“Handicaps were:

Knuckledusters
It Wasn't Me (on 21 SPP Blodger)
Smelling Salts
Extra Training
Morley's Revenge
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A topsy turvy game with lots of swinging luck benefitting first one coach and then the other.

The Black Wings started in offence and found it hard to advance. The Falcons applied the pressure, getting a two dice blitz on the ball carrier but failed to get the pows.

The Black Wings swung the ball this way and that and resorted to a 3+ leap and two GFI to score as the pressure mounted and the Falcons prepared to try and steal the ball again.

On their own drive, the Falcons started powerfully, causing two quick casualities as they pushed up one side. Then disaster struck. On their way to setting up a score, they rolled a double skulls, using a RR. The Falcons had to throw the ball with a Wardancer lurking in their backfield and they rolled a 1 to catch the ball and dropped it!

The Black Wings picked up the ball (needed a RR), dodged, passed, caught it and ran it deep. The Falcons chased and the Black Wings were forced to score leaving the Falcons two scores to peg back their opponent's 2-0 lead.

More bad luck for the Falcons - a Blitz! The Black Wings repositioned and stunned the Falcons AG5 AV6 Witch Elf, then had some back luck as their MA10 Catcher failed a GFI and seriously injured himself (MNG).

The Falcons were able to get three players deep and set up a score with their rookie Blitzer just before half time.

In the second half, the Falcons started in offence and scored quickly to level the scores despite injury time robbing the game clock of a turn.

Then the Falcons got a very very luck break. A Pitch Invasion! What a bad time to roll high as the Black Wings had 6 players go down (rolling 5 or higher) including the middle 5 on their line of scrimage, and their only backfielder - their quarterback! Meanwhile, the Falcons only have one player stunned.

The Black Wings with only 5 active players had few options and the Falcons applied the pressure in both halves of the field.

In desperation (due to the bad luck giving my opponent few options) the Black Wings went for a short pass (3+) over traffic (i failed the 6+ intercept) to a player in two tackle zones who made the catch (4+) but he failed to dodge away thanks to the Falcons Diving Tackler (4+ with reroll failed). The Black Wings player was brought down heavily (another Badly Hurt) and the Falcons with their superior numbers recovered the ball and prepared to set up for the match winning TD.

The Black Wings were running desperately short of players and suffered more bad luck with a player taking a niggling injury (apothecary failed) and on of their Wardancers took a -AV.

The Falcons overcooked their offence, waiting till the final turn to score when they probably could have safely secure the win with a Turn 7 score.

As luck would have it, the play for the TD was a 1 on a catch (rerolled) and then the final GFI was also a 1 and the Falcons failed to win the match!
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It was a tough game for my opponent. He had no lucky breaks early as he tried to set up his own score, and had to do a 3+ hand off to a player in a TZ that could have gone oh so wrong. He was also lucky to survive a two dice blitz on his ball carrier.

Then he did have some awesome luck with me rolling double skulls then the 1 to concede a TD on offence to take a 2-0 lead and then he got a Bltiz! too. However, one too many rolls and he ended up with the unlucky SI on his MA10 Catcher.

In the second half, he had obscene bad luck with the Pitch Invasion. What a time fo roll 5+ on 6 out of 11 players. This gave me an enormous advantage position wise which I was able to exploit but in playing too safe (not giving the Black Wings two turns to score back with only 8? players, I then had to make the 2+ rolls in the final turn to win. Just a 2+ pass, 2+ catch and 2+ hand off, not that hard right? Wrong, two ones out of those three rolls (four rolls all up because I reroleld the first catch) and it was a draw and I lost a FF for my troubles.

Still not as bad luck as for my opponent who copped a niggle with the apothecary failing, and taking -1 AV on his Wardancer, so all up, I can't complain about the luck.

Anyways, I wish theg and his team a good recovery. He was a good sport and a good coach (no mistakes, very good positioning of players) and if not for the armour and injury rolls that were strongly in my favour and also the pitch invasion, who knows, maybe 3-2 in his favour or maybe a 3-3 draw.

”