COLCHESTER GLADIATORS 19

LONDON OLYMPIANS 25

Southern Football Conference One

COLCHESTER Gladiators remain bottom of the table after falling to a home defeat against London Olympians.

They held the lead going in to the third quarter but they could not quite hold off the experienced and strong London team and fell to a fifth defeat of the season.

Gladiators head coach Luke Box said: “I'm proud of how the guys worked together on a hot day.

"As a team, we took several steps forward.

"Our offence had success both on the ground and in the air, while our D made London work for every yard.

“Despite being outnumbered and undersized, we battled all day long against a strong team and we can see the progress we're making.

"We just need to cut out the odd mistake here or a silly penalty there and we'll get that first win.”

Gladiators scored first on their second possession, after holding the powerful Olympians offence thanks to a Jake Hawkins tackle on third down, and a stop for a loss by Josh Milgate.

The Wickham brothers connected in spectacular style with QB Rob finding wide receiver Jake with a perfect pass for a 53 yard score and a 6-0 lead.

But it did not take the visitors long to tie the score, driving 56 yards in seven plays, culminating in a short TD pass from QB Aaron Griffiths.

The Olympians took the lead early in the second quarter and the extra point was good, to give them a 13-6 edge.

The new-look Gladiators have improved a lot during the season, bedding in new offensive and defensive systems, along with a number of rookies, and they soon fought back to level terms.

Jake Wickham secured a first down before Casey Campbell caught a screen pass, evaded a couple of tacklers and completed a 30-yard touchdown play. Adam Dickens slotted the extra point to tie the score at 13-13.

In the second half, penalties against the Olympians moved the ball close from where Campbell forced his way over for a two-yard score.

The extra point was blocked but the Gladiators led 19-13.

But the Olympians fought back to make the score 19-19, going in to the final period.

With the Colchester offence starting to stumble, the Olympians took advantage to open up a 25-19 lead.

The Gladiators had one final chance and a 26 yard Campbell run and a defensive penalty took the ball to the London 22.

But a fourth down pass fell incomplete and the Olympians ran out the clock to claim victory.

The Gladiators have taken a few knocks over recent weeks and their plight is not helped by a particularly tough stretch in their schedule.

Their game against the London Olympians was the first of three fixtures in as weeks and the depth of the squad will be tested.

The Gladiators host table-topping Cambridgeshire Cats this Sunday at their regular home ground of the VC Corporal Budd Gymnasium Rugby Pitches, Berechurch Road, Colchester, kick off 2.30pm.

Admission is free and the Gladiators would love to see a big crowd for their penultimate home game of the season.

A minute's silence was held at the London Olympians game to honour former Gladiator Rick Rotondo who was tragically killed in America, three weeks ago.

It was the Gladiators' first home game since the tragedy and Rick's daughter Autumn was invited to be an honorary captain for the day.

A Gladiator legend, Rick played for the team from 1988-90, was head coach in 1992, holds many team records and will be sorely missed.