made the most of opportunities when presented during the first half, especially Brett Moorcroft, kicking 5 goals straight. There were some exceptions, however, such as Guy Luminato, a tireless runner who was perhaps a bit snap happy up forward.

Traveling with such a large squad, the Magpies used the half time break to restructure the side, and introduced impressive newcomer, Matt Ritchie, and fashion doyen, Peter Gurry, into the midfield, which produced immediate results. Both crumbed well to Andrew Bridges, again enjoying another stellar performance in the ruck, and also pushed forward to provide numerous scoring opportunities for forwards. Once up forward, the Magpies worked hard to keep the ball in their territory, Matt Barlaz and Jeff Farnham, noted for their hardheadedness, provided a number of bruising shepherds. Inspired by his mentor’s bullocking play across half forward, Sam Reid was creative pushing up from half forward to become a target across the wing. However, while claiming to be a large target up forward, the further the game progressed the Magpies discovered that he only had the size to play a small forward’s role in what he claimed were cold conditions.

Towards the end of the game Gurry, tired of bringing others into the game, decided to dispose of the footy only to himself, sufficiently padding his stat sheet. Eric “Cartman” Kallhovd continued to provide a target across the half forward during the second half, as did Simon Bell, both kicking 2 goals for the game. The Magpies conversion rate dropped as the game went on, however, first year player Gary “The Talented Mr. MacGuyver” Lerch kicked his first goal for the Magpies in an encouraging display in the forward line. The Magpies comfortably home by 77 points.

Despite the lopsided result, the Western PA Wallabies were a tough side and would have been closer but for inaccuracies up forward. They continued to battle out the game even with a reduced bench, scoring 2 goals in the last quarter. Their side included a number of talented Americans of good size, who will no doubt form the nucleus of a good side and a great rival for the Magpies.

The great spirit from the game flowed on well into the evening, where the Magpies and Wallabies hit the Sport Rock Bar at the Pittsburgh Strip, where the bad taste shirts blended in with the crowd a bit too easily ….

While it was a great win for New York, the result did identify that the Magpies must continue to work on their delivery into the forward line to ensure a better conversion rate in games in the future, which will no doubt be closer. The win also meant that the Magpies would be playing in the first NEAFL grand final later in the year, but still with an incentive to win the next game against Baltimore, as victory would result in a home grand final.

Final scores:

New York: 3.1 ; 9.4 ; 11.7 ; 14.13: 97

Western PA: 0.2 ; 0.5 ; 0.7 ; 2.8: 20

Goalkickers: 5 – Moorcroft; 2 – Bell, Luminato, Kallhovd; 1 – O’Flaherty, Lerch, Ritchie.

Best Players: Moorcroft, Bridges, W. Andrew, Thompson, Lerner, Luminato, Lewis.