New York travelled to Philadelphia to take on the much improved Philly Hawks. With heavy, persistent rain throughout the day, the pies could tell early it was going to be a tough game. In old fashioned wet weather footy, the Hawks jumped out of the blocks early while the Magpies had another slow start. This saw the Pies down by a few goals at 1/4 time, which was equivalent to about 5 goals on a dry day. The deficit would have been larger if not for the strong work of Captain Brennan, Walker and Puvi.
The challenge was put to the Pies to respond and respond they did. Led by veterans Lin, Desai and Smiley in the midfield, the Pies fought to get first to the ball. Further support was given by Oui and Lehane who kicked it into full gear as well as the excellent defense of Lewis, Lyndon and Thompson. Toby and Demao provided strong forward line pressure and Buckingham straightened up the team. A much improved second quarter saw the Pies take an important 11 point lead into the main break.
In the 3rd quarter CHF Walker went down with a hamstring injury forcing a shift in the lineup as Mantzaris moved forward, the big diesel (McCormack) headed back to provide more support, and McMaster, on one leg shifted into the middle. These moves, along with great crumbing by Guarino, ensured that the Pies kept the lead at 3/4 time.
The last quarter was a ‘win at all costs’ affair for both teams. Pollulach continued his good performance from the half back with a penetrating right boot and Lewis, Desai and Lin were in every play. Pat Builder also won some important contests with his hard running. As the Hawks attempted to mount one final challenge, the Magpies shut them down with a great goal from McMaster and then the goal of the day from the boundary line by Oui which ultimately sealed the game.
After suffering a few injury riddled seasons Walt Lin returned to his best with a ‘best on ground’ effort. He said after the game “the boys were pretty happy to come away from the game with a win. Philly is always tough and especially on their home ground we knew it was going to be a long day and we were just lucky to get points in the end.”
Coach Ormsby echoed those thoughts and noted: “Walt was tremendous for us today. That’s the sort of a ability he has so now the challenge for him is to follow up with a repeat performance. OJ, Smiley and Lewis were also very good but it was more pleasing that we got a solid contribution from all 22 players which resulted in a win”.
Scores:
NY 1.4.10 Ph 3.1.19
NY 4.8.32 Ph 3.3.21
NY 5.10.40 Ph 5.3.33
NY 7.13.55 Ph 5.5.35
Goals:
Georgiou 3, Brennan, McMaster, Guarino, Desai
Best:
Lin, Georgiou, Desai, Brennan, Lewis
In the final game of the day the New York Magpies faced the Baltimore/Washington Eagles. Baltimore has had the wood on the Magpies in their last few meetings, so the Pies were keen to put in a good performance. This was clear from the outset as the Magpies, who have been starting slowly all season, attacked the ball and were up and about early. Neither team was able to wrestle ascendancy from the other and it was clear this was going to be a tight game and go down to the wire. Batty, Heffernan and Mitchell were again good in the middle with Oui, Smith and Lin all providing extra run when they were rotated through the midfield.
Toby, Nick Walker and Brad Davis’ physical presence in the forward line was telling as they chased hard and put plenty of pressure on the BWE defenders. Keating and Mapo carried on their form from the first game and provided excellent targets to straighten up the Magpies. Squires, McCormick and Smiley (on his 32nd birthday) all made valuable contributions when called upon. The first half was highlighted by a tremendous individual play by Toby, who gathered the ball from 50, broke a few tackles and kicked truly from 35 metres. He ensured the Magpies went into half time with a small lead.
In the second half it was much of the same. Both teams were ferocious at the ball and New York was determined to keep up the intensity. Julian Mason was sent off after a bit of Argy Bargy, but it seemed that only steeled the group to push harder for a win.
The backline was on top with McMaster and Norman controlling the BWE talls and Tommy Thompson, back for his first game of the year, Squires, Lewis and Mantzaris all playing like warriors down back.
The Pies managed another goal in the second half with the pace of Murphy and the class of Hawkins proving vital. In a great all around team performance the Pies won by 3 goals. Captain for the day and in his last game for his beloved Magpies, James Hawkins was carried off to end the day on a high.
NY: 3.0.18
BWE: 0.3.3
Goalkickers: Keating, Tornay, Davis
Best: Batty, Georgiou, McMaster, Heffernan, Tornay, Smith
The Magpies ventured down to Philly on a hot Saturday for a tournament featuring NY, Philly, Baltimore / Washington, North Carolina and Florida. In the Magpies 1st game they played North Carolina. The Magpies had nearly a full complement of players to choose from and got off to a strong start. Buckingham was dominant in the ruck and Mitchell, Heffernan, plus Hawkins, who captained the club in his final outing for the Magpies, all gave the forwards plenty of supply. Magpie debutant Mapo made an impact with 2 goals in the first 2 minutes and along with Keating, who was back in the side, formed a potent forward line. Brad Davis moved forward and bobbed up with a strong mark and goal while Nick Walker relished the run up the ground.
