Columbus, OH - (7) Chicago United came into town the reigning champions of the Mid-American Conference, having been crowned premiers the last three-straight years. The Columbus Jackaroos, twice badly defeated in Chicago, came in as the heavy underdogs, with a chip on their shoulders after the United ruined Columbus Dream First Season run at the MAAFL title.
Through the first three quarters each period ended with only a couple points difference, and going into the 4th, the Home Team, held a narrow 2-point advantage. That would be as close as the Jacks would get to victory though, as their tanks came up empty in the fourth, while Chicago's veteran midfielders only picked up steam pounding the ball into their forward lines where blonde-mulletted Oscar finally broke free from the suffocating tag put on Jacks Defensive specialist Clyde Simpson. Perhaps some ill-advsied lineup changes, along with Oscar's 13 points and a couple other key goals were the daggers that sunk the underdog's ship this day. Overall, a fantastic match that saw new faces on both sides of the lineup get a taste for this amazing game.
According to Chicago's Anthony Hendrie, "A relatively new look United team had 10 guys making their debut. We knew that we were going to come up against a home side that has improved and will be a tough side to beat come Nationals time in October. They really held sway for the first three quarters and if it only had been a pinch of luck going their way the deficit at three quarter time might have been more than 2 points. Effectively this enabled United a sniff. And in the end the talls don't get any smaller in tough battles and it was the likes of Roofy, Crackers and the irrepressible Haysey who continued to marshall the troops and get us over the line by 20 points. The mug award went to Big Jason Wilhelm, a revelation this year in the ruck. I have no doubt in my mind that in the next year or so that you will see him in a Revo jumper. All in all, everyone had their job to do and one that resulted in a very satisfying win. One that was savored throughout the night!"
Columbus 7.6 (48)Chicago 10.8 (68)
GOALKICKERS
Columbus: Rob Ward 2, Alan Gardner 2, JP Culgan 2, John Fisher 1.Chicago: Ryan Hayes 3, Paul Meyer 3, Rohan Ward 2, Nolan McKeegan 1, Pedro Jimenez 1.
BEST PLAYERS
Columbus: Rob Ward, Alan Gardner, Clyde Simpson, Matt Reiss, Rob McFarland.Chicago: Graham Brennan, Rohan Ward, Ryan Hayes, Jason Wilhelm, Frank Bradley.
Field Umpires: Kyle Strenski, Scott Strenski.
Article courtesy of ColumbusFooty.com.
