London Olympians 31 Colchester Gladiators 0
Kenny Bello scored two touchdowns as the London Olympians improved their record to 9-0 with a solid victory over the Gladiators. Seun Shobande, the running back, and Stephen Leonard were also on the scoresheet as the BAFA National League Division One South champions geared up for the business end of the season in fine style.
The South Londoners are also showing an improvement in their aerial attack under American quarterback Bishop Adkins, which was pleasing to see given the appalling rainy weather conditions at Well Hall in Eltham at the weekend.
“The weather put a dampener on the match as a spectacle,” said head coach Riq Ayub. “It was wet, horrible and hard to keep the momentum going.“Nevertheless, to go 9-0 and finally get somewhat consistent passing with the playoffs coming up certainly helps us.”
The Olympians, who clinched the division title with a 19-7 win over the Ipswich Cardinals the previous weekend, are virtually assured of the No. 1 seed throughout the playoffs and face the Hampshire Thrashers at Well Hall Sports Ground, Kidbrooke Lane, SE6, in their final regular season game on Sunday week, July 31.
The Burgundy and White are set to face either conference rivals Sussex Thunder or Ipswich Cardinals or Division One Central outfit Nottingham Caesars in the first round of the playoffs.“We won’t take anyone lightly, but if we get a team we’ve played before, at least we know something about them,” Ayub said. “But Nottingham are an unknown quantity.”
The BAFANL national finals take place in South London on the weekend of September 24-25 at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. The Olympians are interested in players aged 16 and older, potential coaches and helpers. They practise every Sunday at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, SE19, every Sunday when there is no game and at Bellingham Leisure & Lifestyle Centre, SE6, every Wednesday night. For more information contact team manager Marlene Price on 07956 520466 or manager@olympiansfootball.org.
