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NOLA’s five-game losing streak is at an end after the Gold toppled Anthem 33-19 in Charlotte on Saturday. The Carolina outfit had enough scoring opportunities to win, but some defensive lapses saw them concede four first half tries and the deficit proved insurmountable in the end.
Toby Fricker was caught trying to run out of his own in-goal and NOLA won possession. The pressure stayed on until JP du Plessis broke a tackle in the midfield and touched down under the posts. Fricker would have his chance for redemption after the Gold made a hash of the restart. Carlo de Nysschen broke to the short side of a ruck and Fricker fought through the last defender to score in the corner.
A barrage of three tries in seven minutes put the Gold nearly out of sight. Dorian Jones spotted a huge gap behind Anthem’s line and his chip kick handed an easy try to Isaac Te Tamaki. William Waguespack then charged down de Nysschen and regathered, offloading to his lock partner Chase Jones for a run-in. Next it was du Plessis breaking through out wide and combining Campbell in support for a 50-meter effort to make it 26-5 to the visitors.
Anthem found their composure but it would take a mistake from Dorian Jones to give them some life heading into the sheds. The clearance attempt rolled dead and gave an attacking scrum to the home side. Soon after Joe Apikotoa bashed in from short range to leave it 26-12. On the other side of halftime Watson Filikitonga made it over the line but couldn’t ground it and NOLA escaped the danger.
The pressure from Anthem stayed on and penalties mounted for NOLA until the referee had enough, dispatching Aidan King to the sideline. Within a minute Colin Turner had barged in beside the post, but the Gold summoned fresh legs and the reserves made their mark. Luke Carty’s grubber pinned Anthem deep in their own in and the overthrow at the lineout gave Ale Lopeti a gift of a try, securing the win and denying their hosts a losing bonus point.
It’s a home game for the Gold next Saturday, as they take on another Eastern Conference rival in Old Glory DC. Anthem have another day to prepare for Sunday’s road game against the Chicago Hounds.
| SCORING |
CAROLINA 19
Tries (3) – T. Fricker (12′), J. Apikotoa (40’+1′), C. Turner (58′)
Cons (2) – M. Wilson 2/3 (40’+2′, 59′)
NOLA 33
Tries (5) – J. du Plessis (11′), I. Te Tamaki (20′), C. Jones (23′), L. Campbell (27′), A. Lopeti (73′)
Cons (4) – No kick 2 (11′, 20′), D. Jones 1/2 (24′), L. Carty 1/1 (74′)
YC (1) – A. King (57′)
| LINEUPS |
ANTHEM CAROLINA
1 Jake Turnbull (co-capt.) (19 Dan Hanson 36′), 2 Alex Maughan (16 Ethan Howard 61′), 3 Joe Apikotoa (18 Stephan Bernal-Wendt 71′), 4 Alejandro Martinez Tapia, 5 Sam Golla (co-capt.), 6 Colin Turner, 7 Makeen Alikhan (17 Javon Camp 67′), 8 Dylan Fortune (20 Graeme Pedegana HT), 9 Carlo de Nysschen (21 Ishy Safodien 47′), 10 Cam Gerlach (23 Line Latu 55′), 11 Toby Fricker (22 Mateo Gadsden 13′-24′), 12 Erich Storti, 13 Watson Filikitonga (22 Mateo Gadsden 63′), 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Mitch Wilson
NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon (17 Bart Vermeulen 59′), 2 Joe Taufete’e (16 Ale Lopeti 52′), 3 Isaac Salmon (18 Paul Mullen 59′), 4 Chase Jones (19 Jay Tuivaiti 63′), 5 William Waguespack, 6 Moni Tonga’uiha (capt.), 7 Aidan King, 8 Jonah Mau’u (20 Tupou Afungia 61′), 9 Luke Campbell (21 Ruben de Haas 52′), 10 Dorian Jones (23 Luke Carty 52′), 11 Ed Fidow, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Isaac Te Tamaki, 14 Nikolai Foliaki (22 Harley Wheeler 75′), 15 Julian Roberts
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, April 5
Venue: American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte
Kickoff: 19:00 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 83°F (28°C), wind S 12-18mph (19-29km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Kat Roche (USA) & Lindsey Oliver (USA)
TMO: Mike Kelly (USA)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
