Blood Bowl match report – 30 September

The Berserkers win away at the Atlantic Waaaaargggghhhhff Thunderdome but pay a high price for success on the road.

Felix Pace gets ready to run for the end zone

The Bromfield Street Berserkers beat the Grangetown Greenskinz 2-1 in the intimidating atmosphere of the Greenskinz home stadium. Watched indifferently for two minutes by Bella the cat in lieu of any actual baying fans, the Berserkers scored quickly through Felix ‘Find the Space’ Pace, who is fast becoming a star player.

The Greenskinz dominated the opening rounds of blocks. At one point only six Berserkers were still upright and able to move. However, blitzer Gudmund Halo wriggled free with the ball before finding Pace with a short pass. The catcher then ran the ball in, evading a despairing heroic tackle in the process.

The game then degenerated into a war of attrition, which included the second fatality in three matches for the Berserkers. Stan ‘the Man’ Van Branahan was jumped while prone by Belchalot Gubbinz, who ended Van Branahan’s solid Berserkers career and his life.

With the loss of a blocker, the Berserkers seemed vulnerable to being out-muscled, particularly with their boosted blitzer, Boghash Foulbreath. But in a twist of gaming fate, catcher Pace resisted an attempted block, dealing out a serious injury to Foulbreath in the process. This means the blitzer has lost the bonus strength gained through his good play in previous games.

The middle play of the game saw possession stop multiple times with the ball spilling more often than being caught and players unable to fend off tackles while carrying the ball. In total 14 players carried the ball in hand; an unusually high number. The Greenskinz eventually seemed to break through, but catcher Slobber McDrool failed to make an extra yard and was carried off seriously injured for his exertions – one of five Greenskinz in total to get badly crocked.

The second down came through a throw from Giles McGiles, who started for the Berserkers after an excellent game last time out. Felix Pace again found the space to catch in the end zone for his second down of the match. Pace was 2 for 2 on catches throughout the game, while his opposite number Chaz Tastak had a nightmare of a match fumbling three attempts at catches including a golden opportunity from a short pass when he was clear in the end zone.

There was more drama to come with Greenskinz blocker Shnozz Shnozzripper making a catch from Noggin Numskull to restore some pride to the home team. But it wasn’t enough to salvage the game. The Berserkers had won, but at what cost?

Team line-up & stats

Blitzers: Halo, Kevlar

Blockers: Hurricane, S Van Branahan RIP, C Van Branahan, Salvvo

Throwers: McGiles, deMenthe (reserve)

Catcher: Tastak, Pace

Starting Linemen: Carambeau, Zang

Reserve Linemen: Bosch, Vandal, Cordite, MacRatt

Scorers: Pace (2)

Man of the Match: Pace