The Southeasts Super League team opened their 2009 season in style Saturday, as the knocked of the Boston Irish Wolfhounds.
Charlotte (1-0) ended up 15-8 winners in a very physical encounter that saw two players, one from each side, sent for an early bath.
“It was certainly a physical game but it wasn’t a dirty one,” Charlotte coach David Hamilton explained. “On another day it could have been two yellow cards rather than red cards but that’s the way the referee saw it and we don’t have any complaints."
The visiting Wolfhounds (0-2) opened the scoring early on with a penalty goal from flyhalf Conail Boyd.
His opposite number, Mike Groenewald, took the lead for Charlotte with a try as the game was closing in on half time.
Around the hour mark, the Irish recaptured the lead with a try to winger Ian Flanagan. However, the visitors weren’t able to hold on. With 10 minutes left on the clock Charlotte winger Jason Foresman crossed for a converted try to give his side a 12-8 lead. Late on Groenewald put three more points on the board to stretched the margin to seven points.
“Both teams were fairly rusty in attack, making mistakes in crucial areas with pushed passes, forced offloads and poor handling but the pleasing part for us was our defense held strong enough to compensate for that," Hamilton said. “It’s good to start our year with a win but we know our attack will have to improve dramatically going forward.”
The players disciplined were Wolfhound Jake Sprague for using his knees in the ruck and Charlotte’s Adam Kelley for a late challenge after a kick, according to reports.
Next up for Charlotte will be a road test against the reigning Super League Champs New York Athletic Club (1-1). The Wolfhounds play host to Dallas in Boston.
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