After a tough last quarter, the Toronto Eagles have held on to defeat a valiant Guelph Gargoyles by 26 points. The win keeps the Eagles undefeated in the 2010 season and on top of the Ontario Australian Football League (OAFL) ladder.

Both clubs entered the match missing a decent amount of regular starters, yet were still able to provide an entertaining match for the spectators at the University of Scarborough.

One of the Eagles' weaknesses over the past few rounds has been their relative slow starts. This was again the case with Guelph attacking from the first bounce.

This could have been due to the fact that this was the first time both teams have faced each other this season, as both seemed to be feeling each other out with some cautious play around the ground.

This was apparent to defender Patrick Gibbs who said the first quarter was an interesting battle.

“It took quite a while for both teams to get into the match and I think the fact that we haven’t meet until late in the season could have been the major reason for this.”

Halfway through the quarter, both sides started to feel more comfortable around the ground, which resulted in a more free flowing playing style by both clubs.

The Eagles were able take control of the quarter and should have given themselves a solid lead, but some poor kicking up forward let them down and they went into the first break with a slim one point lead.

The second quarter was an entertaining battle with both sides working hard around the ground, trying to wrestle control of the match. Guelph came out the better of the two, kicking three goals to the Eagles two, and would head into the half-time break up by six points.

Eagles captain Tasos Dimacakos agreed it was a tough quarter of football.

“After a slow first quarter, we started to get back into the game, but we just couldn’t get the job done up forward.”

The Eagles would regroup in their half-time huddle but would be without veteran Mark Peterson with back issues. After a few encouraging words from coach Aaron Falcioni, the Eagles would came out in the third a totally different team.

From the first bounce, the Eagles seemed to be working harder around the ground and in contested situations. The backline were containing their direct opponents, limiting them to only one point for the quarter and the midfield was dominating their opponents as well.

The forward line was also working a lot better, adding seven goals and giving the Eagles a 37-point lead heading into the final quarter.

Rover Gregg Pearce was pleased with the turnaround.

“After two average quarters of football, it’s like we decided to switch on and play our brand of football.”

The Eagles would continue to play their brand of football for the first five minutes of the final quarter. After that, the Guelph slowly took control of the match with some quality ruck work, which saw them dominate the centre clearances.

The Gargoyles would get within four points, until the Eagles were able to wrestle back control with some solid work in the midfield, eventually steadying Guelph’s surge with three goals to finish with a 26-point victory.

While the Eagles were outplayed for a portion of the final quarter, coach Aaron Falcioni was still satisfied with his team’s ability to finish out the game.

“It was a little disappointing to let them back into the game,” Falcioni said.

“But to still win the game by over three goals after being challenge was a solid effort by the boys.”

Standouts for the Eagles included forward Oliver Hayward, midfielders Salvatore Capoferri and Frank Luisser. Hayward was in good form kicking five goals and providing a solid target in the forward line.

Capoferri was solid all game, winning a lot of contested football and working hard around the ground. Luisser was impressive in and around the center and contested hard all day.

Other noticeable performances included Adam Farrs’ ruck work, James Clinton's amazing goal kicking and Falcioni’s solid work up forward and around the ground.

With only two more rounds to go the Toronto Eagles head into round 13 to face the Central Blues in the league’s first All-Canadian affair.

TORONTO EAGLES   1.8   3.9   10.11   14.12 (96)
GUELPH GARGOYLES   2.2   5.3   5.4   11.4 (70)

GOALS
O. Hayward 6, A. Falcioni 3, S. Rivett 2, L. Husar , F. Luisser , J. Clinton

BEST
O.Hayward, S.Capoferri, F.Luisser, S.Dimacakos, J.Clinton, G. Pearce, A.Falcioni

INJURIES
M.Peterson (Back)
Reports: Nil

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.