Chicago comeback denied by late Houston score

A late try from Gideon van Wyk saved Houston from an embarrassing defeat at SaberCats Stadium on Saturday night. After taking a 33-7 lead in the first half, the visiting Chicago Hounds fought back to tie the game only to see the home side steal back the win with just a minute to play.

It was the Hounds who struck first just two minutes into the game. A half-break from Billy Meakes put the SaberCats on the retreat, and just a couple phases later George Thornton wrestled his way over from close range. The conversion from Luke Carty made it a full seven.

Behind the play Houston’s captain Nathan Den Hoedt was helped from the field with a lower leg injury, replaced by Emmanuel Albert. They put it behind them with Louritz van der Schyff sending Dillon Smit through a gap. The scrumhalf then went quick on a subsequent penalty, with quick hands sending Vereniki Tikoisolomone into the corner.

An overthrow at a defensive lineout cost Chicago seven points as Joe Taufete’e grabbed the loose ball and dove over the line. Soon after the scrum won a penalty on halfway and Robbie Povey’s pinpoint touch-finder found the corner. van der Schyff took on the line and fired a backhanded offload to his center partner Dom Akina for a third try.

Injuries then struck up for both sides. SaberCats prop Rob Cobb left the pitch with a bad shoulder, replaced by Alec McDonnell. The Hounds lost Mike Matarazzo to an HIA after an awkward fall at a lineout, with Fred Apulu coming in at number eight and Luke White shifting to the flank.

Chicago held on for nearly 20 minutes before Houston scored twice in rapid succession. A 50-22 from Drew Wild won field position and then van Wyk exploded off the back of a scrum to breach the line. Carty tried to inspire a response from the Hounds with a chip and chase, but his attempt to find Meakes landed straight in the hands of Povey for a run-in from halfway.

The visitors managed to restore some confidence just before the two sides headed for the sheds. Penalties kept Houston pinned in their end and after an initial attempt from Thornton was held up, White punched over in the left corner. Carty’s kick split the uprights to make it 33-14 at halftime.

Within three minutes of the restart the SaberCats were in trouble. Thornton broke through the line and with Christian Dyer broke up the scoring pass to Michael Baska. Dyer went to the bin and the referee went under the posts for a penalty try. At the same time a banged-up Malon Al-Jiboori left the pitch and was replaced by Danny Barrett.

Houston were reduced to 13 men when Drew Wild took out Carty while he was still in the air. The SaberCats managed to hold out but with Chicago took advantage of tiring legs just after the hour mark. A cross-kick from Carty directly on a penalty caught the defense unprepared and Chris Mattina was on the receiving end for the try. The conversion from Carty closed the gap to just five points.

Penalties began to mount for Houston and team infringements led to a third yellow, this time brandished against Albert for not rolling away at a tackle. Within a minute the scores were level as a wide ball to Matai Leuta saw the winger dancing into the corner. The kick from Carty rang off the left upright to set up a grandstand finish.

Inaccuracy at the lineout would cost Chicago dearly. An overthrow handed possession back to Houston and they threw caution to the wind, attacking from their own end. After working their way over halfway, Povey’s offload put van Wyk in space and the loose forward swerved around the last man to score a runaway try that brought the partisan crowd to their feet and secured the victory for the SaberCats.

Both teams return to action next Saturday. Houston travels to Toronto for another must-win game against the Arrows. Chicago play their final home game of the season against the San Diego Legion.

 

SCORING

HOUSTON 40
Tries (6) – V. Tikoisolomone (5′), J. Taufete’e (11′), D. Akina (15′), G. van Wyk 2 (33′, 79′), R. Povey (37′)
Cons (5) – R. Povey 5/6 (12′, 16′, 34′, 38′, 80′)
YC (3) – C. Dyer (43′), D. Wild (48′), E. Albert (73′)

CHICAGO 33
Tries (5) – G. Thornton (2′), Lu. White (40’+3′), Penalty try (43′), C. Mattina (63′), M. Leuta (74′)
Cons (4) – L. Carty 3/4 (3′, 40’+4′, 64′), No kick (43′)

 

TEAMS

HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Rob Cobb (17 Alec McDonnell 20′), 2 Joe Taufete’e (16 Axel Zapata 60′), 3 Pono Davis (18 Valdemar Lee-Lo 60′), 4 Marno Redelinghuys, 5 Nathan Den Hoedt (capt.) (23 Emmanuel Albert 3′), 6 Malon Al-Jiboori (20 Danny Barrett 43′), 7 Wynand Grassmann (19 Keni Nasoqeqe 69′), 8 Gideon van Wyk, 9 Dillon Smit (21 Carlo de Nysschen 65′), 10 Robbie Povey, 11 Vereniki Tikoisolomone (22 Gerrie Labuschagne 64′), 12 Louritz van der Schyff, 13 Dom Akina, 14 Christian Dyer, 15 Drew Wild

CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 George Thornton (19 LaRome White 49′), 2 Lindsey Stevens, 3 Paddy Ryan (16 Charlie Abel 48′), 4 John Cullen, 5 Cam Dodson, 6 Mike Matarazzo (17 Fred Apulu 30′ {20 Tinashe Muchena 53′}), 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Luke White (21 Michael de Waal 43′), 9 Sean Yacoubian (22 Michael Baska 35′), 10 Luke Carty, 11 Julián Domínguez (23 JP Eloff 46′), 12 Billy Meakes, 13 Bryce Campbell (capt.), 14 Matai Leuta, 15 Chris Mattina

Not used: 18 Mika Felix

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Kahlil Harrison (USA)
Assistants: Jono Cooper (USA) & Brian Dusablon (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)