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Tour 1 Open Report
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Submitted by leeds55 on 10 July 2006 - 9:00pm.
The second weekend of July saw the first event in the 2006 UKUA Open Tour. LeedsLeedsLeeds blooded a number of younger players in a new-look squad, combining tried and tested plays with new principles and a gameplan modified to suit the long roster.
Being an open format (devised such that each team has an equal opportunity to win the event) meant that Leeds met some teams who had not been regular opponents the previous year, starting with the Nottingham-based and long-time student heavy Flyght Club. With every expectation of winning reinforced by the gusty weather, Leeds' advantage in terms of numbers and experience see them to a 15-6 victory. Next up, a team featuring old friends with the misfortune of moving South, and old rivals who never had the luck of leaving Oxford. Again, Leeds run out convincing winners, this time conceding one more point. The final game of Saturday saw Leeds match up against a team they had twice beaten pre-season, and a team clearly out to avenge those losses. Relying heavily on a core of confident handlers and athletic downfield players, EMO were able to give Leeds a real scare in pushing them all the way to 15-11. Having done some research on their opposition, Leeds went to bed on Saturday night knowing that they would meet Bristol in the quarter, and if everything went to seed, Fusion in the semi-final. Whether it was the increased wind, the record of the teams, or internal disputes, Bristol were never quite able to capture the form they can show, and Leeds ended comfortable winners 15-8. So, into what would become the closest game of the weekend. With the wind picking up, it was difficult not to remember a heavy pre-season defeat to the Scots on home turf in April, and Leeds took a studied approach to a worthy opponent. Trading the occasional upwind break on the back of ambitious throws and big grabs, Leeds are looking nervous as a gilt-edged chance to take a decisive lead goes begging, and are punished not long after as Fusion catch them napping to take a 13-11 lead. A rousing team speech from the team's resident sports psychologist gets them back on track, however, and four points on the bounce see Leeds put the two pre-season losses behind them. Next door, a similarly tight game had seen Fire of London defeat their internationally peppered London rivals by the same score, and so the final would combine a chance for Leeds to acheive a Tour 1 'threepeat', and an opportunity for Clapham to break a long-running streak of early season losses. Unfortunately for the Northeners, it was a case of third time unlucky as the game plan failed to reap the benefits it had previously, and a strong performance from the Londoners saw them score three important upwind points to win by six. A silver lining was put on the weekend during the presentation as Leeds were presented with the Spirit of the Game award. Often seen as something of a consolation prize, the Spirit award has more frequently been bequeathed to higher ranking teams, and Leeds are proud to maintain a good record in this category. [ tags: match report | Open Tour ]
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