Sportklub CEFL Championship is continuing this weekend with the first semifinal game. Its participants are Swarco Raiders Tirol, who have beaten Milano Seamen 41 – 14 two weeks ago, and Dacia Vienna Vikings, after dealing an exorbitant blow 82 – 7 to Kragujevac Wild Boars. Game is played on Saturday, 29 May at the American Footballzentrum in Innsbruck with the kickoff at 16:00 CET.
Austrian semifinal is hardly a surprise to any football fan because these teams are long-standing rivals in their national league and internationally. They’ve divided the last 10 national championships equally, with each contender winning 5 titles. Swarco Raiders are also the current three-time winners of the CEFL Bowl, while Dacia Vikings are taking part for the first time. Last time these two opponents have met on an international stage was in the ECTC final 2019, when the Raiders have won 35 – 10.
This season, in addition to winning their quarterfinal matchups, they’re also leading their national standings. The Vikings have a perfect score of 5 wins in the AFL, while the Raiders presently occupy the second place with a 3-1 score, their only loss taking place in Vienna. This semifinal game will therefore be a chance for them to “return the favor” to the Vikings on the international stage.
The leader of Swarco Raiders team is their long-time quarterback Sean Shelton. His favorite targets are Marco Schneider who’s turning 20 today (happy birthday Marco!) with whom he’s connected 7 times for touchdowns in both CEFL Championship and AFL, and Simon Pilger, who’s attached 3 TDs in his stats. Shelton also leads his team in rushing touchdowns with 4 scores in both tournaments.
Nevertheless, this aspect of the game is dominated by Dacia Vikings’ signal caller, Eystin Salum who’s carried the ball 9 times across the goal line. Adding to that another 7 rushing scores in both competitions by Florian Wegan and it could be said that the Viennese have a more grounded offense. However, Salum has also linked up for 4 touchdowns with Philipp Dubravec and twice with Mitchell Page.
The winner of this semifinal duel will go through to the CEFL Bowl XV which is scheduled for 26 June. They will play against the more superior team from the other semifinal game which we get to know in two weeks, on 13 June. In it, the finalists of 2019, Calanda Broncos will host the current German vice-champions, Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns. That will be the first game of any German team in CEFL.
Saturday, 29 May, 16:00 CET
Swarco Raiders – Dacia Vienna Vikings
Live stream: https://livestream.com/raidersTV/raiders-vikings-cefl-2021
— 
Dacia Vienna VikingsVideo
Details
| Date | Time | League | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 May 2021 | 16:00 | Championship 1/2 | 2021 |
Results
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swarco Raiders Tirol | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 20 | Win |
| Dacia Vienna Vikings | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 | Loss |