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Houston were pushed to the brink but ultimately kept their unbeaten record intact with a 30-27 win over Dallas on Friday night. The Jackals entered as considerable underdogs but held the lead at halftime. It took a last-minute penalty goal from Davy Coetzer to save the win for the SaberCats.
The opening moments weren’t so good for the home side. A grubber from Drew Wild had alarm bells ringing with barely a minute on the clock. Houston regathered and Coetzer lined up a cross-kick that found Christian Dyer, who popped off the deck to an onrushing Ronan Murphy for the try. Coetzer’s conversion from a tricky angle was on song to take maximum points from the effort.
On their first foray into Houston territory the Jackals fired back. Martín Elías fired a skip-pass to Vaughen Isaacs, whose quick hands put Marcell Muller in space. The big winger barged through Wild’s challenge to equal Murphy’s score, but the kick from Elias drifted across the face of the uprights and the SaberCats maintained a slender lead.
Dom Akina burst clean through the line, hauled down just a few meters short. With Houston inching forward Lucas Bur took out the halfback from an offside position and was immediately dispatched to the sin bin. Dallas held out as long as they could but eventually from an attacking lineout the maul was unstoppable and Emmanuel Albert went over for the try.
The Jackals stepped up a gear and Isaacs worked a nifty give-and-go with Sam Tuifua that sent the fullback over for a try. Coetzer and Wild then tried to spark a response from the visitors but Marno Redelinghuys lost possession in the tackle while he was attempting to ground the ball. A scrum penalty allowed Dallas to clear their lines.
Dallas went on the attack just before halftime. Muller came close to a double but knocked-on just before the line. With the clock now well into the red the Jackals won a penalty and opted for the scrum. On a set move Mitch Richardson cut back across the grain to score. Elías again had no luck from the tee but the home side were 15-14 ahead at the intermission.
The two sides exchanged tries early in the second half. Pita Anae-Ah Sue busted over after a lineout drive stalled. Houston made a hash of the restart, and Bur made inroads after snatching up possession. At the ensuing ruck Makeen Alikhan stormed onto the ball at pace and his angle took him past the outstretched arms of the defense.
Again the pendulum swung and the visitors regained the lead. Albert powered over for his second try after several phases on attack. Coetzer tacked on a penalty goal at the hour mark and the gap was now seven points in favor of Houston.
The SaberCats were pushed back into their end as the Jackals poured on the pressure. Penalties began to mount and Redelinghuys saw yellow for a high tackle. At last the brick wall was breached as Kyle Steeves punched through, reaching out to ground the ball on the line. Isaacs converted to level the scores and set up a grandstand finish.
Coetzer had a chance to grab the lead back for Houston but the wind blew the ball of the tee, and though the flyhalf re-pinned it his rushed kick was wide of its target. The TMO then called out Daemon Torres for obstructing Coetzer after he had kicked ahead in open play. An unusual interpretation by the officials placed the penalty where the ball landed. This time Coetzer’s radar was accurate and the SaberCats had their fifth victory of the season.
Next Saturday will see Dallas take to the road for a match against the Seattle Seawolves in Tukwila. The SaberCats enjoy a week off before returning to action at home against the New England Free Jacks on Saturday, April 13.
| SCORING |
DALLAS 27
Tries (5) – M. Muller (6′), V. Isaacs (24′), M. Richardson (40’+5′), M. Alikhan (45′), K. Steeves (74′)
Cons (1) – M. Elías 0/3, V. Isaacs 1/2 (75′)
YC (1) – L. Bur (12′)
HOUSTON 30
Tries (4) – R. Murphy (2′), E. Albert 2 (17′, 49′), P. Anae-Ah Sue (43′)
Cons (2) – D. Coetzer 2/4 (3′, 18′)
Pens (2) – D. Coetzer 2/3 (61′, 79′)
YC (1) – M. Redelinghuys (71′)
| LINEUPS |
DALLAS JACKALS
1 Liam Murray (16 Joaquín Horcada 69′), 2 Dewald Kotze, 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss (18 Kyle Steeves 64′), 4 Sam Golla (capt.), 5 Lucas Bur (19 Daemon Torres 64′), 6 Ronan Foley, 7 Makeen Alikhan, 8 Sam Tuifua (22 Marques Fuala’au 64′), 9 Juan-Dee Oliver, 10 Martín Elías (23 Jason Tidwell 57′), 11 Nic Benn, 12 Connor Winchester, 13 Mitch Richardson, 14 Marcell Muller, 15 Vaughen Isaacs
Not used: 17 Tomás Bekerman, 20 Ronnie McElligott, 21 Brock Gallagher
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth (17 LaRome White 64′), 2 Pita Anae-Ah Sue (16 Tiaan Erasmus 75′), 3 Rob Cobb (18 Pono Davis 55′), 4 Justin Basson (19 Keni Nasoqeqe 55′), 5 Johan Momsen (capt.), 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Emmanuel Albert (20 Tomi Agbongbon 59′), 8 Ronan Murphy, 9 Andre Warner (21 Carlo de Nysschen 64′), 10 Davy Coetzer, 11 Jeremy Misailegalu, 12 Dom Akina, 13 Tautalatasi Tasi, 14 Christian Dyer, 15 Drew Wild
Not used: 22 Max Schumacher, 23 Line Latu
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Friday, March 29
Venue: Choctaw Stadium, Arlington
Kickoff: 19:30 local
Weather: cloudy, 75°F (24°C), wind S 18-27mph (29-43km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: George Myers (Australia)
Assistants: Scott Green (USA) & Jacob Gonzales (USA)
TMO: Greg Gilliam (USA)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
