The House Cup

{} = Justin Gage Commentary

() = Tonks Commentary

Time Remaining in Match: 110:34 (110 minutes and 34 seconds)

Golden Lions: 50 

Silver Eagles: 40

{The Lions will be look to slow pace of this frenetic match, while waiting for the snitch be released once more}

(That's exactly what they are doing, Justin. This slow methodical build up, using Charlie as an extra chaser is something you would not expect from the brash lions. Fortunately for the Eagles, their seeker, Lisa, has been cleared to play once more.)

{Her reentry should bring the pace back up. The Lions can no longer use their man advantage to wait out the remaining minute of down time}

(You're right Justin, the change has been almost immediate, the Eagles have immediately started pressing, and the bludgers are being thrown around with more vigor. Oh! It's a Dopplebeater, an excellent show of coordination by Lowe and Harte. The bludger has turned into a rocket! Excellent sloth grip roll by Weasley!)

{True, but they've relinquished the quaffle now.}

(The Eagles are back on the offense! They are looking to create a power play between Lux and Wood. Blanc grabs the end Lux's broom committing a blagging foul, the first foul of the game. This allows for the Lions to recover their defensive shape. Quite cynical from the experienced 7th year. The Eagles now have a free shot, but it is too far away to be any threat on the hoops. The snitch has just been rereleased. Weasley, Prewett, and Ryan have broken away from the main field of play once more. Additionally, Lowe has been sent to aid Ryan in slowing down the Lions' star seeker.)

{Goal! Lux scores her fourth! She is on fire. A bludger sent by Harte caused Wood to abandon one of the hoops allowing for the long distance free shot to go in! What shot from the blue! This game is level once more!}

Time Remaining: 105:28

SE 50 : GL 50

(Play resumes once more as the Golden Lions continue to play keep away in their own half. Wood passes to Quinzel who dodges a bludger sent by Harte. Quinzel passes the quaffle back to Wood who launches the quaffle to Lock. Lock advances into the front court before being confronted by Frange. He passes the quaffle backwards to Quinzel who recycles it back to Wood. Oof! Wood's broom gets hit by a bludger as he tries to catch the pass from Quinzel. Lux is there to capitalize and scores her 5th goal of the match.)

{Poor pass from Quinzel there, clearly Manger had him frazzled}

Time Remaining: 103:07

SE 60 : GL 50

(The match resumes once more, and the Lions immediately call their first time out of the half. As a reminder, each team gets two timeouts per half, and four for the game.)

{The Lions are probably going to leave Weasley to his own devices. They are in desperate need of an extra beater, as Harte has been absolutely dominating Blanc. The extra man should allow them to further slow the game down, unless Lowe rejoins the fray instead of helping Ryan contain Weasley.}

(It looks like that is exactly what they are doing, as Weasley is now on his own and must contend with the combined efforts of Ryan and Lowe. The Eagles seem to be content with this state of affairs, as they have retreated into their own half rather than continue their pressing.)

----

Halftime

Score:

Silver Eagles: 150

Golden Lions: 110

(While the players are taking a fifteen-minute break to get hydrated and discuss tactics, our color analyst will give us a summary and analysis of the first half)

{Thank you, Tonks, after a frenetic first 15 minutes, the Golden Lions decided to slow the game down, as it was getting out of their control. This worked for about 10 minutes, as the Eagles were content with playing a man down in the quaffle field. Their man-advantage in searching for the snitch, however, proved fruitful, as they successfully prevented Weasley from catching a single snitch for the rest of the half. 

Weasley, however, still showed his prowess by providing his team with many free shots, Lowe has committed 15 infractions against him. Unfortunately, his teammates have let him down and have only converted 5 of the 15 free shots. On another note, Keeper and Captain Doyle of the Silver Eagles showed his strength in the latter portion of the first half with 23 saves to his name. 

The Silver Eagles' seeker, Lisa Ryan, has caught one snitch, equaling the amount that Charlie Weasley has caught. 

The biggest discrepancy has been seen in the battle of the beaters, Silver Eagles star beater has had 10 bludger hits, while the combined efforts of Braden Prewett and Joseph Blanc have only managed 4. 

Fortunately for both teams, nobody has been required to retire from the match aside from Jeffrey Jackson.

In open play, the Silver Eagles have outscored the Golden Lions 80 to 10. Additionally, the Silver Eagles have converted 2 of their 3 free shots.

If the Golden Lions want to make a comeback in this match, they need to let the underperforming Joseph Blanc aid Charlie Weasley in the battle for the snitch. The Silver Eagles need to keep up the pressure and commit less fouls if they want to continue winning.

We should expect to see a change in tactics from the Golden Lions, while the tactics of the Silver Eagles will largely remain the same.}

(Thanks for the analysis, Justin, now Professor McGonagall will display the halftime statistics for the grandstands to see.)

