Week 4 Match Report - 20.02.15

UK vs Slovakia

In today's game the UK played against the only opponent they had yet to face in Group F, Slovakia. After 3 successive wins the UK were hoping to finish the 1st half of the qualifiers with a flawless record, however Slovakia had other plans.

Slovakia received the kick off and on their opening drive they progressed 74 yards down the field in 7 plays to score the 1st TD of the game with ease. The UK started their opening drive on their own 18 and McMillian had 2 successful completions before being intercepted on his 4th passing attempt of the game. Slovakia started their 2nd drive on their 36 yard line, but the UK defense stepped up and held Slovakia to a 3 and out. On the UK's 2nd drive, McMillian had 1 successful completion before being intercepted for a 2nd time, after just 3 passing attempts this time. Slovakia were handed great field position from this interception and started on the 68 yard line. Thankfully the UK defense were too strong and once again held them for a 3 and out with Thomson pressuring the Slovakian QB on 3rd and 10. A redfaced McMillian walked back on to the field for the UK's 3rd drive of the game from their own 6 yard line. McMillian faced immediate pressure on his 1st pass attempt which fell incomplete. However on his 2nd attempt the OL protected their QB and McMillian was able to successively find WR Rory Gardiner who raced past his coverage and went 94 yards down the field for a TD. At the end of the 1st quarter the score was tied 7-7.

Within minutes of 2nd quarter starting, Slovakia scored again to take the lead. However the UK answered straight away with their own TD, McMillian went 4 for 4 in a 76 yard drive that saw Gardiner go in for his 2nd TD. Slovakia then cut their way through the UK defense once again and took the lead for the 3rd time in the game. The UK's next drive was extremely poor, McMillian threw 2 incompletions and was then sacked on a 3rd and 10 forcing the UK to punt. With only minutes remaining in the half, the UK fans hoped that the clock might save their team from falling further behind, but the Slovakian offense showed their might. They marched 78 yards down the field in an 8 play drive to increase their lead just before time expired. At the end of the 1st half, the UK trailed 14 to 28.

After much ear-bashing in the locker room at half time, the UK received the ball to start the 2nd half. The offense went on a 10 play drive and clawed their way back into the game, with Rory Gardiner scoring his 3rd TD of the day. Once again the Slovakian offense scored, putting their lead back to 2 scores. McMillian remembering the angry words of his coach then had another great drive, going 3/3 for 62 yards and scoring another TD to keep the UK in the game and behind by just 1 score. On the final drive of the 3rd quarter, the Slovakian offense progressed down the field and up to the 73 yard line. On 1st and 10, DL Simon Thomson got in the QB's face and pressured him into throwing an incompletion. On 2nd and 10, DL Marcus Millar timed the snap perfectly and flew through the Slovakian OL to sack their QB for a 5 yard loss. The UK D had clearly got into the QB's head as he then threw an incompletion on 3rd and 15. The loss of yards from the sack moved Slovakia out of FG range and they were forced to punt. At the end of the 3rd quarter the score was 35-28 to Slovakia.

The UK received the punt as the 4th quarter started, but McMillian was pressured on a 3rd and 3 meaning the UK had to give the ball back to Slovakia. The UK D then showed how strong they can be by holding Slovakia to another 3 and out, and getting the ball back to give the UK offense a chance. The UK started at the 50 yard line and on his 5th passing attempt of the drive McMillian found Superstar TE Leonard in space. Leonard scored a 37 yard TD which was his 1st of the day. The UK were level in the match for the 1st time since the end of the 1st quarter. Slovakia received the ball with just 6 minutes remaining in the game, but the UK defense were able to hold them again with both DL Thomson and LB Brian Taylor getting sacks during the Slovakian drive. The UK got the ball back with just under 3 minutes remaining and the fans were on the edge of their seats praying that the UK could sneak the win from an extremely tough match. Starting at the UK 15 yard line, McMillian threw 2 successive completions and the UK were up to their own 45, but the Slovakian defense forced McMillian into throwing 3 incompletions and the UK punted the ball away as time expired. At the end of the 4th quarter the game was tied at 35-35 and going into overtime.

Over a hundred thousand UK fans held their breath as the official's coin flipped through the air. The coin landed on the field and the Queen's head stared up at the world. The UK had won the toss and they elected to receive. McMillian immediately found Leonard on a 28 yard pass and catch to move the UK towards the endzone, and 3 plays later the UK were on the 78 yard line. The Slovakian defense then held the UK in check for 3 plays and Coach Phiba sent out his kicking team to attempt a 39 yard field goal. Ethan Leach strutted on to the field and the veteran kicker calmly set his feet for the attempt. The snap and hold went smoothly and Leach's boot connected perfectly with the ball, which flew through the air and between the uprights. The UK fans erupted into cheers, their team had won the game in overtime 38-35.

