It was a disappointing end to a brilliant season for the UEL Phoenix as they suffered a heavy 39-0 defeat the hands of Oxford Brookes University in the South Conference Cup.
Safety, Danny McMahon, broke his collar bone in a tough match which saw the injury plagued Phoenix take an admirable bow out of the competition.
However, whilst the wounds may still be fresh, the Phoenix can hold their heads up high and toast to a successful year which saw them become the University’s first ever American Football team to qualify for the play-offs since the establishment of the team three years ago, in 2015.
Play-off Run
Life at the University of East London started brightly with the Phoenix’ winning four of their first five fixtures, in which they thrashed the University of Greenwich 21-0 and narrowly edged out the University of Essex, beating them 3-2.
Their only loss in those five came in a narrow 32-30 thriller against eventual winners of the 2A South East Division, Queen Mary University of London.
They would later go on to exact revenge on QMUL, their nearest rivals, in the reverse fixture, beating them 18-7 at the Chiselhurst Sports Ground.
The team saw a slight dip in form soon after and conceded back-to-back defeats to Anglia Ruskin and University of Essex, respectively.
By then however, other results had gone their way and the Phoenix had done enough to cement their place in the South Conference Cup and become the first American Football team in UEL history to make the play-offs.
I had the chance to speak to UEL middle line-backer Eddie Howard-Franks as he reflected on the season.
“It was certainly a bumpy one which saw us go from plan A all the way to plan D. We were cursed with a lot of unfortunate injuries including our Quarter back breaking his foot, but we kept fighting all the way to the very end.
It’s hard to lose in the play-offs but next year we must maintain the same plan and attitude. We just have to take it that one step further.”
Bright Future
Looking ahead to next season, there is no reason the squad can’t build on what progress they’ve made this year and achieve even more.
The players have gelled extremely well and have overcome adversity as they faced injury after injury. They have shown incredible character all year and for that alone you must applaud them.
Whilst watching the squad grow as players and as a team, it is very easy to forget about the hard work that is put in before a match day.
The Phoenix’ have two very hard-working coaches in Marty Terzic and Greg Ivison and their dedication is second to none.
Going the Extra Mile
Earlier on in the year I had the chance to attend a Phoenix training session. There was a bitter chill in the air but none of that stopped the players nor the coach.
Their sessions are conducted with the utmost professionalism yet also manage to keep an extremely positive atmosphere amongst the players, something that is deceptively difficult.
It is evident that everyone in the team wants to be there and more importantly, wants to win. It seems that they are in competition not only with their counterparts in the BUCS league but also with themselves, constantly pushing to trim off those extra few milliseconds in the 40-yard dash or pass those extra couple of yards.
As one of the fastest growing sports at the university, there’s no doubt that this season was merely a stepping stone to success and the future looks very bright for the Phoenix’.
The players and coaches can be immensely proud with their efforts this year and there is no doubt they have earnt the time off.
Congratulations Phoenix and here’s to next season.
