Arrows Succumb to Second-Half Surge in NOLA Defeat

News May-3-2021

Arrows Succumb to Second-Half Surge in NOLA Defeat

It was a tale of two halves in Louisiana on Sunday afternoon, with the NOLA Gold reversing a 14-0 halftime deficit against the Toronto Arrows to accrue a 22-14 home victory.

The Arrows looked to be heading towards a third straight win after delivering a two-try, defensively sound opening 40 minutes. Sustained early pressure led to the match-opening tally from Manuel Montero just seven minutes into the game; La Pantera was sprung by compatriot Tomy de la Vega before Tayler Adams tacked on the conversion.

Toronto remained on the front foot for the bulk of the first frame, and were rewarded with Montero’s second try of the match – and fifth marker in his past two games – shortly before halftime. Gaston Mieres took a pass from countryman Leandro Leivas, broke the Gold’s defensive line, and offloaded to sure-handed Montero for the score.

The Arrows defense faced its sternest test just ahead of the interval, but did well to hold up a would-be NOLA try in-goal. At the subsequent scrum, a big push from the Toronto forwards earned a penalty and allowed the Arrows to kick their way out of danger.

An opportunity to increase their lead by three scores via a penalty goal attempt was pushed just wide by Adams early in the second half; a play that would serve as Toronto’s final scoring attempt of the game. From that point onwards, the Gold put their foot on the gas pedal, securing the significant majority of both possession and territory.

Cam Dolan was first across the whitewash, finishing a lineout drive.

Minutes later Julian Dominguez dotted down in the corner, pulling NOLA to within two.

Damian Stevens missed an opportunity to kick the Gold ahead, but the error wouldn’t prove to be consequential. A slew of consecutive Arrows penalties resulted in Adams receiving a yellow card for repeat infringement, and the resulting close-range goal attempt from Stevens put the hosts ahead for their first lead of the game.

Ever probing with the man advantage, NOLA sealed the match with a late try from Dominguez. Stevens’ conversion put the hosts ahead by eight points, with the 22-14 scoreline standing for the final few minutes of the match.

Toronto enters Week Eight of the 2021 season with a ‘home’ clash against roommates Rugby ATL (3-3; 16 points) on Saturday, May 8.