VIKINGS BACK-UPS GET OPPORTUNITY IN LONDON

The Vienna Vikings won their second road game in the American Football League Europe, and in commanding fashion, as they maintained their early unbeaten streak to open the 2026 season.

In their first game on British soil, the Viennese team convincingly defeated the hometown London Warriors 62-10 in a heated encounter — and not just because of the hot weather.

The Warriors put up a spirited fight in front of their home crowd at what amounted to their third venue of the five-week old season, and even got on the scoreboard first with a field goal, but the Vikings weren’t messing around and found answers on both offense and defense that allowed them to pull away decisively during the first quarter.

The Vikings’ offense, in particular, proved efficient and versatile, with quarterback Ben Holmes and his assorted offensive weapons capitalising on nearly every opportunity handed them by a careless host. With several crucial plays coming from the defense too, the Vikings steadily increased their lead, even though the Warriors, fresh off their first AFLE victory the week before, remained determined to close the gap. Vienna head coach Chris Calaycay ensured his team stayed focused to the end, and took the chance to plug his back-ups into the fray once it became clear that London, whose final points came in garbage time, were unlikely to mount a comeback.

“We knew we were facing a motivated team here, as the Warriors wanted to play with a lot of energy in front of their fans and put on a good show,” Calaycay noted. “I’m proud of how focused and cohesive our team was.

“We rested some of our starters from in the third quarter, but even the back-ups impressively demonstrated their talent. These kinds of away wins are important for the development of the entire team throughout the season, especially before a bye week.”

With their fifth victory of the season, the Vikings confirmed their overwhelming status as favourites to land the inaugural Gold Bowl but, following their bye week, face a Berlin Thunder side that looked transformed in a close, high-scoring battle with Rhein Fire on Sunday. Vienna travel to Berlin for the Austrian-German capital city derby, hoping that several players will be able to return to the gameday roster for Week 7.