2019 Battle of Britain
The Week 9 Premier Match in the World League features the oldest rivalry in the league and a rematch of the 2018 Eastern Conference Championship games in this tenth meeting of the AF#2 London Falling (6-2-0) and the #AF18 Old England Patriots (6-2-0). London has been one of the hottest teams in the Association so far this season, but has suffered two losses in a row and are desperate for a win to right the ship, while the defending World Champion Patriots got off to a sluggish start in 2019, but have now won their last 4 games in a row decisively and have been rocketing up the rankings. The last time these two franchises met, England took the win and the Conference Championship, advancing to World Bowl 7 and a league championship, and Falling fans are relishing this rematch. London is favored by just a field goal in the latest line, and both squads have players going Monday night, so this one promises to be thrilling righ up to the final gun.
AF#18 England – AF#2 London
6-2-0 – 6-2-0
All Time
71-38-0 – 60-50-0
Head to Head
6-3 – 3-6
Spread
-3 – +3
RESULTS
129.37 – 136.44 W
UPDATE: Another chapter in the World League’s oldest rivalry is closed and this one didn’t disappoint from start to finish as two of the hottest franchises in the Association battled all the way through to the Monday night game, posting the highest scoring total in the league this week, and ultimately being decided by the difference of just a touchdown. The AF#2 London Falling fended off an almost miraculous 26 point comeback attempt by the AF#18 Patriots who were forced to play without their star receiver this week, and that turned out to be all the diffence in this one as this chapter closes with the all-time series between these crosstown rivals now at 6-4 in favor of the Defending Champions.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, AF#8 Milan barely escaped with an 88-85 win over Dublin, and last year’s Conference Runners-Up, Scandinavia, missed an opportunity to move even with the loser of the Premier Match, losing decisively to Jerusalem, 98-60. With 4 weeks left in the regular season, Milan (8-1-0), London (7-2-0), and Old England (6-3-0) all have enough of a standings and points advantage that they can soon start booking hotel rooms for the post season.
In the Western Conference, it’s still very much wide open after AF#4 City of Champions (5-4-0) suffered a 50-81 upset loss to Buenos Aires (3-6-0), and the Mexico (5-3-0) vs Youngstown (3-5-0) game hangs in the balance of stat corrections at 114.05-114.82, Mexico having less than a point advantage. Toronto (3-6-0), winning 2 of their last 3, including this week, has the record and the points to be a factor in the playoff race along with Buenos Aires depending on how the final 4 weeks play out.