While Rhein-Fire head coach Jim Tomsula spoke about how much respect he had for Thomas Kösling, his coaching staff and the Frankfurt Galaxy football franchise as a whole, Galaxy head coach Kösling stared at a point far below the floor of the press room at the Bieberer Berg stadium. Only when Tomsula said that the games against Galaxy were “battles, real battles” did Kösling nod.
Frankfurt Galaxy has, if we use the martial metaphor, lost another battle. 20:31 from Frankfurt’s perspective was the result on Sunday after a performance of top-class European football in front of the Galaxy’s record crowd of almost 13,600 fans.
Galaxy also lost in their sixth encounter with Rhein Fire in the European League of Football (ELF). Kösling had trained his team in terms of personnel and tactics over the past few months to finally beat this Fire. The coach’s disappointment was written all over his face.
The most extreme example
“We’re getting closer, that’s the good thing,” said Kösling. A year ago, his team was still 9:31 down to their rivals – with no chance of winning. This time, Galaxy could have even led 23:21 at the end of the third quarter, but after four successful kicks, kicker Ryan Rimmler missed a shot when the score was 20:21. “If we take the lead at this moment, the momentum changes completely,” said Kösling.
But it would be unfair to blame Rimmler for the defeat. His teammates also made mistakes. The most extreme example: The Galaxy defense had already stopped an attack, and Fire kicker Sebastian van Santen was getting ready to punt the ball to the Galaxy. Van Santen received the ball from his teammate so inaccurately that he decided on “the spontaneously best solution” (van Santen’s words): he ran with the ball in his hand instead of shooting. The Galaxy defense was so surprised that they allowed a first down. A little later, Fire scored another touchdown.
A handful of such mishaps decided the game against Frankfurt. This does not speak against Kösling’s reorientation of his team towards an athletic offense. Top receivers Markell Castle and Kevin Kaya impressed in their first game in the Galaxy jersey. Quarterback Luke Zahradka only made a few mistakes in the final minutes, when the game already seemed lost.
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The American previously demonstrated his strong throwing arm and powerful stature. At 1.97 meters tall and weighing 107 kilograms, he has the ideal quarterback dimensions, making him difficult for defenders to bring down. Galaxy has gained the ability to create a so-called “big play”, a potentially game-changing move, from any field position and even in tricky situations.
Trick plays showed how variable and clever the Galaxy attacks can be this season. The roles were reversed when receiver Markell Castle threw a pass to quarterback Zahradka, who ran for a touchdown. Galaxy, for their part, used the element of surprise to outwit the Rhein Fire defense. The plays bore the signature of the new offensive coordinator Frank Roser, who had already attracted attention in the German Football League years ago with such tricks.
Since that wasn’t enough to beat Rhein Fire, Galaxy will have to improve in all areas. The Frankfurt team will have the next opportunity to beat their biggest rival on July 21. Until then, Galaxy will have to win a few difficult games to have a chance of making the play-offs in game week 9. The first of these will take place on Saturday (1 p.m.) at the Musketeers in Paris.
