The second half opened with another penalty from Conache that put the Oaks ahead 13-10. Romania, who stepped over the offside line and came out fiercely on defense, continued to make it difficult for the United States to attack. However, when the United States had good opportunities, that physicality seemed to get to the Eagles’ heads and they committed more than one unforced shot.
The Eagles did, however, regain the lead, but after a throw-in they opted to send it wide, with MacGinty sliding off Boni to receive the pass and in. He converted it and the score was 17-13.
But they gave the points back immediately. A totally unnecessary penalty gave Conache another chance and he took advantage of it, leaving the match tied at one point, 17-16.
The Eagles had a chance to score a try shortly afterwards, but lost the ball. The only consolation was that Romania had committed an infringement and MacGinty was able to slot home the kick to make it 20-16.
But a rather half-hearted kicking battle ended badly for the Eagles when MacGinty was hit as he ran down the field. Everyone was offside and Conache was more than happy to get another three.
The kicking game was a highlight for Romania. They covered great distances with their ball-chasing players and were generally more successful in back-and-forth sequences, which were stopped only because the American receivers were so good in the air.
Finally, Augsburg opted to leave their penalty area and ran away from their support towards three Romanian defenders. Tackle, throw-in, penalty. This time it was the reserve Danial Plai, but it didn’t matter. He took the penalty and the score was 22-20.
At that point, the United States had about 10 minutes left and looked like they had the ability to get to that point. A penalty led to a lineout that could have settled the matter, but the kick-off wasn’t straight. The Eagles somehow rescued a disastrously blocked kick (Romania took the lead very, very quickly), but as they worked sideline to sideline, Luke Carty lost the ball. Romania were yellow-carded for a foul in the ruck that left Dyer with a bloody nose; considering how low everyone was, this was a bit harsh.
But MacGinty’s shot from 43 yards went wide. As time expired, the Eagles again had a penalty and the ball was close to the line. Another yellow card for Romania left them with 13 players, but the U.S. couldn’t put the pieces together to score. They basically kept dropping the ball or losing control of it on the ground.
So they had to rely on MacGinty to win the match with a kick that was probably 35 metres wide thanks to a tricky angle (less than 45 degrees and probably more than 35). His kick slid to the right.
And that was it. The United States had one more chance, but it wasn’t going to get anywhere. Romania defended valiantly and took advantage of every attempt. The Eagles gave away a try they should have saved and had at least three tries handed to them that they couldn’t convert.
“Accuracy,” captain Greg Peterson said, summing up his team’s struggles in one word. “I didn’t think we were 100 percent at times. We didn’t make our fans proud, but we’ll be better for it. We just have to fine-tune some things.”
MacGinty played well enough, as did several others, but the veteran won’t be thinking about the 15 points he scored; he’ll likely focus on the six he missed.
United States 20
Attempts: Fa’anana-Schultz, MacGinty
Conversations: MacGinty 2
Pens: MacGinty 2
Romania 22
Try: Manumua
Conversations: Conache
Feathers: Conache 4, Plai
It was a homecoming of sorts for Romanian backup hooker Rob Irimescu, who played for Xavier HS and Penn State, as well as New York and DC in the MLR. His parents were born in Romania and he came onto the field in the second half and did very well to help his team win.
United States Lineup:
1. Jake Turnbull; 2. Dylan Fawsitt; 3. Paul Mullen; 4. Renger van Eerten; 5. Greg Peterson; 6. Sam Golla; 7. Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz; 8. Thomas Tu’avao; 9. JP Smith; 10. AJ MacGinty; 11. Nate Augspurger; 12. Tommaso Boni; 13. Tavite Lopeti; 14. Christian Dyer; 15. Mitch Wilson
Reserves: 16. Mike Sosene-Feagai; 17. Nate Silvia; 18. Kaleb Geiger; 19. Viliami Helu; 20. Ben Bonasso; 21. Paddy Ryan; 22. Lucas Carty; 23. Bryce Campbell
Romania lineup:
1. Julio Hartig; 2. Stefan Buruiană; 3. Vasile Balan; 4. Yanis Horvat; 5. Andrei Mahu; 6. Vladimir Neculau; 7. Dragoş Ser; 8. Nicholas Immelman; 9. Alin Conache; 10. Hinckley Vaovasa; 11. Tevita Manumua; 12. Jason Tomane; 13. Mihai Graure; 14. Mario Simionescu; 15. Pablo Popoaia
Reservations: 16. Robert Irimescu; 17.Alexandru Savin; 18. Cosmin Manole; 19. Mario Iftimiciuc; 20. Kamil Sobota; 21. Gabriel Rupanu; 22. Fonovai Tangimana; 23. Daniel Plai
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