World Footy News

The Baltimore Washington Eagles (8th in our US poll) 109 points handily defeated the North Carolina Tigers (10th) 25 points. The game was played at the Capitol Polo fields in Poolesville, MD. Poolesville lies in the hart of Maryland's horse country past the grand mansions of Potomac and DC's northeastern suburbs. While it was definitely hot, there was none of the humidity that DC is famous for.

The Eagles were quick out of the gate with a stiff breeze blowing towards their goal. The Eagles moved the ball well by both hand and foot to take a 8 to 1 goal lead. Late in the first quarter, veteran Denis Ryan delivered a nice pass into the forward line to extend the Eagles lead. The first quarter ended with the Eagles 8.1.48 to the Tigers 1.0.6. In the second quarter the Tigers had the wind but it wasn't enough to claw back the lead. The Eagles were a little indiscriminate in kicking down to Tiger's coach and big man, Jason Heathcote. Heathcote, who at 6'9'' towers over the field, was able to take a couple of easy marks dropping back in defense. At the half, the Eagles were up 11.2.68 to 3.0.18. Unfortunately, for the Tigers the Eagles had the breeze again in the third quarter. Although they were not really able to make the best of it. Tigers' Will Harvey took a great grab in the pack and converted, but this would be too little too late. The Eagles held increased their lead to 14.6.90 to 4.1.25. In his quarter-time address, Eagles' Head Coach Matt Bishop, admonished the Eagles for not taking care of the footy and advantage of the wind. He asked that the they carry the ball up in the fourth quarter against the wind. The Eagles followed Bishop's advice with some lovely passages including a nice pass by Kevin Smith to Tony Goodman who hit Dwayne Marshall running passed and then Marshall delivered the ball into Josh Worner to finish for another 6 pointer. The Eagles finished 17.7.109 to the Tigers 4.4.28. Revo representative, Chris Carroll had a great day in the forward line with 4 goals, while team mate and Revo hopeful RJ Wheelock was one of the best for the Eagles.

Bishop was very happy with the Eagle's performance. Playing at home allowed the Eagles to increase their numbers and experience, which made a big difference. Bishop also said that they learned some important lessons from their 2 point win over the Tigers. The Eagles were more careful bringing the ball into the forward line so as not to give easy marks to the Tiger's talls. Also they double teamed Jason Heathcote with experienced defenders, Mick Dunne and Aaron Tyndall, which seemed to contain the big man's influence on the game. Heathcote, obviously was less pleased with the performance of his young chargers. "You can't win from behind, especially against this Eagles team."

The Eagles were dominant on the day and showed potential to run with the EAFL's two dominant sides, the New York Magpies and the Boston Demons. Taking their second win of the year, the Eagles took over the top of the USFooty Ladder (an unofficial composite of results from across the US). The big test will come on June 23 when the Eagles host the 6th ranked Boston Demons.