In defense the experienced Lewis came into the side and McMaster, who had been playing forward, was pushed back, 2 key additions that bolstered the backline. Oui, Norman, Lin and Mantzaris stood firm repeatedly repelling NC’s forward attacks. After a few more goals to Hawkins, Keating and Toby, the Magpies were up by 45 points at the main change. The second half saw much of the same with the Magpies in control of the contest. The injection of the big diesel Batty and Mason in the second half ensured NY stayed focused and ran out comfortable winners. After the game coach Ormsby was reasonably happy with the teams performance, but was more pleased with the way the Magpies played, not the final score. He was also happy to be able to debut 5 new players without upsetting the team structure and game plan, saying, “The two new American boys, Hunter and Jamie, both showed a lot of promise in their first game of AFL. James and Bryant also played well in their first game for the Magpies, while Mapo gave us a great target up forward.”
NY: 12.8.80
NC: 2.0.12
Goalkickers NY: Mapleston 2, Tornay 2, Keating, Davis, Bulone, Dymock, Lawrence, Farrell, Georgiou, Mitchell
Best NY: Mapleston, Mitchell, Hawkins, Davis, Mason
The New York Lady Magpies hosted the first women’s tournament of the 2010 season at on May 8. Three teams competed in the Big Apple for the first hit out of the year: the New York Lady Magpies, the Toronto Central Lady Blues, and the Reds, a fusion team comprised of players from Atlanta, Baltimore, Minnesota, Arizona, Milwaukee, and Denver. The tournament was a great success with tough tackling and determination at the ball under the hot sun in Yonkers, NY.
In the first game of the day, the Lady Magpies faced the Reds fusion team. There was no home field advantage in this match however. The Lady Magpies played 2 players down against a Reds team comprised of mostly former US Freedom players. The skill and experience of the Reds showed on the scoreboard with the Reds racking up 10 goals in the 1st half.
BW Lady Eagles Judith Stein and Eileen Geoghegan dominated in the middle winning most of the footy despite Erin Polulach’s fierce job in the ruck. Lady Pie rookie Rebecca Gallogly proved to be a natural kicking 2 goals in her first game ever. Without Jane Moore at fullback, the Reds would’ve surely doubled their successes on goal. The Reds had to fight hard in the middle due to the constant determination at the ball of Andrea Casillas who seemed to be present wherever the footy was. With a squad comprised of half rookies and half vets, the Lady Pies walked away with their heads high despite the loss.
1st Half
NY 1.1.7
Reds 10.6.66
Final
NY. 2.1.13
Reds 16.13.109
Goalkickers: Rebecca Gallogly 2
Best NY: 1) Rebecca Gallogly 2) Jane Moore 3) Andrea Casillas
Injuries NY: Odette Smolicz (Fractured ribs)
In a more evenly matched game, the Lady Pies took on the visiting Lady Blues. With the addition of the McHale sisters, NY seemed to crumb the footy all over the field denying the Blues of much action in the 1st half. Erin Polulach’s stellar performance in the ruck for the Pies ensured that the black and white won most of the taps. However, the Blues possessed speed and agility in the middle often coming out of the center with the footy.
Jane Moore moved up the field to a more comfortable position at full forward and successfully scored 3 goals during the match. New York dominated the uprights with 7 goalkickers total. The Pies tiring in the second half opened up the doors for the Lady Blues to close the gap on the scoreboard and the Blues kept the pressure on the Lady Pies the entire 40 minutes. With ferocious tackling and struggles for the ball on the ground, these 2 squads battled it out until the end with the home team coming out on top for their second win in Lady Magpie history.
First Half
NY 6.4.40
Blues 2.1.13
Final
NY 10.8.68
Blues 3.4.22
NY Goalkickers: Jane Moore 3, Erin Polulach 2, Bec Pearce, Andrea Casillas, Monica Robbins, Rebecca McHale, Christina Licata
Best NY: 1) Siobhan McHale 2) Rachel Sweeney 3) Monica Robbins
In the last match of the day, the Reds defeated the Blues in game that seemed dominated by the experience of the veterans of US Women’s Footy. The Blues, down some women, enlisted the aid of Lady Magpies Jane Moore and Siobhan McHale on the field. NY’s McHale was voted best for the Blues picking the ball up and being the only goalkicker for the Canadian side.
