“Antipodal Regional Shield 01/09 - first round
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The G-Town Harlots looked like they had an advantage in the seed of the Antipodal Regional Shield. Their opponents, the Waterdeep Ratskins, has some fantastic gutter runners but they lacked both tackle and bashing power. And the G-Town Harlots had plenty of that, at least on paper.

It would turn out to be an uphill struggle though. The skaven played at their very best and got plenty of chances to use the speed and skill of their amazingly durable gutter runners. Right from the start they got a Blitz and could park a runner next to where the ball landed, running in 1-0 in their first turn. A worse start is hard to imagine, but it would get worse.

On the following kickoff the sun started shining so brightly that the amazons could forget any plans on a passing game. They would now have to apply a running strategy vs a far more agile and fast team. Their hope was to bash their way through the rats, and it looked promising in the start when Nok forced the opponents to use their apothecary early on, when she RIP'ed a downed storm vermin. In the long run though the amazons never managed to obtain an edge in the bashing game.

G-Town Harlots came close to a TD on their second drive, but a dauntless gutter runner managed to get to the ball carrier and the ball scattered amongst the skaven. A quick chain move by the other gutter runners meant 2-0 for the skaven with only a few minutes left of the first half.

G-Town tried yet another offensive drive, but this time it was stopped by the thrower double failing a GFI when she was about to pass. The quick skaven nearly managed to score 3-0, but was stopped by some desperate moves from the amazons. In their effort to keep the numbers down Carla Cleevage broke her neck, and the coach decided to save the apothecary for later.

The half ended 2-0 for the Waterdeep Ratskins and now they were about to start with the ball.

The second half was filled with a lot of drama and weird twists and turns. A quick attempt to kill the match by scoring 3-0 lead to a failed GFI when a skaven runner sprinted across the end zone line. At the same time Sister Mary landed a killing blow on the AG 4 thrower Manson. Would the tide finally change? For a second the Harlots had hope, but a failed handoff lead to an absurd scatter, right into the hands of the MA 8 Storm Vermin Dark Fang II. The Harlots threw what they had to stop his way, but he could dodge his way to 3-0.

As if Nuffle just wanted to pour salt into the wounds the bright shining sun was covered by clouds just after the hope was lost. The G-Town Harlots could now finally use their passing skill and managed to reduce the match to 3-1 and later 3-2, but it was always an impossible task to tie the match.

Mona Yum would have RIP'ed if not for the apothecary, so at least the decision to let Carla Cleevage go untreated payed off.

Thanks a lot for the match and congrats to the win, RealMadns! I outlucked you last time, so it was only fair that you had the margins this time. Make sure to win the whole thing now! See you in future OCC's!”