On Saturday May 22, No. 7 Chicago United (pictured) kick off their defense of the MAAFL Premiership by heading to Columbus to take on the Jackaroos. Game time is set for 4pm (Central) at Tuttle Field in Columbus OH.
Chicago's new Head Coach, Anthony Hendrie, is very happy with Chicago's preseason and is looking forward to the contest. "The start to the 2010 season has been a good one for Chicago United, a new sponsor (Four Corners Tavern Group) has given us a new home at Brownstone Tavern. This has enabled us to recruit more players and have up to 40 blokes out at training. This has been extremely encouraging with the stalwarts of the club saying they have never seen so many at training before. We have unearthed a few potential greats this year. A solid start to our Metro League can only stregthen our 3 year hold on the MAAFL honors. We expect the Jackaroos to take it up to us on Saturday. A team that will be ably led by Fisher, Gardiner and Ridenour; we will certainly have our work cut out for us. A new season brings about new opportunities and think that this is a perfect challenge for the boys first up this season."
Columbus Head Coach, Scott Matheson, is also relatively happy with his clubs preparation but knows it will take something to beat the 3 time MAAFL Champions. "Our preparation has been very solid so far this season. We’ve had two metro games and then the Harrell Cup in Louisville two weeks ago to get in game shape. Although I thought we didn’t perform anywhere close to our potential in Louisville there were certainly some encouraging signs. The key to our performance this season will be finding a consistent pathway to goal and no doubt that will be a factor this Saturday. Our defense has been strong since day one and our midfield is gaining in confidence with every game, so it’s up to our forwards to finish off everyone else’s hard work.
"We have no doubt about the quality of Chicago’s side, as we learned up there last year. They are a team which was only a sniff away from a Division Two final birth last year in Mason and, of course, they have been fairly successful in the MAAFL for the past few years. Chicago has outstanding Australians all over the field and a constant pipeline of athletic, tough Americans coming into their club. I would say they are a side with great balance, experience and poise and they will provide a huge challenge for us on Saturday. We’re just glad that we get to share the field with stars like Gambaro, Brennan, Ward and Meyer."
