LONDON GATORS 26-0 BOURNEMOUTH RAIDERS

The Raiders went into this game with a severely depleted squad, but they came up against a London Gators team, who themselves had a number of players missing. The Raiders were confident of upsetting the form book, following their victories against Canterbury and Brockenhurst (friendly) over the previous weeks, but it was the Gators who took the lead on an option run by QB Brett Barash, on the Gators first possession. The PAT was kicked by Rik Morgan to put the Gators 8-0 up early on. The Raiders moved the ball consistently with several probing runs by RB Mark Elliott (including one for almost 40 yards), against the Gators in the first half, but they couldn't find the play to punch the ball in, as the Gators D managed to turn the ball over on downs. With a couple of minutes to go in the first half, Barash found WR Rik Morgan with a score down the left-hand touchline. The PAT was blocked, and the Gators went into the half with a 14-0 lead.