Ipswich Cardinals push unbeaten Blitz all the way in hard-fought clash

BAFA SFC Division 2 East Ipswich Cardinals 10 London Blitz B 21 Top-of-the-table London Blitz B all but wrapped up the division with a nail-biting come-from-behind victory in the final minutes against a resilient Ipswich Cardinals, writes Kyle Clark.

Defence was the theme of the day but it was the Cardinals who struck first, Johnny Rodgers breaking tackles on his way to a 10 yard touchdown. Stand-in kicker Daniel Rivera added the extra point to give the Cardinals a 7-0 lead.

The home defence stifled the previously powerful Blitz offence and were forcing regular turnovers. Don Staggs and Tom Markham were both in fine form as yards became hard to come by for both teams.

But Ipswich gained some much needed yardage just before half-time and Daniel Rivera added a field goal to take the score to 10-0 entering the break.

After the break both defences continued to dominate, Nate Hamer and Fab Ortiz-Barrs both getting interceptions for the Suffolk outfit, and tough tackling from the linebacker core of the Cardinals kept London from scoring.

However, with five minutes left in the game a huge momentum shift occurred as the Blitz scored on a deep pass over the middle to give the away side hope of salvaging their unbeaten season.

Still leading by three, the Ipswich offence were unable to close out the game and gave the Blitz a final chance to grasp victory from the jaws of defeat.

They duly delivered. Another deep pass gave the Blitz excellent field position and they capitalised to take their first lead of the day with less than a minute remaining.

The Cardinals would have one final chance to save the game – however, a fumble in their own endzone was recovered by the Blitz for a score to end all hope as the game finished 21-10.

Next up for Ipswich is the return of the East Anglian derby as they host local rivals the Norwich Devils on Sunday July 29 at Northgate Stadium in Ipswich, 2.30pm kick-off.