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A one-sided first half was enough to give the SaberCats a bonus point 38-15 win over Anthem in Charlotte on Friday night. The result keeps Houston at the top of the overall standings. Two second half tries for the home side gave their fans something to cheer about despite taking in their team’s 10th-straight defeat.
The early moments of the match were even enough, until Houston worked their way into Carolina territory. Anthem managed to break up their maul but Gideon van Wyk slipped through the middle to score the opening try. A line break from Michael Ma’afu set up a three-point response from the boot of Te Rangatira Waitokia.
From there things went south quickly for the home side. Poor line integrity on a kick-chase gave Louritz van der Schyff all the space he needed to skate in for a second Houston try, and soon after Seimou Smith made ground on his wing channel. Jay Renton took advantage of the porous defense with a quick tap on a penalty, swerving his way in under the sticks for an automatic seven.
The bonus point was secured before the half-hour mark. Jeremy Misailegalu took an inside pass from AJ Alatimu in for the score. Before the intermission Drew Wild landed a 50-22, and appropriately did the finishing himself on the ensuing attacking sequence from the lineout to leave it 33-3 for the visitors.
Anthem found some success in the second half as the SaberCats sensed it was job done. A scrum penalty gave Carolina field position and straight hands to the corner ended with Josh Shetler crossing for the first try of the day for home side’s first try of the day.
Houston then saw two would-be tries called back by the TMO. A forward pass erased Alatimu’s celebrations after Smith had won possession at the restart. Emmanuel Albert then punched in under the posts but it was wiped off the board for a marginal obstruction call.
Joe Apikotoa saw yellow for a high tackle but Anthem did not concede points while their prop was in the bin. Once back at full strength a wide ball from Waitokia set Al-Jiboori into the left corner. The restart was a calamity, however, with the ball completely missed allowing Misailegalu to snare a double. Alatimu’s conversion attempt hit the upright and there would be no further scoring from either side.
Both teams will play at home next Saturday. Anthem will square off against RFC Los Angeles, with the SaberCats taking on the Chicago Hounds.
| SCORING |
CAROLINA 15
Tries (2) – J. Shetler (43′), T. Al-Jiboori (67′)
Cons (1) – T. Waitokia 1/2 (68′)
Pens (1) – T. Waitokia 1/1 (17′)
YC (1) – J. Apikotoa (50′)
HOUSTON 38
Tries (6) – G. van Wyk (11′), L. van der Schyff (19′), J. Renton (23′), J. Misailegalu 2 (28′, 69′), D. Wild (35′)
Cons (4) – A. Alatimu 2/4 (29′, 36′), No kick 2 (19′, 23′)
| LINEUPS |
ANTHEM CAROLINA
1 Dan Hanson (17 Jake Turnbull 27′ {18 Stephan Bernal-Wendt 71′}), 2 Connor Robinson (16 Jack Manzo 71′), 3 Joe Apikotoa, 4 James Rivers (18 Stephan Bernal-Wendt 53′-60′), 5 Lucas Gramlick, 6 Graeme Pedegana (20 Logan Weidner HT), 7 Alby O’Shannessey, 8 Michael Ma’afu (19 Shneil Singh HT), 9 Siaosi Nai (21 Sean Yacoubian 76′), 10 Te Rangatira Waitokia, 11 Josh Shetler (23 Ulu Niutupuivaha 62′), 12 Junior Gafa, 13 Dom Iacovino (22 Mateo Gadsden HT), 14 Tyren Al-Jiboori, 15 Tomasi Alosio (capt.)
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth (17 LaRome White 50′), 2 Tiaan Erasmus (16 Seth Smith 62′), 3 Rob Cobb (18 Pono Davis 62′), 4 Johan Momsen, 5 Nathan Den Hoedt (capt.), 6 Emmanuel Albert (19 Tomi Agbongbon 68′), 7 Ronan Murphy (20 Keni Nasoqeqe 50′), 8 Gideon van Wyk, 9 Jay Renton (21 Carlo de Nysschen 62′), 10 AJ Alatimu, 11 Jeremy Misailegalu (23 Drake Davis 70′), 12 Dom Akina, 13 Louritz van der Schyff, 14 Seimou Smith, 15 Drew Wild (22 Max Schumacher 54′)
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Friday, May 10
Venue: American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte
Kickoff: 19:00 local
Weather: sunny, 73°F (23°C), wind NW 10-14mph (16-22km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Amelia Luciano (USA)
Assistants: Eanna O’Dowd (Ireland) & Cam Russell (Canada)
TMO: Scott Green (USA)
