Suomen maajoukkue valittu Itävallan EM-kisoihin.

Amerikkalaisen jalkapallon järjestyksessään 13. EM-kisat käydään 30.5 alkaen Itävallassa. Suomen alkusarja pelataan Sankt Pöltenissä, mistä joukkue siirtyy Wieniin jatkamaan turnausta. Suomen lohkossa pelaavat Suomen lisäksi Ruotsi ja hallitseva Euroopan mestari Saksa. Suomen pelit pelataan 30.5 perjantaina ja 1.6 sunnuntaina. Toisessa lohkossa pelaavat isäntämaa Itävalta, Ranska ja Tanska. Euroopan mestaruus ratkeaa 7.6 Wienissä pelattavassa finaalissa. Kisoissa on tavallista suuremmat panokset, sillä Euroopan mestaruuden lisäksi jaossa ovat euroopan maapaikat (3) vuoden 2015 MM-kisoihin.

Suomen päävalmentaja Tuomas Heikkinen kertoo valmistautumisen kisoihin olleen pitkä prosessi, minkä keskiössä ovat itse pelaajat.

- EM-joukkue on sitoutunut, yhtenäinen, hyvin harjoitellut, terveellä tavalla luottavainen ja urheilullinen.

- Meillä on joitain Euroopan ehdottoman huipputason pelaajia joukkueessa, heidän varassaan on paljon. Joukkue on kuitenkin kaikkiaan ennen kaikkea kokonaisuus, pelaajat, joukkueenjohto, huolto- ja tukitoimet sekä valmennus. Kaikki ovat isolla sydämellä tässä mukana, ja kaikkien panos on tärkeä.

Maajoukkue kokoontuu toukokuun lopussa vielä ennen EM-kisoihin lähtemistä viimeistelyleirillä Pajulahden Urheiluopistolla 26-28.5.

- Tärkeintä on saada kerrattua ja toistettua riittävästi ja tarkasti niitä pelitapamme elementtejä joita kahdessa ensimmäisessä ottelussa tarvitaan. Tempo ja kontaktit ei tule leirillä olemaan fyysisesti kovinkaan kovat, sillä pelaajien on luonnollisesti oltava huippuvireessä ensimmäisen ottelun alkaessa.

-Potkujoukkueet rakennetaan pääosin nyt Pajulahdessa, kun toistot saadaan niille jotka niitä kisoissa pelaavat. Pääpaino on kaikkiaan henkisellä puolella ja huippusuorituksen pohjustamisessa.

Joukkueen tavoitteista Heikkinen sanoo ainoastaan, että joukkueella on mielessään vain ja ainoastaan ensimmäiset 48 tuntia, minkä aikana kohdataan niin Saksa kuin Ruotsikin.

-Sunnuntai-iltana tähtäin siirretään sitten sinne mihin se on ansaittu siirtää. Heikkinen toteaa.

Suomi kohtaa aloitusottelussaan 30.5 klo 20 Saksan. Ruotsi tulee vastaan 1.6 klo 17.

France wins the bronze

France secures the bronze medal at the Eat the Ball Football EC

The game for third place between the Fighting Frogs and Suomi was heavily impacted by both defenses in the starting minutes. Both offenses went three and out on their first drives. It was shortly before the end of the first quarter when Stephen Yepmo scored on a 2 yard run for a 7:0 lead in Les Bleus favor.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Finnish offense was able to equalize. Veikka Lehtonen carried the ball into the endzone from 5 yards out. The French team however should not be shaken and answered shortly before halftime with its second touchdown. This time it was Guillaume Rioux who crossed into the opponent’s end zone to bring his colors in front once again.

The second half started with the Finns kicking off, and the French drove all the way into the Finnish end zone. 60 seconds before the end of the third quarter, it was again Rioux with his second touchdown to hike the lead up to 28:7.

In the last quarter, the Finns were able to score another touchdown- this time Quarterback Miro Kadmiry sent Ville Kurvinen into the end zone to make it 28:14. The Finnish joy didn’t last long however because France didn’t take long to respond, and made it 35:14 on its next drive. Almost with the final whistle, Finnland struck back with Aappo Solaranta for the final score of 35:21.

Comments

Finland Head Coach Tuomas Heikkinen
“We actually wanted to win this game, but France disposes of a couple of players who were able to decide the game in their favor. We were still tired from the tough games during the preliminary rounds. I want to congratulate the French on a well played game.”

France Head Coach Larry Legault
“We knew exactly how strong the Finns were-especially on defense. They already proved during the preliminary rounds, that they are a very tough opponent, but we were able to prepare properly and play our game.”