Halftime Statistics

Golden Lions : Silver Eagles

Score: 110 : 150

Free Shots Taken: 15 : 3

Free Shots Converted: 5 : 2

Snitches Caught: 1 : 1

Bludger hits: 4 : 11

Possession: 65 : 35

----

(Thank you, Professor McGonagall. The teams have retaken the field, and the second half is about to commence. Madam Hooch launches the quaffle into the air, but the Golden Lions do not compete for it and allow the Silver Eagles to take possession. Weasley, Ryan, Lowe, and Blanc split off to look for the snitch. The playing field for the hoops is now back to even. 

Frange brings the quaffle into the Golden Lions' half. Harte, the hitman, launched a bludger at Lock, giving Frange the opportunity to make a clean pass to Lux, who performs a twirl to dodge a bludger sent by Prewett. Gregory dispossesses Lux and tries to start a counterattack, but his pass is errant. Doyle regains possession for the Silver Eagles and immediately passes it to Manger, who performs a sloth grip roll to dodge Quinzel's open arms. Foul! Quinzel pulls on Manger's broom to prevent him from going one on one with keeper Wood.)

{It was the right move, quite cynical from Quinzel}

(Harte launches a bludger towards Wood, but Prewett successfully blocks it, allowing Wood to continue to focus on the free shot. The Silver Eagles perform an indirect free shot and goal!)

{That was too easy for the Silver Eagles, a simple wall pass and the Golden Lion's defense ended up in shambles.}

SE 160 : GL 110

(Play resumes and the Golden Lions have decided to play aggressively rather than sit back and wait.)

{They are chasing the game now, so of course they need to be aggressive}

(Quinzel drives into the Silver Eagles half and then passes backwards to Wood, who immediately passes Lock. Oof! That could mean the end for him. Wood got hit by a bludger sent by 'The Hitman' he will be out of commission, while Madam Pomfrey checks him for broken ribs. The Golden Lions slow their offensive, and retreat to their half.)

{The Lions are going to try to wait it out until Wood can return.}

(Lux has broken off from the hoop game play and is joining the battle for the snitch.)

{Not a moment too soon either, Weasley has seen the snitch}

(Lisa Ryan is a bit slow to react, clearly, she was worried about a potential Wronski Feint. Weasley has her beat by about 3 broom lengths and the gap continues to widen. Meanwhile, Frange from the Silver Eagles has just scored his 4th goal of the match.)

{Quinzel got distracted there, clearly demonstrating why he is a substitute and not a starter.}

(The gap between Weasley and Ryan has widened to 5 broom lengths, Blanc has done a good job protect his seeker from Harte and Lowe's bludgers. Ouch! Ashe Lux puts an end to the snitch chase with a vicious cobbing foul. [Excessive Elbowing] I felt that one from up here.)

{Weasley will definitely be feeling that one tomorrow}

(A free shot has been rewarded to the Golden Lions, who decide to call a timeout, their first of the second half, to get Weasley a checkup and hopefully have the keeper cleared to return.)

{The Silver Eagles have done an excellent job forcing the Golden Lions to use their timeouts early. This is the second timeout of the game that the Golden Lions had to use within the first 10 minutes of a half. With 55 minutes still remaining in the half, the Golden Lions will need some magic to happen if they want to pull this one back. They are a snitch and a goal down, but that gap could close if they can convert the penalty shot after the break.}

(Lux is getting a stern talking to from Madam Hooch for the viciousness of that cobbing. What do you think, Justin, should she be sent off for that foul?)

{I don't think so, Tonks. Quidditch is a physical sport, and she targeted the ribs, not the head, so I think a verbal warning should do. I would expect some retaliation against her though, since she fouled the Golden Lions' star player.}

(Wood has just been cleared to play, and Weasley has been given a checkup, so there are no more injuries. Madam Hooch has signaled for the restart of play. Tenebrius Lock takes the penalty shot and converts.)

{Absolutely no chance Doyle there, Lock threw the quaffle with extreme speed and perfect placement. Rarely do we see a penalty shot that good at this level.}

(Play resumes, Frange takes the quaffle into the frontcourt and the Eagles form a Hawkshead attacking formation, and break through the defenses of Prewett and Quinzel. An excellent bludger from Harte clears the path for Frange to go one on one with keeper Wood. Excellent save! Wood finally gets his first one on one save of his career. He immediately starts a counterattack. The Eagles only have Harte and Doyle in the backcourt right, while Quinzel and Prewett are on the fastbreak, with Gregory lagging just behind the attack. A good bludger from Harte forces Gregory to slow down, taking him out of the fastbreak.)

{Weasley is on the move again!}

(Prewett's bludger forces Harte into a sloth grip roll, which allows Quinzel to pass him. Quinzel is now through on goal. Easy save from Doyle there. Quinzel is clearly not up to this level competition, as he throws the quaffle right at the keeper. The Lions will be disappointed they didn't convert the fastbreak. Weasley's Wronski Feint fails to distract Ryan, who has learned her lesson.)