The Dallas Magpies suffered their first Mid-America
Australian Football League loss on Saturday, falling by five points to the
resilient Chicago Swans, 89-84.
The game, played at Rogers Park in Chicago under
ideal Illinois weather, was a scrappy game of football that had numerous lead
changes culminating with the Swans’ victory.
The Magpies, playing without captain Stuart Rackham and vice captain Glen Paton, were convinced they had the better team on the day. It was looking that way, too — at halftime Dallas had a strong four goal lead, and the ’Pies quickly kicked another in the third term to lead by five goals. To Chicago’s credit, the Swans put in a stellar fourth quarter to storm back from behind and steal the game.
“It was the opposite of what happened to us against
St. Louis,” said Scott Cobb, the Magpies Forward Flanker referring his team’s
come-from-behind win against St. Louis in the MAAFL opener. “Coming down the
stretch, we peppered the goals but couldn’t convert, and Chicago converted
theirs.”
The game also featured a controversial decision.
Late in the third quarter, Magpies forward Ross McLaren kicked what appeared to
be a six-point goal from the flank. The goal umpire, however, signaled only a point.
One field umpire also signaled a goal while a second field umpire signaled a
point. Both teams headed back the middle of the field as if a goal had been
scored, but the goal umpire stuck to her guns and the one-point decision stood
much to the dismay of the Magpies.
“When it comes
down to it, we were outplayed in the fourth quarter, which is usually our
quarter,” Cobb said. “We were also up by five goals and one point … we have
nobody to blame but ourselves.”
For
the Magpies, the loss served as a reality check. With road wins hard to come by
in the MAAFL, the Magpies face a pair of tough away contests against Nashville
and Atlanta.
The 2004 Magpies MAAFL Schedule:
Date
|
Opponent
|
Results
|
|
May 15 |
vs. St. Louis |
W 69-60
|
|
June 5 |
@ Chicago |
L 89-85
|
|
June 26 |
vs. Cincinnati |
|
|
July 24 |
@ Nashville |
|
|
Aug. 28 |
@ Atlanta |
|
|
Sept. 11 |
vs. Milwaukee |
|
About the Dallas Magpies:
The Dallas Magpies are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, dedicated to fostering national and international amateur sports competition as well as promoting a cultural exchange between Americans and Australians. The Magpies participate in the Mid American Australian Football League, a division of the United States Australian Football League and currently have a player competing on the U.S. National team in International competition. The team is active in promoting the Australian national sport and Australian culture through children’s clinics at area schools and by sponsoring events such as the annual Australia Day and ANZAC Day celebrations in the Metroplex.
For more details on organizing a school clinic,
playing footy with the team or supporting the Dallas Magpies Australian
Football Club, e-mail the recruiting department (recruiting@dallasfooty.com).