After being called out by their coach, the Abu Dhabi Wildcats rose to the challenge and responded with an impressive win that Tony Robinson feels will turn their season around.
Vivaldi Tulysse ran wild while the Wildcats’ defence posted an 8-0 shutout at Zayed Sports City yesterday to hand the defending champions Dubai Stallions their first loss in five games dating back to last year.
Robinson was critical of his side heading into the match-up, saying they didn’t “understand what it takes to be a winning team just yet.”
The words must have had an impact as the capital’s squad looked more energised from the start against the Stallions.
Having a great time at @ZayedSportsCity announcing all the @EAFL_UAE action #football #abudhabi #uae #usa pic.twitter.com/6LsqJlYnQd
— Ross Crist (@RossTalks) January 29, 2016“I think they stepped to the plate and looked pretty good today,” Robinson said.
“One of the things I started to preach was focus and they were much more focused and actually finished a lot more plays than they had all season.”
Having their star playmaker back on the field certainly played a massive role for the Wildcats’ offence.
Tulysse, who missed the last game, easily crossed the century mark on the ground and accounted for the game’s lone touchdown.
Following several elusive runs which appeared on the brink of turning into long scores, the running back finally broke through in the fourth quarter with a 75-yard sprint to extend Abu Dhabi’s lead to 8-0.
The only points for the Wildcats prior to the play came on a safety after blocking a Stallions’ punt in their end zone in the third quarter.
Instead of just using Tulysse as a runner, Robinson utilised his most lethal weapon all over the field and often as a receiver in the option-heavy scheme.
“We’re trying to get to our athletes in space because we’re working with a makeshift offensive line, let’s be real about it,” Robinson said.
“If I had a couple more big guys up front, then hey look we could line up, run it and pound it between the tackles. That’s what I would prefer to do, but when you have injuries you have to adjust.”
Tulysse has undoubtedly been a barometer of the Wildcats’ success as the team is 2-0 with 29 points scored when he’s played and 0-2 with no points in his absence.
Abu Dhabi’s defence had several standout performances all around, but the brightest spot was safety Roman Solovij, who reeled in three interceptions – all in the first half.
“The defence applied a lot of pressure,” Solovij said.
“We had good scouting on the Stallions and that’s how we managed to get three picks.”
The Stallions’ offence was missing starting quarterback Rani Zahr after he injured his knee in practice this past week. In his place, Gary Stillman started before giving way to William Robinson.
Dubai coach Anthony Daniels, however, didn’t fault the inconsistency at quarterback for the lacklustre effort.
“We just weren’t executing as a team,” Daniels said. “We were moving the ball in the first half fairly well and they adjusted and we didn’t.
“I just need to fine-tune my offence and get guys in practice so we can execute.”
