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A penalty goal in stoppage time from Davy Coetzer gave the SaberCats a 29-28 win over the Dallas Jackals in Houston on Saturday. It spoiled a remarkable comeback for the visitors, who had scored 28 unanswered points to erase a 26-point deficit. While the result does not affect the standings, it sets up a rematch between the two Texan sides in the opening round of the postseason on July 20.
It was a poor start for the Jackals. Juan-Dee Oliver got little purchase on his clearance from kickoff, and the SaberCats forwards went to work. In short order Rob Cobb spun away from an attacking maul to score, with Coetzer’s conversion making it a full seven with barely three minutes on the clock.
After a bit of a lull Houston exploded for three tries in rapid succession. Sam Hill’s line break and an angled run from Pita Anae-Ah Sue sent Justin Basson over for the first. The second came from André Warner, who wrestled in from quick tap penalty. Coetzer then sent a grubber into the corner that found Christian Dyer on his opposite wing.
Adding to their troubles, Dallas were down to 14 men when Tomás Bekerman was binned for collapsing a lineout drive. Despite the setback the Jackals managed to get on the board just before halftime when Tomas Cubilla took a flat ball from an attacking throw-in, and somehow freed his arms in the tackle to put Ben Fry in for a seven-pointer.
Not long into the second half a burst from Marques Fuala’au put Dallas on the front foot. Straight hands to Cubilla ended with a try. Another came through their back as Dewald Kotze got the grounding on the end of a driving maul. Oliver converted both to make it a five-point game with 20 minutes to play.
In the dying minutes discipline cost Houston territory, and Tomás Malanos crossed on the end of an overlap with Oliver’s kick giving the visitors an unlikely two-point lead. It wasn’t to be, however, as Kyle Steeves saw yellow for slowing the ball down and Coetzer stepped up to break Dallas hearts.
The two sides will rematch at the same venue in three weeks with the winner advancing to the Western Conference Final. Dyer will be Houston’s lone representative in the upcoming tests, with Dallas contributing a handful of Canadians to the Maple Leafs and captain Sam Golla to the Eagles.
| SCORING |
HOUSTON 29
Tries (4) – R. Cobb (2′), J. Basson (26′), A. Warner (32′), C. Dyer (35′)
Cons (3) – A. Alatimu 2/3 (3′, 27′), No kick (32′)
Pens (1) – D. Coetzer 1/1 (80’+1′)
DALLAS 28
Tries (4) – B. Fry (38′), T. Cubilla (50′), D. Kotze (56′), T. Malanos (76′)
Cons (4) – No kick (38′), J. Oliver 3/3 (51′, 57′, 77′)
YC (2) – T. Bekerman (35′), K. Steeves (80′)
| LINEUPS |
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Rob Cobb (17 LaRome White 57′), 2 Pita Anae-Ah Sue (20 Drake Davis 51′), 3 Pono Davis (18 Val Lee-Lo 51′), 4 Justin Basson, 5 Johan Momsen (capt.), 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Keni Nasoqeqe (19 Emmanuel Albert 43′), 8 Ronan Murphy (16 Tiaan Erasmus 46′), 9 André Warner (21 Carlo de Nysschen 49′), 10 AJ Alatimu (22 Max Schumacher HT), 11 Jeremy Misailegalu, 12 Sam Hill, 13 Tautalatasi Tasi, 14 Christian Dyer (23 Line Latu HT), 15 Davy Coetzer
DALLAS JACKALS
1 Liam Murray (16 Joaquín Horcada HT), 2 Tomás Bekerman (17 Dewald Kotze 45′), 3 Franco Palillo (18 Kyle Steeves HT), 4 Lucas Bur, 5 Javon Camp (20 Jerónimo Gómez Vara HT), 6 Sam Golla (capt.) (19 Kyle Breytenbach 69′), 7 Ben Fry (17 Dewald Kotze 43′-45′), 8 Marques Fuala’au (22 Ronnie McElligott 79′), 9 Juan-Dee Oliver, 10 Connor Winchester, 11 Nic Benn, 12 Tomás Cubilla, 13 Manuel Covella (21 Brock Gallagher 51′), 14 Jason Tidwell (23 Joeli Tikoisuva 77′), 15 Tomás Malanos
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, June 29
Venue: SaberCats Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 19:00 local
Weather: sunny, 88°F (31°C), humidex 97°F (36°C), wind SE 14-22mph (22-35km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Jacob Gonzales (USA) & Jono Cooper (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)
