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The Ottawa Swans left Rideau Carleton Raceway disappointed on Saturday after losing to the Toronto Rebels in Ontario Australian Football League play. At the halfway mark of the season, the Swans are now looking towards the biggest match of the season, next week’s Canada Day Cup, to notch their first victory.
The Swans started yesterday’s match superbly, scoring two goals in the first quarter. Ryan Gregory, Yaser Abou Elenein, Jay Goldhawk and Corey Bowen moved the ball into the forward line with precision, setting up Sean Robertson-Tait and Marc Magierowicz for goals after they took strong marks and kicked truly.
 The second quarter, however, saw the Swans undo their good work with ill-disciplined football that allowed the Rebels to kick easy goals time and again. At half time, Swans Coach Chris MacLean expressed his frustration at his players’ disappointing second quarter and implored them to work harder for their teammates to get back into the match.
In the second half of the match, Ottawa showed glimpses of its ability, carrying the ball for long periods and setting up some genuine attacking opportunities. Darren Roffey and Chris Lockhart, positioned deep in defence for the Swans, repelled numerous attacking plays by the Rebels and set up their Ottawa teammates in the midfield.
In the final quarter, Ottawa’s pressure and accountability improved too, led by rookie Jon Lajeunesse’s tackling on the half back line. However, the Swans were unable to kick enough goals to prevent the Rebels from running out comfortable winners.
After the game, Coach MacLean was candid in his assessment of Ottawa’s efforts. “After the first quarter today, we really let ourselves down. Our set plays broke down and we were not disciplined enough in defence. We have a core group of players who have trained hard week in, week out, but some of the team need to show more commitment if they want to reach their potential as players. We’ll put this behind us and look forward to next week.”
On Saturday 3 July, Ottawa will look to retain the Canada Day Cup it won in 2009 when it takes on Guelph Gargoyles. The match starts at 2:00pm at Rideau Carleton Raceway. Go Swans!
Final Score: Toronto Rebels 12.11 (total 83) defeated Ottawa Swans 2.3 (total 15)
Goal scorers: Robertson-Tait, Magierowicz
Best players: Lockhart, Roffey, Goldhawk, Gregory
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