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Saints out-classed, Oxford 7 Tamworth 39
The Oxford Saint's perfect start to the season came to an abrupt end on Sunday when they crashed to a heavy defeat at the hands of conference favourites the Tamworth Phoenix. The stylish Phoenix out classed an under strength Oxford squad in a 39 – 7 drubbing.
The Saints made the journey to Tamworth without a long list of starters, including QB Jay Taylor, RB Chris Taylor & LBs Chris Ellis & Ben Tolley. It was clear from the opening drive that it was going to be an uphill battle for the Saints back-up players against a class Tamworth team in supreme form.
Oxford had the ball first & led by back up QB Alex Spurling they were immediately on the end of a relentless onslaught from the Phoenix defence. The Saints quickly turned the ball over & a bad punt saw Tamworth’s first possession start inside the Saints 20 yard line. The normally stingy Oxford defence took just 3 plays to leak the first score of the day. A pin point pass from Phoenix QB Stuart Ennis to Ricky Livingston from 12 yards out saw the first score of many for Tamworth, Sturder slotted the PAT, Tamworth 7 – 0 up.
The ferocious Tamworth defence got the ball straight back for the Phoenix, again deep inside the Oxford half. This time the Saints defence of recent weeks put in a brief appearance. Marco Pinder forced a fumble with a bone crushing hit on the Phoenix RB. Austin Wilcox pounced on the loose ball to recover for Oxford. Any hopes of this injecting some momentum into the Saints were quickly dashed by the lightning quick Phoenix defence, again forcing the Saints Offense to 3 and out.
The 2nd quarter saw Tamworth start deep inside the Saints 20 yard line again. A couple of good runs saw them at the Saints 1 yard line. With the Saints expecting run, Ennis dropped back to pass & found a wide open James Hossack in the end zone, Sturder tagged on the PAT, Tamworth up 14 – 0.
The ensuing kickoff saw a good return from Kyle Micallef take Oxford out to their 48 yard line. Disaster struck on the next play, Alex Spurling dropped back to pass & was picked off by Tamworth’s Philip Dayus who raced the ball back for a dazzling interception return for a touchdown, Sturder missed the PAT, Tamworth up 20 – 0.
The Phoenix were determined to end the contest before the interval & their defence did just that. A second turnover on Oxford’s next possession saw the Phoenix setting up their attack from deep inside the Saints red zone once more. Again the Saints defence capitulated & Ennis hooked up with Livingstone again, this time scoring from 3 yards out, Sturder missed the PAT but Tamworth went into the half time break 26 – 0 up. The game was well & truly over after the first couple of minutes of the 2nd half. A tired, battered & bruised Saints defence was opened up by a great run from Thomas Worrell who jinked his way to a 24 yard touchdown rush for the Phoenix, Sturder missed the PAT, Tamworth up 37 – 0.
The 4th quarter saw brief glimpses of the Oxford team from the first 4 games of the year. However the Phoenix scored first. A 2 yard run from Daniel Shakespere capped of a good drive, Sturder kicked the PAT, Tamworth up 39 – 0.
Determined to end the rout and get some sort of consolation, the Oxford offence took to the field inside their own half. A change at QB saw Sohail Jouya come in for Spurling. A couple of nice gains from Micallef took the Saints into Tamworth territory. Jouya dropped back to pass & hurled a long bomb down the sidelines. Brian Lewis jumped in front of a Tamworth defender to grab the pass at the 2 yard line & then dived into the end zone under a volley of defenders to score for the Saints, Johnny Dover kicked the PAT to end the game 39 – 7 to Tamworth.
The Saints hope to be back up to full strength for their next game. The Saints travel to Leicester Falcons on the 20th June.
Published: 08-06-2010 by Andrew Day