The UL Vikings tied up home field advantage for the semi final yesterday with a strong showing against the Dublin Rhinos yesterday. The Rhinos had a number of crucial injuries and travelled down with a reduced squad but bravely battled for the duration of the game and put pressure on the Vikings all day.

The Vikings recieved the opening kickoff and eventual game MVP Brendan McCarthy took the kick back 80 yards but was stopped just short of the endzone. After a couple of plays the Vikings punched the ball in through Liam Ryan on a short run. Keith Fitzgerald added the extra point. The Vikings D then took the pitch and standout performances from Dermot Moriarty, Darragh O'Callaghan, John Mullen and Brendan McCarthy made life difficult for the Rhinos offense. Sean Power made some strong runs from tailback and Stephen Macken showed some nice touch on passes to TE Ross Carrick. However the Rhinos struggled all game to put together a solid drive and never really threatened the Vikings endzone.

The Vikings scored on their second possession as well, with strong running by James Twomey and Adrian Garvey putting them in scoring range and Marc Ashworth coming up with a big catch in the corner of the endzone for the score. The extra point attempt was good. The next score came from the Vikings special teams unit. The Rhinos were forced to punt and Darragh O'Callaghan got the penetration needed to block the kick. Dermot Moriarty showed great instincts to pick the bobbling ball and sprinted clear of the chasing Rhinos for his first IAFL score. The extra point was blocked.

The Vikings continued to pile on the pressure with Garvey racking up over 200 yards on the ground and the defense turning the screw. Ashworth pulled in another pass from Ryan and took off down the right sideline for a spectacular catch and run TD. Fitzgerald added the extra point. James Twomey added another TD after a strong second half drive.

In the fourth quarter, backup QB Marc Ashworth went in and led the Vikings on some great drives. One spectacular 90 yard rumble from full-back James Twomey was called back for an illegal formation but Ashworth drove down the pitch and threw a nice TD to Glen Carr late in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings now prepare for playoff football. They host the Carrickfergus Knights on the 26th of July in UL and the winner of that semi final goes to play in the Shamrock Bowl in Belfast on the 9th of August.

Win or go home time!!