Belfast Trojans 12-14 Belfast Bulls

Venue: Mallusk, Belfast

The Bulls beat the Trojans 14 - 12 in an IAFL North divisional matchup today at Mallusk. The Bulls bounced back from a close defeat last week to the Cork Admirals and handed the much fancied Trojans a loss in their opening game of the season. The Bulls got the ball to begin the game and dominated field position for the entire first quarter, holding the Trojans offence to one first down.

The Bulls went ahead on a run to #40 Garth Tucker 6-0 but on the ensuing kickoff the Trojans #39 Erin Wagner returned the ball for a TD to even the score at 6 each.

The 2nd quarter carried on like the first, with the Bulls enjoying good field position and several first downs while the Trojans O struggled to put a decent drive together. The Bulls continued dominance told as they punched in another running TD, Tucker again breaking the plane. A successful 2pt pass from Mike Calo to Bjorn Blythe saw them go 14-6 ahead.

The second half continued much like the first until the 4th quarter when the Trojans O put together a solid drive until getting stopped on 4th & goal on the Bulls 8yd line. A fumble on the next drive handed the Trojans the ball back deep in Bulls territory, and they scored on a pass to Rui da Costa. The 2pt conversion and subsequent onside kick were unsuccessful, allowing the Bulls to run out the clock to secure the win.

Paul White, Gary Boyle and Garth Tucker had strong games for the Bulls, while strong defensive performances from the Trojans were seen by ex-NFL Europe player Jeroen Egge, former San Diego Charger draftee Rob Lyttle & Erin Wagner among others.