Shorthanded LA scrap to draw with DC

RFC Los Angeles fought back from a 12-point second half deficit to earn a 22-all draw against Old Glory DC on Saturday. While it wasn’t quite a victory on paper, the visitors earned a four-try bonus point and did so despite playing half of the game shorthanded with five cards dished out to four LA players.

The opening exchanges did not go well for Old Glory. LA got the shove on at the scrum and while Lautaro Bavaro managed to break away just in time, Semi Kunatani was there to win a turnover. With the defense disorganized the ball went wide where a looping Dan Hollinshead won the race to the corner.

Theo Vukasinovic was the first to see yellow for a high tackle just 13 minutes into his club debut. DC went on the attack but Andrew Coe ripped the ball from Ethan McVeigh’s hands and smashed it downfield with the wind at his back. Jason Robertson was first back but Matt Heaton turned over possession at the breakdown, and soon after straight hands down the short side put Will Leonard in for the try.

Old Glory kicked their way back into scoring position and Alex Maughan joined Vukasinovic in the bin after collapsing a driving maul. When the lineout failed again DC opted for the scrum. It wheeled to the left and McVeigh went in low under the defense to get the home side on the board.

LA were back at full strength when DC got a second try. At a 5-meter throw-in they packed the lineout with three of the backs and the weight of the maul was too much for the visitors to handle. Cory Daniel got credit for the try and Robertson’s kick bounced off the right post and over the crossbar for the extra two.

An opportunity for Hollinshead to take points just before halftime was turned down, but LA’s decision to play the corner didn’t pay off. The DC defense drove them backwards and Coe was shown yellow for taking a player out off the ball. It got worse a minute later when Maughan was deemed to have made a late and dangerous tackle, which meant what would have been yellow was upgraded to a red.

The visitors held out to halftime and prevented Old Glory from scoring any points while they were down to 13 men. Moments after Coe returned the ball was flung wide to Axel Müller who put boot to ball to set up a foot race. William Talataina was the quickest in pursuit and he grounded the ball to make it 19-10 for the home side. Robertson stretched the lead by three after a scrum penalty.

Heaton’s men were in no mood to capitulate and they began a long stretch of possession that gained momentum when the captain slipped over the gainline. A couple more quick phases and the ball was nearly in. Jason Damm took it the rest of the way when he powered over on the edge of the ruck, with Hollinshead’s kick making it a five-point game.

A line break from Leonard sparked the tying score. Seth Purdey’s angle put him through a gap and his inside pass found Niall Saunders in support for the finish. With the clock ticking down Max Katjijeko was dispatched for a deliberate knock-on, but just as DC were making progress Conor Young won a breakdown penalty and LA cleared their lines. Time would run out before either could find the winning points.

DC will recover and regroup during their bye week before returning to host the Houston SaberCats on Saturday, April 20. Los Angeles will at least have a full week to prepare for their own home game against the Seattle Seawolves next Sunday.

 

SCORING

DC 22
Tries (3) – E. McVeigh (22′), C. Daniel (32′), W. Talataina (51′)
Cons (2) – J. Robertson 2/3 (23′)
Pens (1) – J. Robertson 1/1 (59′)

LOS ANGELES 22
Tries (4) – D. Hollinshead (5′), W. Leonard (15′), J. Damm (66′), N. Saunders (72′)
Cons (1) – D. Hollinshead 1/4 (67′)
YC (4) – T. Vukasinovic (13′), A. Maughan (20′), A. Coe (38′), M. Katjijeko (79′)
RC (1) – A. Maughan (39′)

LINEUPS

OLD GLORY DC
1 Jack Iscaro (17 Quentin Newcomer 77′), 2 Martín Vaca (16 KoiKoi Nelligan 79′), 3 Cali Martinez (18 Tyler Rowland 46′), 4 Rob Harley (capt.), 5 Ignacio Dotti (19 Tevita Naqali 65′), 6 Collin Grosse, 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Lautaro Bavaro, 9 Ethan McVeigh (21 Danny Tusitala 46′), 10 Jason Robertson (22 Gradyn Bowd 64′), 11 John Rizzo, 12 Tommaso Boni, 13 William Talataina, 14 Axel Müller, 15 Damien Hoyland (23 Mike Dabulas 77′)

Not used: 20 Brady Daniel

RFC LOS ANGELES
1 Dane Zander, 2 Bruce Kauika-Petersen (16 Ben Strang 52′), 3 Alex Maughan (18 Conor Young 59′), 4 Reegan O’Gorman (19 Jason Damm 45′), 5 Theo Vukasinovic, 6 Michael Amiras (18 Conor Young 44′-59′) (20 Max Katjijeko 59′), 7 Matt Heaton (capt.), 8 Semi Kunatani, 9 Tas Smith (21 Niall Saunders 52′), 10 Dan Hollinshead, 11 Jack Shaw (18 Conor Young 20′-30′) (23 Austin White 64′), 12 Jason Emery (22 Seth Purdey 45′), 13 Will Leonard (11 Jack Shaw 73′), 14 Andrew Coe, 15 Rory van Vugt

Not used: 17 Lincoln Si’i

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, April 6
Venue: Maryland SoccerPlex, Germantown
Kickoff: 17:00 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 53°F (12°C), wind NW 12-19mph (19-30km/h)

OFFICIALS

Referee: Moe Chaudhry (Canada)
Assistants: Cisco Lopez (USA) & Aaron Davis (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)

HIGHLIGHTS