New York Magpies vs Philadelphia Hawks

FDR Park, Philadelphia, PA

EAFL Round 5

Gotham Magpies vs Baltimore/Washington Eagles

Umpire: Brian Green

The early game in Philly started well for the Gotham Pies with a quick goal and it looked like they could put in a good showing but the Pies could not continue the promising start. The Eagles took control in the centre with their ruckmen feeding their runners, working the ball to their forwards. The NY midfield were under siege as BWE were able to create space and use their fitness to their advantage. By half time the Pies were down by a considerable margin but they fought hard in the last qtr to restrict the damage. The Pies defense held up well under the pressure and the scoreboard did not pay respect to the effort the back six put in.

Col Smart, coach of the Gotham Pies, had a few words to say about the game.

“Bearing in mind we had players playing their first game and experienced players being played out of position and rotated in ways through the second half to allow for "rest" before the main game it was a very good effort against a team used to playing together with some very good players. Despite the result fantastic work by Dylan and Uni in the backline.”

Better players for the Pies were Dylan Bryant, Ben Vonweiller and Mike Gluck.

The final scores were:

BWE 12.7.79
NYC 3.3.21

Goal scorers: James Polulach 2, Mike Gluck 1.

New York Magpies vs Philadelphia Hawks

Umpire: Brian Green and Denis Ryan

The main game saw the NY Magpies take on the Philadelphia Hawks. A win would secure the EAFL title with a loss or draw dropping the team to 3rd place. The Pies have won the last few battles against the Hawks by considerable margins and this one was the same. Through excellent ruck work by Bubba and creative centre skills by Rhys Ryan, the Pies attacked relentlessly in the first qtr and piled on the goals. Before the Hawks got the ball into their forward 50, the Pies had 6 on the board.

The good work continued into the 2nd and 3rd qtrs but the Hawks did come back into the game and make the Pies work hard for their goals. The Pies put in an all round effort but Bubba, Ryan, Matt Smith and Walt Lin continued their good form. Several new American players made their debuts in Charlie Davidson and Pat “Bob the” Bilder and they performed admirably.

NY overall were just too skillful and too good for the Hawks and were served well by forwards Hayes and Kimball (6 goals). Their superior running game caused many headaches for the Hawks as they just could not match up. The Pies ran the game out well in the surprising heat of Philly and will be looking to hone their fitness for Nationals.

Coach Devine was not available for comment and has been sketchy of late with the NY media by not returning calls.

Goal Scorers Kimball 6, Molloy 3, Toohey 2, Schultz 2, Gluck 1, Bridges 1, Dixon 1, Hayes 1, Crighton 1

Match Video

Match Photos