No Talent All-Stars 2-0 Tempo Ray Mutineers

Weather: Windy

Gate: 30k

The visit of the top team in the East, the Mutineers represented a must-win game for the All-Stars. In order to guarantee a place in the playoffs, the home team have to win their final three games beginning with this match against the only unbeaten side in the league. With only 6 points from the first five games, beating a side with a perfect fifteen points from five games and only one point away from a guaranteed playoff place would require a serious step up in the All-Stars game. The Mutineers have only conceded one touchdown in the first five games with that being scored by the Mercenaries and have a 100 yard rusher in Savogand Thrall who reached that figure in the game against the Dolts.

The game did not start well for the All-Stars. The Mutineers received the opening kick-off through Savogand Thrall and immediately showed they meant business. Dwarf Longbeard Kerval Axebreaker blitzed All-Stars Human Blitzer Jack Hour off the pitch. He didn't return for the rest of the game. The All-Stars attempted their familiar tactic of bunching the game around the line of scrimmage and reducing the available routes through. The Mutineers were wise to this and rolled the offense to the left with Savogand Thrall confident in possession. It appeared as though the away side had out-manouvred their opponents with a potential foot race in the offing which Savogand would surely win. Saurus Blocker Verkampf "Rat Destroyer" had other ideas. The Saurus raced round the back of the Mutineers attacking pack and caught hold of Savogand, putting the High Elf down and ripping the ball free from his grasp.

Even that might not have been enough. Chaos Dwarf Zzharg Zzhargson avenged his captain by knocking down the Saurus which allowed Savogand to recover his balance and take possession once more. Somehow, it didn't happen as the ball squirmed free under no pressure whatsoever. Amazon Blitzer Boa Dicea attempted to help her team-mate out but inexplicably she too failed to hold onto the ball. It was just the break the All-Stars needed, Wood Elf Lineman Aenarion Swift showed the Mutineers how it's done, taking the ball calmly and breaking free deep into the Mutineers half. The offense had stalled completely and the Mutineers were at risk of conceding a breakaway score. The Mutineers are known by now for their tenacious defense but it was as absent as their ball-handling skills. The away team could not react to Aenarion Swift's break and could only stand and stare as the Wood Elf recorded only the second touchdown against the Mutineers to give the All-Stars a shock lead to end the first half.

1-0 up and receiving in the second half. The All-Stars could not have dreamt they would have such a good start to the game. Their season was hanging by a thread and only a win would do. Against the intimidating Mutineers defense, the home fans could only hope that their team could maintain their concentration and desire. The start of the second half did not auger well. High Elf Thrower Thaleus Thunderarm took the kick-off but failed miserably to find a receiver to a wayward pass. Fortunately for the All-Stars, the Mutineers defense was set too deep to take advantage of the mistake. A common problem for any deep defensive formation is that they can't get up the field quick enough to turn an offensive mistake into a disaster. Aenarion Swift picked up the loose ball and the All-Stars began an assault down their left flank with Ogre Blocker Kaneris N'Gillthrog leading the charge. The attack got bogged down as the All-Stars yet again failed to open a large enough hole for their runners to break through. Despite the physical prowess of Kaneris, the All-Stars continually find themselves in a protracted blocking battle with little ground gained or given and this drive was going the same way.

The Mutineers players are more than able to deal with caged formation and Toxix the Wight was the player to break the cage. He battered into Aenarion to tackle the Wood Elf and give his team a chance to steal the ball and break on the All-Stars just as the home team had done in the first half. The counter-attack failed to materialise and once again the culprit was Savogand Thrall who fumbled the loose ball. It was the last chance the Mutineers received. Kaneris finally stamped his authority on the game by Badly Hurting Amazon Blitzer Boa Dicea and clearing a path for High Elf Thaleus Thunderarm to take the ball. The Thrower accepted the task with aplomb, finding a route through the maul in front of him. The defense could not re-organise having pushed up to take advantage of the tackle from Toxix so the All-Stars managed to slip Norse Lineman Sven Andersson through to the end zone. All that was needed was for the Norseman to be given the ball and the Mutineers would be in serious trouble. Dwarf Longbeard Kerval Axebreaker did his level best to stop the score but he could not tackle Thunderarm. The High Elf escaped the tackle and moved within range to hand-off to the Sven Anderssson to make the score 2-0 and confirm the win for the home side.

With little time left in the game, all the Mutineers could hope for was a consolation touchdown to prevent their first shut-out of the season. Dwarf Runner Gunnar Gunnarsson collected the kick-off and handed off to Savogand Thrall. Once again, the High Elf's handling let the side down as he fumbled and effectively ended any chance of a Mutineers score. The game ended with the Mutineers first defeat of the season and a notable feather in the All-Stars cap. Having crushed the Fabienettes in Week 3, they have shown that they are more than capable of taking on teams from the East. The Mutineers clearly had an off day. The fumbles from Savogand Thrall were crucial. Both All-Stars scores could have been prevented if the High Elf had managed to keep possession and they could have been turned into Mutineers scores if he had managed to break clear. Still, the All-Stars deserved their win for the pressure they managed to exert and can go into their remaining two games knowing that if they win both they will qualify for the playoffs.

Injuries: None

Key Stats

Team	CAS	Blocks	Downs	Rush	Fum
All-Stars	1	49	30	26	2
Mutineers	1	37	25	11	6

MVPS: George Mayson, Ernesto Boost