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Houston held off a late comeback attempt by Utah to claim a 29-24 result at Zions Bank Stadium on Saturday night. The SaberCats forwards were second-best at the scrum but overpowered the Warriors in the tight-loose, with 18-year-old hooker Seth Smith shining in his first professional start.
Early forays into Houston territory were fruitless as Joe Mano was stopped short after an angled run took him through the line. Dylan Nel and Thomas Tu’avao were each held up, and eventually the SaberCats cleared their lines. Instead it would be AJ Alatimu who ended the stalemate 26 minutes into the contest with a well-struck penalty goal.
The SaberCats pushed into Warriors territory and the pressure resulted in a yellow card to Nic Souchon for collapsing a maul. On the next play Smith would get credit for a try on the end of a driving maul, with Alatimu tacking on the extras. Joel Hodgson got Utah on the board just before halftime with a three-pointer after his side had won a scrum battle.
When the teams returned for halftime Houston was without vice-captain Christian Dyer, who could be spotted on the sideline with an arm in a sling. Dom Akina came on as a replacement, lining up in the unfamiliar position of wing. Houston’s second try came quickly as Tautalatasi Tasi skipped out of a tackle and his midfield partner Sam Hill finished the job to make it 15-3 to the visitors.
Smith broke free from a lineout a short while later to put the Warriors defense on the retreat again. The ball was recycled and flung wide to Drew Wild, who sold a dummy and spin past the last defender for a third SaberCats try. Alatimu was on song with the conversion and it was now a 19-point lead.
Utah’s scrum continued to show dominance and a penalty pushed the Cats back to their goal line. Frank Lochore punched in from short range with Joel Hodgson’s conversion further closing the gap. Houston then suddenly found themselves down to 13 men as first Keni Nasoqeqe was binned for a late hit on Hodgson, then a call from an assistant referee sent Sam Hill to join him for what was deemed a dangerous tackle.
The Warriors took advantage of the situation as Hodgson slipped through a half-gap to get in behind the defense. Matt Jensen was there in support to spin his way over for a try. Just as quickly, however, the 12-point deficit was restored when Akina intercepted a loose pass from Zion Going and sprinted clear from 40 meters out to deflate Utah’s momentum and give Houston their four-try bonus point.
Local fans cringed at the sight of star winger Michael Manson being helped off with a leg injury, but got some hope when Phil Bradford followed up a Lopeti Aisea break to set up a grandstand finish with five minutes to play. It wasn’t to be, as Bradford was soon off injured himself and a final attacking lineout opportunity was overthrown allowing Houston to kick the ball dead.
It’s a short turnaround for the SaberCats, who take on Anthem Carolina in Charlotte on Friday night. The Warriors have a full week to prepare for their road clash against the Miami Sharks on Saturday.
| SCORING |
UTAH 24
Tries (3) – F. Lochore (52′), M. Jensen (59′), P. Bradford (74′)
Cons (3) – J. Hodgson 3/3 (53′, 60′, 75′)
Pens (1) – J. Hodgson 1/1 (38′)
YC (1) – N. Souchon (31′)
HOUSTON 29
Tries (4) – S. Smith (32′), S. Hill (42′), D Wild (47′), D. Akina (61′)
Cons (3) – A. Alatimu 3/4 (33′, 48′, 62′)
Pens (1) – A. Alatimu 1/1 (26′)
YC (2) – K. Nasoqeqe (54′), S. Hill (56′)
| LINEUPS |
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Emerson Prior (17 Franco van den Berg 53′), 2 Nic Souchon (16 Phil Bradford 53′-79′), 3 Paul Mullen (18 Angus MacLellan 53′), 4 Matt Jensen, 5 Saia Uhila (20 Bailey Wilson 53′), 6 Frank Lochore, 7 Dylan Nel, 8 Thomas Tu’avao (16 Phil Bradford 34′-41′) (19 Onehunga Havili 60′), 9 Kieran McClea (21 Zion Going 60′), 10 Joel Hodgson (capt.), 11 Joe Mano, 12 Lopeti Aisea, 13 Mika Kruse, 14 Michael Manson (22 Robbie Povey 62′), 15 Caleb Makene (23 Isaia Kruse 53′)
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth (17 Frikkie de Beer 70′), 2 Seth Smith, 3 Rob Cobb (18 Pono Davis 53′), 4 Justin Basson, 5 Nathan Den Hoedt (capt.) (20 Johan Momsen 55′), 6 Keni Nasoqeqe, 7 Emmanuel Albert (19 Tomi Agbongbon 62′), 8 Ronan Murphy, 9 André Warner (21 Carlo de Nysschen 75′), 10 AJ Alatimu, 11 Line Latu, 12 Sam Hill, 13 Tautalatasi Tasi (22 Max Schumacher 65′), 14 Christian Dyer (23 Dom Akina HT), 15 Drew Wild
Not used: 16 Brian Flamenco
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, May 4
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium, Herriman
Kickoff: 19:00 local
Weather: cloudy, 71°F (21°C), wind S 12-19mph (19-30km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistants: Kahlil Harrison (USA) & Kage Green (USA)
TMO: Saro Turner (Canada)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
