Before the end of the third quarter, Thomas Kösling and Patrick Griesheimer broke off the mission. At 28:41, the Frankfurt Galaxy trainers ordered their regular quarterback Jakeb Sullivan off the field, and top receiver Reece Horn also trotted around off the sidelines from then on, his helmet akimbo. When it was clear there was nothing left to win, Galaxy rested its most prominent players. Just don’t risk injury, the season goes on.
The Frankfurt football players had tried the impossible to win the final game of the regular season in the European League of Football (ELF) against the overwhelming Rhein Fire, and if possible by 25 points or more.
If that had worked, Frankfurt would have jumped to first place in the Western Conference at the last minute. But they couldn’t decide the game in their favor and had to admit defeat 38:48.
The “complete team”
The play-off procedure remains the same: While the Rhein Fires players will put their feet up next weekend because the statistically best team will only play in the semi-finals again, Galaxy still have to qualify for this semi-final.
Frankfurt will play the knockout game next Saturday (3:15 p.m., Stadion am Bornheimer Hang) against Berlin Thunder. The Berliners have a couple of very capable pass recipients and a strong defensive line, said Galaxy head coach Kösling. His team will be challenged, but is the “complete team” and favorite.
So it’s already going on, but it’s still worth taking a look back. 17 teams went into the third ELF season, six will play out the champion in the next three weeks. Galaxy is the fourth-best team, with a record of ten wins in twelve games.
But it hides the fact that Frankfurt won a few games against weaker opponents without convincing. The main problem was Jakeb Sullivan’s absence for weeks. Since the offensive started with three very different game designers, it is difficult to see a development.
The attackers needed a long time to get into the flow, such as Lorenz Steuerungs: For weeks, the pass recipient hardly took part in the game. Two weeks ago he got three touchdowns, it was a small breakthrough. “We finally showed what we can do for three quarters, especially on offense,” said Steuerungs at the time.
No chance like on matchday one
But only for three and not for four quarters, there has been a lack of consistency throughout the season. Galaxy didn’t show a consistently good performance against Rhein Fire either. The offensive delivered something that could be counted again, 38 points against the statistically third best defense in the league is an impressive value.
Previously, no team had scored more than 28 points against Rhein Fire. But the defense weakened. Coach Kösling raged on the sidelines when his players were fooled by the Fire’s changing formations in the first two quarters and couldn’t find their positions.
Like on the first matchday, Galaxy had no chance, although not towering inferior like back then. At the beginning of June, after his team had been beaten 9:33, Kösling said: “We will be better in week 14.” The competition with Rhein Fire formed the dramaturgy of this season, the duel on the last day of the game was always in the back of his mind. Kösling was right, Galaxy was significantly better than in week one.
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“We’re getting closer,” said Kösling in the present tense, because the comparison with Rhein Fire could not have been the last this season. If Frankfurt win against Berlin, they will meet Düsseldorf again in two weeks. There is no way past the best, which Kösling has repeated since the start of the season. And he will hope that this time all good things come in threes.
