Connor Mackay reports on the Titan’s first competitive match against the Westminster Dragons
The Titans lose out on their opening game to the Westminster Dragons 20-14 in a tightly contested affair in west London.
UEL’s American Football team played their first completive Bucs game against the Dragons, and despite tasting defeat early on, Head Coach Callum Mair was still proud of how his team play.
“I could not be more proud of our team. We matched a much more experienced Westminster side, score for score almost all the way through the match.
“It’s clear that we are not going to be an easy win for any team we’ll play this year. I fully expect the lads to use this as motivation in our next game against City,” said Mair.
The visitors scored the first touchdown of the day from a deep pass, which one of their receivers caught and took it to the end-zone.
UEL responded well to going behind, as they made minimal mistakes in both the passing and running game.
Positive start
The home side’s good pressure was rewarded, as they levelled the scoring after a rushing touchdown. The Titans converted the 2pt conversion to take the lead with wide Receiver Abdul Cardoso making the catch.
However, the Titan’s defence could not stop Westminster scoring another touchdown, from a quick toss to the outside.
The away sides’ running back managed to run pass outside Line-backer Ridge Avit after he slipped in the mud creating space for the running back.
UEL’s heads didn’t drop after the touchdown, when a long pass to Cardoso put the team within a yard of the goal line.
The Titans struggled to get into the end-zone on their first two attempts, but eventually managed a touchdown when Rayon Johnson made a run for the line.
The hosts went on to establish a positive threshold in the match, but an incomplete pass to Filippo Ampomah and a long run pulled back stopped the Titans from building on their advantage.
Westminster fumbled the ball early into the second half in good field position for UEL to score, but Quarterback Tom Costello was intercepted.
The Dragons found a breakthrough late in the fourth quarter with a deep pass to their receiver for six points, but they failed to convert the extra points.
The Titans moved quickly to get into scoring range, but the home side spiked the ball to stop the clock, leaving the officials believing that their play was on its fourth down. The Titans lost the ball on downs, which allowed the visitors to run out the clock.