Eat the Ball Football EC 3rd Place Game

France vs. Finland 35:21
Quarter Resuts: 7:0/7:7/14:0/7:14

»Game Statistics
Saturday June 7zh 2014 2pm, Ernst Happel-Stadion Vienna

Scorer France:
Touchdowns: Guillaume Rioux(2), Stephen Yepmo, Steve Delaval, Anthony Dable
Extrapoints: Boris Bede (5)

Scorer Finland:
Touchdowns: Veikka Lehtonen, Ville Kurvinen, Aappo Saloranta
Extrapoints: Akseli Olin (3)

Finland wins the Scandinavian face-off

The Finnish team came out on top in the traditional Scandinavian rivalry game, and can celebrate an important victory on the path to the final day in Vienna.
The Finns beat the “Tre Kronor” in a tight game with 16:13.

The Finns started the game more aggressively and went went up 6:0 with two field goals from Olin Akseli. Especially the defense of Team Suomi appeared to be on top of things, and frequently got the ball back from the Swedes.

In the second quarter the game evolved into a proper defensice battle. In a closely contested game, neither team was able to establish itself onto the opposition. Frederik Eklund’s touchdown and a missed PAT conversion from Oleg Kimrin, made it 6:6 just before the clock running out.

At the start of the second half, it was another field goal, which got Finland in front with 9:6. Veikka Lehtonen, managed Finland’s first touchdown with a determined run through the middle. Akseli Olin calmly converted the ensuing PAT to make it 16:6 in Team Suomi’s favor.

The Swedes answered with a touchdown by Philip Juhlin, and also converted the PAT to shorten the Finish lead to 16:13. The tight score made for a nerve-wrecking finish. The Swedish team tried everything to turn the game around, but just couldn’t get past Finland’s ingenious defensive unit. Finland tops Sweden 16:13

Comments on the game:

Sweden’s Headcoach Patrik Lundqvist: “We are playing against Finland every year, and were aware that it would be a tough game and that they were better than their showing against Germany.” 

Finland’s Headcoach Tuomas Heikkinen: “I don’t want to think back of the Germany game. My players played well today and they deserve playing in a big stadium in Vienna.”

Finland vs. Sweden 16:13
Quarter Results: 6:0/0:6/10:0/0:7
»Gamestatistics
Sunday, June 1st 16:00, NV Arena, St/ Poelten

Scorer Finland:
Touchdowns: Veikka Lehtonen
Extrapunkte: Akseli Olin
Fieldgoals: Akseli Olin (3)

Scorer Sweden:
Touchdowns: Philip Juhlin , Frederik Eklund
Extrapunkte: Ola Kimrin

Germany defeats Finland in kick-off game

Germany takes a big step in the direction of defending their title with an impressive kickoff victory at the Eat the Ball Football EM.

The “Men in Black” beats Finland with a more than clear score of 47-7.

The German selection decided the first quarter after a touchdown from Aurieus Adegbesan and the subsequently scored field goal by Jan Hilgenfeldt at 7-0.

The Finns also found only difficulty in second quarter of the game. After an interception from Donnie Avant, the Germans brought the score up to 17-0 and a little later to 24-0. A misfired attempt at a field goal changed nothing with the time quickly running out.

In the first half Germany had already made it impressively clear that they are a hot candidate for the title. Above all the enormously strong defense of the “Men in Black” gave the Finns huge problems. Through touchdowns from Danny Washington and Fabien Gaertner, Germany was already playing in the lead at 37-0.

A run into the German end zone by Ville Kurvinen took care of the first points of the bravely fighting Finns. New score 37-7.

A field goal from Jan Hilgenfeldt and a touchdown from the strongly playing running back Fabien Gaertner brought the Germans in front with 47-7.

The German national team burned through their season and had a huge showdown against Finland. The mission to defend their title is clearly recognizable after this game.

Voices from the game:

Coach Tuomas Heikkinen: “Today the German team was, from beginning to end, too strong for us. Now it is important that we quickly forget about this game and concentrate ourselves on the game against Sweden.”

Coach Peter Springwald: “When you’re in a tournament like this, there is always a bit of insecurity with it. And then it’s already important that we were able to exploit the mistakes of the others and came into the game really well.”

Eat the Ball Football EC

Germany vs. Finland 47:7
Quarter Results: 7:0/17:0/16:7/7:0
»Game Statistics
Friday May 30rd 2014 7pm, NV Arena St. Pölten

Scorer Germany:
Touchdowns: Aurieus Adegbesan, Johannes Brenner, Thomas Rauch, Danny Washington, Fabien Gaertner (2)
Extra Points: Jan Hilgenfeldt (5)
Fieldgoal: Jan Hilgenfeldt (2)

Scorer Finland:
Touchdowns: Ville Kurvinen (1)
Extrapunkte: Akseli Olin (1)

Men, kick-off app 13.40 (12.40CET)

Finland - Sweden (stream)

Live statistics