The UK as a team were extremely poor today and they were very lucky to come away with the win. After 3 successive games with 0 INTs, McMillian threw 2 picks today and only 5 TDs. The OL failed to protect their QB on many occasions and gave up 7 pressures and 1 sack. Stewart Leonard had a quiet day by his standards and had only 10 completions from 16 targets. However, he did performed better in the 4th quarter and OT. WR Rory Gardiner had another solid performance and was the only UK offensive player who performed to the expected standard.

The UK defense were like Swiss cheese at times today. They gave up 5 TDs, many of which came on long drives during which the D gave up some big passing plays. However the defense did make some key plays during the game, which were crucial in keeping the UK in with a chance. DL Marcus Millar recorded 3 pressures and 2 sacks, DL Simon Thomson recorded 5 pressures and LB Brian Taylor recorded his 1st NT sack. Marcus Millar will be heralded as the UK's defensive player on the game as his 5 yard sack at the end of the 3rd quarter put Slovakia out of FG range and forced them to punt. If it wasn't for this sack it is highly likely Slovakia would have scored 3 points which probably would have resulted in them winning the game in regulation time.

Lady Luck was certainly on the UK's side today and ultimately a win is a win, but this was the UK's worst performance in the qualifiers so far and improvements must be made. The UK have a bye next week so they will be training hard in preparation for their 2nd game against France. At the midway point through the qualifiers the UK are 1st in Group F and undefeated (some how!).

Final Score: UK 38 Slovakia 35

Let's go UK, time to beat some Frenchmen into submission, hopefully!

Menoto wrote: icthalian wrote: Let's go UK, time to beat some Frenchmen into submission, hopefully! the age old fight England vs France will you two ever stop fighting!?

No.

Week 6 Match Report - 06.03.15

UK vs France

The UK were back in action today after a bye last week. After an extremely close OT win in their last qualifying match and with an extra week to reflect on their performance, it was time for Coach Phiba to make a few changes.

Both the offensive and defensive formations were altered from previous games. Coach Phiba elected to start 3 WRs and 1 TE, with the Weasels Matthew Kavanagh starting in place of TE Harrison Madden. The defense was switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 with LB Douglas Young getting a place in the team over benched DL Zak Matheson.

The first game against France was a nervy match which the UK won by 10 pts and the rematch was also expected to be a tense affair.

France received the ball to start the game and promptly drove down the field to open their account for the day. The UK had a long drive in response but had to settle for a 32 yard FG. France went on to score on their 2nd drive giving them a 14-3 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.

The UK finished the drive they had started in the 1 quarter with a quick 19 yard TD pass to Stewart Leonard. The UK defense then made a stand and forced France to punt, which allowed the UK to take the lead by scoring on their next possession. France responded with a TD of their own to keep the game close. However the UK scored just before the half ended to regain the lead, WR Kavanagh grabbing his 1st NT TD in the qualifying campaign. The teams went into the locker rooms with the UK holding a narrow 24-21 lead over the French.

The UK received the ball to start the 2nd half and went down the field with a great drive that saw Leonard go in for his 2nd TD of the game. Both offenses were on form in the 3rd quarter with each team scoring on every possession. The score at the end of the 3rd quarter was 38-35 to the UK.

The UK were forced to punt the ball back to France at the beginning of the 4th and recorded their 1st non-scoring drive of the game. However, the UK defense held firm at a critical time and stopped France with a 3 and out. The UK then went on to score their 6th TD of the game leaving the French behind by 10. France scored straight away to reduce the deficit once again, but the UK offense were too strong and scored their 7th TD to stay ahead by 10. The UK defence then broke the hearts of the French by holding their offense in check once more, France were out of time as the UK ran down the clock.

It was a match in which both offenses put in great performances and both defenses went largely unnoticed. France scored on 6 of their 9 drives while the UK scored on 8 of their 10 drives. The strength of the offense, time management and the defense forcing the French to punt 3 times were the prevalent factors that enabled the UK to secure the win.

QB McMillian posted a great QB rating (137.03) which was a definite improvement from the last match against Slovakia when he threw 2 INTs. However the OL had another poor game giving up 7 pressures and 1 sack for the 2nd game in succession. Stewart Leonard was the offensive player of the game with an incredible 84% completion rate, 3 TDs and 277 yards.

The defense didn't make any big plays today but the secondary's ability to hold the French offense at certain points during the game was a vital factor in the UK win. DL Millar only recorded 2 pressures and DL Thomson only recorded 1, which was partly due to the change in defensive formation.

The UK walked away with another 10pt win as well as the satisfaction of beating France twice. The UK remain at the top of the Group F table with a record of 5-0.

Final Score: UK 52 France 42

Get those poor performances out of the way against Colombia, save the good ones for when it counts.