ELLISON CRITICAL OF RAVENS DESPITE DERBY WIN

The Munich Ravens maintained their unbeaten start to the European Football Alliance season with a 45-26 victory over Frankfurt Galaxy in Sunday’s German derby, but head coach Kendral Ellison insisted there remains significant room for improvement despite his team’s dominant position near the top of the standings.

In front of 4,581 spectators at Frankfurt’s PSD Bank Arena, the Ravens raced into an early lead and never relinquished control, improving to 2-0 ahead of next week’s trip to face the similarly-placed Paris Musketeers.

The visitors could scarcely have scripted a better start, as Bijon Harris again returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and quickly capitalised on favourable field position to establish an early hold on the contest. Three further scoring drives began on or beyond midfield, helping Munich build a commanding 23-6 advantage before eventually taking a 31-13 lead into half-time. Yet, while the final score suggested another convincing display from the EFA’s highest-scoring offense, Ellison’s post-game assessment focused on the standards his team still has not reached.

“From the outside, it might look like everything is going perfectly,” Ellison said. “Internally, however, we still see some things we need to improve. We kept Frankfurt in the game for too long and didn’t consistently play at the level we expect of ourselves. The important thing now is that we continue to improve.”

The Galaxy, meanwhile, gave their head coach far more encouragement than they managed in their opening week defeat to the Musketeers.

After struggling offensively in Week 1, quarterback Ethan Garbers spearheaded a much-improved performance, completing passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Brevin Easton caught two of those scores, including a 72-yard touchdown reception, while Normen Schumm and Nico Strahmann consistently moved the chains as Galaxy amassed 26 first downs and 411 net yards.

Frankfurt also enjoyed success defensively, with Sebastian Gauthier recording the team’s third interception of the season, and the unit as a whole did a far better job of containing Munich quarterback Russell Tabor than Raiders Tirol had managed in Week 1. After throwing for 279 yards and four touchdowns in the Ravens’ opening victory, Tabor was held to just 134 passing yards and a lone touchdown in the first meeting between the German rivals.

Frankfurt’s progress, however, was undermined by special teams and field position battles that repeatedly handed Munich short distances to traverse. While the Galaxy’s average starting field position was their own 28-yard line, the Ravens frequently began drives in opposition territory, with their first three scoring possessions following the Harris return touchdown starting on the Frankfurt side of halfway.

To their credit, the Galaxy continued fighting after half-time. Garbers and Easton helped engineer a second-half rally as the hosts scored 20 points to Munich’s 22 after the opening quarter, but the Ravens repeatedly answered with timely first downs and efficient possessions to prevent the deficit from shrinking to a single score.

The result leaves Munich alongside Paris and the Nordic Storm as unbeaten teams through the opening three weeks of the inaugural EFA campaign, while Frankfurt falls to 0-2 alongside Prague and Tirol despite showing clear signs of improvement.

That progress may offer encouragement, but with only a 10-game regular season and four playoff places available, time is already becoming a factor. The Galaxy now face increasing pressure to turn performances into victories, with their Week 4 trip to Innsbruck already shaping up as a potentially decisive game in the race for a place in the postseason.