The Mercenaries 2-2 Scarbringer Savages

Weather: Perfect

Gate: 26k

With a couple of heavy losses to open the season, The Mercenaries got off the mark with a crditable 2-2 draw against the Savages. This was the first time that an Eastern Conference team had taken anything from a Cross-Conference match. For the Savages, a point was enough to take them off the foot of the Western Conference though having been favourites to win the game, some pundits have considered it two points dropped rather than a point gained. What is for sure is that The Wanderers crowd were witness to an end to end encounter where both teams threatened to score at any moment.

The opening to the game was delayed slightly when a small riot erupted as fans were still entering the ground when sadistic referee Ilysium Thunder blew for kick-off. When play did get underway, The Mercenaries received the kick-off through their key playmaker Alec von Tasslebine and set about their standard opening gambit. Alec tossed the ball to the left wing for Amazon Catcher Cre'atarin to take up running and head off into Savages territory. As with most attempts at this play, it failed when Cre'atarin stumbled on the always treacherous turf coughing the ball up for Savages main scoring threat Stinky the Skink. Dodging free from the Mercenaries lines the only player able to keep pace was team-mate "Fur" Tooth who took a hand-off and walked in for a touchdown. Such an early score having kicked the ball off threatened that the game may be yet another rout for the beleaguered Mercenaries.

As if to rub the score into the face of the home side, the Savages launched a violent kick-off that struck the face of Lineman Krispin de la Richnoc leaving the ball lying free on the front line. Inevitably, it proved difficult for anyone to lay a firm hand on the ball with so many scrambling for it. Eventually it was Fur Tooth who took possession with both teams having committed heavily to the front line battle. The Skaven left the home side trailing in his wake but in a sudden lapse in confidence, he passed the ball away to Stinky who had made a break for the end zone when it seemed easier to score himself. The Skink was in range of the Mercenaries most effective defensive player, Peln'taro the Dark Elf Blitzer who was able to hit a tackle on Stinky causing a fumble and giving the Savages little time to pick up a second score before the end of the half.

Fur Tooth was still within sight of the end zone when he took possession of the loose ball but once again he failed to just run the ball in, instead he managed an amazing pass from within the tackle zones of three Mercenaries when it would have been far, far simpler to just work the ball himself. Having scored in this manner against the All-Stars it looked as if another miraculous play may be in the offing until Stinky took his eye off the ball and let it strike him squarely in the chest and bounce free just as time was up in the first half. Still, a 1-0 lead at half time against the team that had conceeded seven in two games and receiving the ball at the start of the second half looked like a strong position for a win.

There had been no casualties in the first half and it appeared both sides were looking to rectify this with their opening set-ups for the second half as they massed their forces across the front line with little regard for backfield play. Stinky took the ball and made for a pocket behind the front line as a sensible precaution. Unfortunately, he witnessed the utter annihilation of the line in front of him as the Mercenaries finally began to turn up the heat. Seven Savages hit the ground including "Steely-Eyed" Sam who suffered a serious injury. The only unsuccessful block came from Cre'atarin who leapt over the Savages right flank to blitz Stinky. The failure to hit this key block left the Skink holding the ball. A daring escape from the two most frequent ball-handlers Stinky and Fur Tooth nearly broke past the rampaging home players but a tackle from Trevor Da Trevor the Hobgoblin stopped the attack in its tracks.

The player closest to the ball was Richard "The" Small the Halfling who's contribution to the Mercenaries season so far has been extremely minimal. Continuing this theme, he contributed an incomplete pass despite his best efforts when Cre'atarin put the ball down. The play at this point was completely in the balance as both sides launched solo efforts towards their opposing end zones but there was little conviction or tactics in evidence from either coach. On the Savages bench, head coach The Beejmeister seemed utterly perplexed by the at bizarre plays on offer from The Mercenaries and he seemed unable to offer an effective counter to them. As befitted the standard of play, it was a moment of individual brilliance that lead to the next score. Lineman Casius Slay found himself in with the ball in his hands for the first time in his career and decided to launch a long bomb. Unforunately for the Savages, it was a piece of individual brilliance from The Mercenaries that took center stage. Black Orc Blocker Krump Forznit must have momentarily glanced up from his front line struggles as his huge left hand reached out to pluck the ball in flight to record the first ever interception in the league.

Not content with that, Forznit took charge of the game. He ran as fast as he could towards the Savages goal line but recognised that his lack of pace would harm his scoring chances, he belied his lack of agility to deliver a short pass to Splinter the Gutter Runner who had no Savages anywhere near him. A sense of disbelief engulfed all present as the Gutter Runner strolled in through the open field to register the first ever score by the Mercenaries. Having suffered 3-0 and 4-0 reverses, a score marked a huge improvement for the bottom ranked team in the league.

Brimming with confidence, The Mercenaries revealed an aggressive formation. It took just a short time for the Savages to take advantage, Fur Tooth and Dark Elf Blitzer Sirius ran through the lightly guarded left flank and into a completely open backfield. There was not a single defender able to reach the pair allowing the Dark Elf to pick up his first score of the season to mark the first time the Savages had troubled the scoreboard twice in a game. 2-1 up just over half way through the second period, the Savages were clearly confident of victory as they offered exactly the same defensive formation as they had just seen against them from their opponents. Perhaps gambling that the home team's opening score had been through the kind of individual skill that it is not possible to legislate for, the Savages offered a gap at the end of each side of their front line formation. Even a team as inexperienced at scoring as The Mercenaries could see this potential. With the extremely rapid Splinter on board, they do possess a serious scoring threat. When a spot of brilliant coaching helped Alec von Tasslebine to make his fourth completion of the season to Splinter, the Skaven was off through the gap and towards the end zone

With only Sirius able to get near Splinter, it was up to the Dark Elf to prevent another Mercenaries score. He failed to put Splinter down leaving the Skaven in possession just a yard from the end zone. There was no way he could not score, levelling it all up at 2-2 with no time left for a response. A 2-2 result showed the defensive fragility of both sides but a point was pleasing to both coaches, particularly as they had previously only scored once between them.

Injuries: Mercenaries: Kane de la Richnoc - Stomach Injury (1 game)

Key Stats

Team	CAS	Rush	Blocks	Downs	Pass	Fum
Mercenaries	1	43	21	11	9	3
Savages	1	48	38	15	4	4

MVPS: Kane De La Richnoc, Stinky

Best Players