Inverclyde Now Logo AMERICAN Football — Inverclyde Goliaths Storm To British Final In Their First Season

5 September, 2019 | Local

AMERICAN football team Inverclyde Goliaths defied the odds to reach the British final — Britbowl — being held in Newcastle this Saturday.

The Goliaths entered the play-off rounds of the 2019 season ranked fifth out of eight teams after a regular season of six wins and two losses. This meant two long road trips for matches in Lincolnshire and Birmingham.

The team didn’t hold back against Lincolnshire Bombers The persistent run game the Goliaths have adopted was too much for the Bombers to handle. Three rushing touchdowns and two extra points were scored giving the team 22 points.

Goliaths didn’t have it all their own way, with the Bombers passing attack posting 18 points on offense. Goliaths were able to stop the Bombers on their last possession — they had a long field to cover with time expiring. The game ended 22-18 giving Goliaths their first play-off victory.

In the semi-final fixture, Goliaths were matched up against the number one team in the division, the Birmingham Bulls. Birmingham had conceded just 13 points in their regular season games, posting an average of 42 points on offense. Goliaths, held up in traffic, arrived at the fixture late. A hastily-put-together warm-up didn’t affect the team who quickly went about their business.

Again the run game of the Goliaths was too much to handle for Birmingham who couldn’t control the mixture of strong blocking from the offensive line and stout running from the running backs. At half-time, Goliaths posted a 22-6 points lead.

The second half was slower, with injuries and more passing plays making the clock stop. Birmingham brought the score back to 22-12, but they were the last points the Goliaths would concede. The game ended with the Goliaths’s defense intercepting the ball, returning this to the Birmingham endzone for the six points. The extra points were converted and the game end 30-12 in the Goliaths’s favour.

Goliaths, in their first senior season, have achieved a feat that only a handful of clubs have done. Reaching the British final in their first season is outstanding and caused huge upset around the league.

On Saturday at 1pm, the Britbowl final will kick-off in Newcastle and the team will be ready to take on the country’s number two ranked team — the Halton Spartans — very much as the underdogs.

Inverclyde American Football Community Club continue to recruit players for the Senior (18-plus) and Junior/Youth teams (Inverclyde Phoenix for 12 to 18-year-olds). Those interested can go along to the practices — on Thursdays at 7pm, or Sundays from 1 to 3pm at Greenock Wanderers Rugby club, Fort Matilda for the senior team or Sundays from 11.30am for the Junior/Youth team — or contact the committee via email inverclydeamfit@hotmail.com or find Inverclyde American Football on Facebook.

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