Lincoln Colonials lost 34-17 to the hands of an impressive Nottingham Green side, whose win saw them complete a flawless season on the same day as Super Bowl LVIII.
The American Football side can travel back from Nottingham with their heads held high, as the side are still likely to make play-offs.
Prior to Sunday’s match, Colonials had won three and lost two. Green, on the other hand, had won all five matches, beating Cambridge 3-27 last time out.
The last time these two sides met, Colonials lost 30-7. The Nottingham team saw a lot of change, however, with a lot of players being promoted from the second team to their first team, Nottingham Gold.
Prior to kick off there was a minute’s applause for Nottingham Green’s Stephen Brittle, known as Coach Beef, who took part in his last league game against the Colonials.
Kick-Off:
The Lincoln Colonials started the game very strong, finding themselves on the offence after the first three downs, thanks to a superb pick by Andrew Rance.
They followed this up with a superb touchdown. Joe Norstar caught a long throw from the Colonials Quarter-Back and ran it into the endzone. Robbie Vandamme converted his field goal, and helped his side earn a seven-point lead from early.
Their lead didn’t last long, however, as Nottingham responded with a quick touchdown, and converted their field goal to level the game out.
The rest of the first quarter was dominated by Nottingham, who tested Lincoln’s defence through different plays, but could find themselves a touchdown to get ahead.
The start of the second-quarter continued the same way. Colonials got away from a key defensive error, as Green had a touchdown disallowed for an aggressive push to interfere with the Colonials defence.
Another touchdown was disallowed soon after for Green, this time for holding a defender in an illegal position. Two big let offs for Colonials, who continued to make mistakes, which allowed chances for Green.
Eventually, another touchdown was claimed for Nottingham, who converted the following field goal to take a 14-7 lead into the break. Colonial heads dropped, and Green took advantage of that.
Half-Time:
Head-Coach George Lees must have given an inspiring half-time team talk, as the Colonials came out much more positive, hunting for a touchdown and conversion to level the game.
They got exactly that, with Dan Jones securing a touchdown after a phenomenal 60-yard run. The fake set Jones through, and the Green defence couldn’t handle his speed. Robbie Vandamme managed to convert yet another field goal, and Colonials found themselves level at 14-14 at the start of the third quarter.
The rest of the quarter was quite mellow, with both sides having half-chances, but very little to highlight it. Vandamme had the chance to take Colonials in the lead once again, with a field goal, but the kick was superbly blocked.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, Lincoln Colonials had the best chances. Quarter-Back Helmer Peereboom wasted his throw to the offensive player, which could have led to a touchdown. Instead, Colonials decided to bring out their special teams in the next down and converted a field goal to go 14-17 in front.
Nottingham Gren bounced back and saw themselves fly into a strong lead. Five minutes from time, the punt after Colonials’ conversion led to an incredible 90-yard run from the Nottingham Green defender, and they saw themselves go 20-17 ahead. A field conversion gave Green a four-point lead.
At the death, Nottingham Green bagged themselves two touchdowns, with Colonial heads dropped after knowing the game was too far for them to claw back at. With only one resulting field goal scored, Nottingham Green ran away 34-17 victors.
Full-Time – Nottingham Green 34-17 Lincoln Colonials:
If results aren’t to go their way, Colonials won’t play until the summer when they travel to Hull for the Varsity series.
Head Coach Thoughts:
Head Coach George Lees was very level-headed after his sides defeat, knowing how superior the opposition were.
He said: “It was a tough game. We had some positives, but we also negative and ultimately those negatives cost us. This time out against Notts, being the second game versus Notts, definitely a better performance overall, but not quite enough to make it over the mark.”