Following a tough loss against Opueye Foxes where Luxembourg’s Blacksmiths failed to produce on field impact in most categories, the Blacksmiths now faced stiff opposition from nearby located Namur Knights. The last meeting had ended with a tough 20-1 loss, adding to the pressure to prove that Luxembourg Lacrosse can deliver a win.
The team had prepared well in the run ups with a strong practice on Friday and for all national team players there was also a tough six hour block of practice the next day with Coach R. Ingham Clark from the UK. Clark had last seen the team at the World Championships and was happy with the players’ progression.
Now, facing Namur, Clark suited up alongside 16 players leaving minimum time to get his plane back to the UK. Luxembourg fielded a strong team, with some adjustments on defense where the move of Andrew Robillard (#21) to attack had to be compensated. In midfield, long sticks Johannes Kirch (#14) and Luxembourg international Y. Audrimont (#18) look to close down Namur’s strong transition game, supported by the highly anticipated return of two way midfielder Oliver Griebel (#17). Patrick Audrimont (#6), brother of Yves, played goal tender and Sören Salvatore (#77) was ready to play just in time for the match following sickness on Friday and Saturday.
Namur fielded 11 players and could rely on most of its strong team, including strong scorer and midfield machine #32 Harry Owrid. The highly experienced Barbara Zelenay who had travelled from Stuttgart supported the four Belgian referees.
The weather was pretty much perfect and Luxembourg found the net early, with two goals in the first 70 seconds after two clean wins at face-off X by #77 S. Salvatore. Namur showed their competence and experience and equalized with two quick goals from #32 H.Owrid in the next three minute. The Blacksmiths produced another two goal lead at 4-2 by the 11th minute and 5-3 near the end of the second half.
Namur #2 M. Holmes then capitalized on some poor team defense, taking it to 5-4, just before the half time break. Coach Schmidt, having used both time-outs wanted to create the opportunity to break yet another momentum swing against hard working but somewhat ineffective Blacksmiths. The referees assessed the stick illegal and disallowed the goal, shortly thereafter the half time break arrives and Blacksmiths-Knights is 5-3 at half time.
The third quarter is crucial in Lacrosse, any team creating a strong lead here has significant advantage thereafter and typically much better chances to win the game. Coach Schmidt addressed the team, now soon without highly effective player coach Clark (#36) who would have to catch his flight, stressing the need to continue with sound ball movement and physicality that had helped win almost all 50/50 ground balls and face-offs in the first half.
The Blacksmith’s third quarter was then ‘the single best quarter we played in our history’ commented coach Schmidt. With strong performances at all ends, Blacksmiths scored seven goals, ending the quarter 12-3. Through a combination of continued strong play at the face-off by #77 Salvatore and whole suite of unselfish plays with fast ball movement and rapid substitutions, Luxembourg began to wear down the Belgian opposition who played very well for a team with limited substitution.
Third quarter scores were #17 O. Griebel with a strong outside after a ten pass offensive sequence unbalanced the Knight’s defense. #36 Ingham Clark made his final mark in the game – having been told to leave, he signaled he wanted one more play and used this well to score. Starting attacker #52 H. Coelho then made his mark offensively, adding to a strong off-ball performance with a goal to make it 9-3 five minutes into the third quarter. Namur then rebounded well but were kept scoreless by a staunch defensive effort that saw newly appointed defensive captain #26 C. Forbes anchor an effective and disciplined defense alongside #89 N. Haria and #55 Greg Ritts. The shots Namur could produce were held by the now very effective goal tender #6 P. Audrimont.
Namur kept pace and traded chances with Luxembourg until the 51st minute, when attack #21 A. Robillard and #52 H. Coelho scored five goals between them in a spirited offensive spell characterized by good offensive movement, shot selection.
This closed the quarter at 12-3, leaving Luxembourg in a good position for its first win. The team had already shown nerves in the second quarter and memories of more than one lost game creeped back into the player’s mind. The resulting uncertainty gave #32 H. Owrid, who at this point had barely had a break, the opportunity to score which he and equally strong play #2 M. Holmes accepted – 12-5 Luxembourg and Namur had 18 minutes left to catch up. The Blacksmiths however displayed a strong performance, dominating possession for most of the remaining game and eventually scoring the final two tallies in the last three minutes of the game. Luxembourg Lacrosse President Pit Bingen commented: “Delighted with the win, impressed by everyone who played today, as such a cohesive unit. Big thanks to Namur who never stopped competing and won’t be a push-over at any point. We look forward to the next game”. Defender G. Ritts suggested that this might be ‘a big step towards learning how to win games’.
After the game, coach Schmidt who: “We finally, finally, finally rewarded ourselves for the time and effort spent on building this team. The next game is not too far away, but for now we are all just very happy and very grateful for the support from our fans here. And Namur played very well, will be a great game against them next time”.
Luxembourg Lacrosse invite players of all ages and experience to join their practices on Friday nights from 1930h onwards, please email coach Henning at schmidt@lacrosse.lu or see http://lacrosse.lu/index.php/join-the-team/ for details.
