A rampant Longshanks side spent most of its time in the opposing team's half - perhaps a little too much at times, leaving openings for the Matters to run through.
The match kicked off with "away fans banned" - apparently nobody explained to the Matters' security team that they were at home this game. Still, the few Matters fans who did attend soon regretted it as overexcited Longshanks fans started a terrace fight halfway through. Suffice to say that there were no Matters fans at all left by the end.
The initial score came as the Matters' kroxigor, having received the ball through a touchback, failed to make a serious dent in the Longshanks line and found himself stranded on the other side as their human blitzer failed to slip through the ranks to join him. The Longshanks quickly capitalised, taking the krox down and swiftly passing the ball down the pitch to the waiting arms of Leorus Greenstone.
Kicking the ball a second time, the Longshanks immediately blasted through the opposition lines and moved to sack the ball carrier - but too eager, as the ball instead sailed straight over their heads to the Matters' elf blitzer deep in Longshanks territory. A squad of Longshanks players rapidly back-pedalled to form a roadblock, successfully relieving the Matters of the ball. It looked to be only a few seconds from a Longshanks score, as Hawkeye grabbed the ball and prepared for a long bomb to Tieran Frostbite. Sadly it was not to be, as the high elf thrower slipped over his own feet and landed himself in the injury box. A swift series of blocks enabled the Matters to recapture the ball and equalise.
This time receiving the ball, the Longshanks reprised their former tactic, punching a hole in the opposition defences and forming their own line on the other side. Deprived of their thrower there was definite tension in the air as Illyrian Duskfall, unused to such a high-profile position, took on the heavy task of passing the ball to the waiting receivers. Luckily he proved equal to the task, taking the score to 2-1 at half time.
In the second half the Longshanks performed another stunning offence, with some pundits experiencing deja vu as Duskfall rushed foward to pass the ball yet again. But there was a double take as, to many commentators' surprise, the wood elf moved the ball to Ulric Van Horne, not a traditional Longshanks receiver. Nevertheless, the play came off and the "Slayer" made his first score of the season.
Perhaps having been made cautious by the events so far, the Matters took a far more defensive tack in the rest of the half. Moving the ball into a cage near the line of scrimmage, they surrounded it with a formidable wall of players. The Longshanks responded by forming their own dense wall in front of them, goading them to try and punch through. A series of scuffles followed, with neither team gaining any particular advantage, until late in the game the Matters left a small hole in their defences, enabling the Longshanks to rush forward and surround the wood elf thrower carrying the ball.
The ball carrier promptly moved to escape and make a long pass to the Matters' pro elf lineman, who had been waiting for exactly this moment. But it was not to be - the thrower suddenly lost all momentum as a crafty Longshanks fan with a sorcerous bent blew his mind away! Seconds later the Longshanks blitzed the ball free and looked to be about to score. Sadly for them, Tieran Frostbite proved less agile than usual, failing to fend off a tackle from the Matters' human blitzer. In the very last turn of the match the Matters' thrower scrambled to his feet and pitched a long bomb to the pro-elf on the other side of the field, who promptly sprinted to the end zone.
A nail-biting match, with several surprise reversals. Notably, Leorus Greenstone seemed to escape from the shadow of his team-mate Tieran Frostbite, achieving his first two touchdowns of the season and developing an uncanny skill at dodging in the process. The Matters' pro elf lineman was rewarded for his patience with an advance, and possible AV increase. The match was also noted for the extraordinary prowess of the Matters' coaching squad, who no less than three times performed acts of brilliant coaching, leaving the Longshanks coaches shrugging in confusion at their smooth moves.