Photos
Photos by Jeff Andreasen
Binghamton Barbarians 15, Cortland Thundering Herd 17
Barbarian Scoring (as best as can be remembered)
Anthony Mazzeo (2 Tries)
Jake Winn (Try)
Barb O' The Match: Anthony Mazzeo
What Went Right:
Tackling and defense. There was a lot of hard hitting going on out there on both sides of the field (see photos) and no one ever kicked for points on penalties. They went for it! Gutsy. The scrums went well for Binghamton, and after deciding that contesting lineouts with Cortland's lanky jumper wasn't very rewarding, the Barbs threw long and their lineouts were fine. Decent support was, again, intermittent, but when it was there the Barbs pushed deep into Cortland territory.
What Went Wrong:
Too many dropped balls and missed opportunities. Too often kicking away possession, even inside Cortland's 22. Letting up mentally after scoring, permitting Cortland to rumble right back down the field to reciprocate. Goal kicking was errant, leaving six points on the field.
Bottom Line:
Always a tight match. Cortland made as many mistakes as the Barbs, but somehow they didn't seem as costly. If both clubs came away from a match having made no errors, the result would be a tight one...going either way. This was no different. The Barbs made a heckuva goal line defense in the closing stages of the match, but an unlucky bounce from the back of the scrum saw Cortland steal the match at the end. Nothing to be ashamed about by this performance. But for that bad bounce, the Barbs win this one. Good job by the forwards all day long and the backs didn't let too much slip past them. A little more offense might've made a difference, but Cortland didn't do a shabby job shutting things down either. Good job all 'round in a close and exciting match. Now it's off to bed for the winter (after Deer & Beer) and look forward to 2010...