AFL Europe Championship – Day 1
Saturday the 3rd of August witnessed the start of the AFL Europe Championship in Dublin. Denmark, Great Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Croatia and Germany started their fight for the title on a day with early sunshine which quickly turned into heavy rain. Congratulations to all the teams that competed as the day was played in great sportsmanship and dedication to Australian Rules Football.
Denmark Vikings vs GB Bulldogs
Even though the Vikings started the game into the wind they were more precise in their game than the Bulldogs. The contest was willing with strong tackling in a physical games from both sides which lasted the whole match.
Denmark dominated the two first quarters. They showed great skill with a structured game plan especially in the midfields and were dominant in the ruck. They controlled the game well, so much so that the Bulldogs didn’t score during the second quarter.
From the third quarter, the game radically changed and on the back of a left foot snapshot from Chris James the tide began to turn. From then, Great Britain Bulldogs kept the advantage and deserved their hard fought win.
Irish Warriors vs Swedish Elks
During the first quarter the Swedish Elks had the majority of possession but the Irish Warriors were making their job difficult thanks to their great defense. The Elks were less precise by hand and foot due to the defensive pressure causing rushed decision and turnover football.
Then at the second quarter brought heavy rain which in turn caused the ball to get heavy and slippery. The team that desires the ball more usually wins these types of contests.
The third 1/4 saw both teams go scoreless it what was becoming a dour affair. They showed a lot of willingness for the contest however couldn’t convert this into scoring opportunities.
The last stanza continued in its willing nature and witnessed some huge contests in front of a crowd heavily supporting the locals. In the end there was only one kick in the match and it could have gone either way. A true show of how close this competition will be.
Croatia Knights vs Germany Black Eagles
Croatia came out firing on all cylinders registering 3 goals in the first four minutes. The Knights dominated the hard ball and showed great speed and precision early. They were very aggressive in attack and didn’t enable the Black Eagles to play their game.
From the second quarter the German’s made continual efforts to get back into the game. They had good possession of the ball and capitalised with goals at every opportunity. From 1/4 time the Croatians only registered 1 goal showing a remarkable turn around from the Black Eagles. If not for the early domination this result could have been very different.
The match was played in great spirit and again was a brilliant example of the sports growth in Europe.
See you all on Tuesday and stay tuned for the recorded videos from todays matches.
