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The Toronto Arrows held on for dear life as they escaped Las Vegas with a nerve-wracking 27-22 win at Sam Boyd Stadium on Sunday. A last-gasp attack against the shorthanded Arrows came agonizingly close to securing a come-from-behind win for the Texans.
It was a flying start for the Arrows as they put the SaberCats under immediate pressure and were rewarded with a routine penalty goal from Sam Malcolm. Houston would regroup and reorganize but would soon be hit for two tries in a matter of minutes.
The first saw Guiseppe du Toit running an inside angle off a lineout that caught the SaberCats defense unprepared. The second came from a well-constructed sequence that began with a Johnny Sheridan break near halfway and ended with a short pass from Tayler Adams to Manuel Diana. Both were converted by Malcolm and the Arrows were up 17-nil.
Houston finally got into the game when Sam Windsor sent a raking kick in behind Toronto’s defense. De Wet Roos showed his pace and snatched up the ball before the Arrows could react.
A late challenge from Tiaan Loots on Sheridan saw the SaberCats midfielder sanctioned with a yellow card. The gap in the cover was exploited after a wayward clearance from Matías Freyre landed in the hands of Adams. He connected with Ben LeSage, who then drew in the final defender to put Dan Moor clear down the right side.
The SaberCats came out a different team in the second half. With Toronto under pressure Houston brought in Diego Fortuny and the Argentine hooker was barely on the pitch when he was over the line for a try from a lineout drive.
Windsor landed a penalty goal to close the gap but it was erased by an Adams penalty, the latter taking the kicking duties after Malcolm was replaced. Toronto’s penalty count was mounting in the closing minutes and eventually the referee lost patience, dispatching Tomás de la Vega to the bin.
From the resulting scrum Roos caught the Arrows defense shorthanded on the blindside for his second try, with Windsor’s kick bring Houston within five. The restart went in Houston’s favor but Toronto’s counter-ruck earned a turnover.
Despite the clock appearing to be in the red, the Arrows kept the ball alive and instead Houston won a penalty. From the quick tap Tim Stanfill was freed and Mike Sheppard caught him with a swinging arm to the head. The referee had no option but to pull a red card from his pocket.
Now reduced to only 13 men the Arrows had to defend Houston’s maul, which had already been successful. The drive started on the 22 meter line and in piled the SaberCats, with 14 men committed at one point. They made it over the line but the ball was lost in the pile of bodies and no clear grounding could be seen, so the whistle went for full-time and Toronto escaped with the win.
Next for the Arrows is a trip to Seattle for a game against the Seawolves on Saturday evening. Houston return home with a losing bonus point from a game that was nearly pulled from the fire. They host Old Glory DC at AVEVA Stadium on Saturday.
SCORING
TORONTO 27
Tries – G. du Toit (12’), M. Diana (15’), D. Moor (33’)
Cons – S. Malcolm 3/3 (13’, 15’, 34’)
Pens – S. Malcolm 1/1 (3’), T. Adams 1/1 (66’)
Yellow cards – T. de la Vega (75’)
Red cards – M. Sheppard (80’)
HOUSTON 22
Tries – D. Roos 2 (17’, 77’), D. Fortuny (46’)
Cons – S. Windsor 2/3 (47’, 78’)
Pens – S. Windsor 1/1 (55’)
Yellow cards – T. Loots (28’)
TEAMS
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Richie Asiata (17 Pat Lynott 53’), 2 Andrew Quattrin (16 Steven Ng 58’), 3 Cole Keith (18 Tyler Rowland 72’), 4 Mike Sheppard, 5 Paul Ciulini (19 Josh van Horne 72’), 6 Tomás de la Vega, 7 Lucas Rumball, 8 Manuel Diana (20 Peter Milazzo 63’), 9 Jamie Mackenzie (21 Andrew Ferguson 53’), 10 Tayler Adams, 11 Johnny Sheridan (23 Mitch Richardson 67’), 12 Guiseppe du Toit, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Dan Moor (capt.), 15 Sam Malcolm (22 Will Kelly 58’)
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Valdemar Lee-Lo (17 Nicolás Solveyra 56’), 2 Tim Cadwallader (16 Diego Fortuny 45’), 3 Boyd Wiggins (18 Charlie Connolly 52’), 4 Kyle Breytenbach, 5 Victor Comptat (19 Robert Meeson HT), 6 Luke Beauchamp, 7 Diego Magno, 8 Adriaan Booysen (20 Cecil Garber 69’), 9 De Wet Roos (capt.), 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Malacchi Esdale, 12 Taylor Howden, 13 Tiaan Loots, 14 Zach Pangelinan (22 Tim Stanfill 67’), 15 Matías Freyre (23 Kieran Farmer 35’)
Not used: 21 Jake Christmann
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Jamie Nutbrown (New Zealand)
Assistants: Scott Green (USA) & Greg Varnell (USA)
