The league champion lost their first game this year, but fortunately for them it was only a friendly. The Vukovi lost to the Danube Dragons near Vienna on Saturday, 30-27, but considering the reputation of the opponent, it’s not a disappointing result for them.

The Dragons jumped to a fast 13-0 lead, but the Vukovi hung on and managed to stay close behind throughout the game. Brandon McDowell’s TD run set the final score in the 4th quarter, and the Vukovi got the ball back with under a minute to go and a chance to o tie or win. Their drive was ended around the 30-yard line as time expired.

“The reason for this game — we accomplished it. We wanted a live game with a high level of competition. We’re out of practice, we had a lot of snow down in Belgrade; bad snow storms, we couldn’t practice, so for where we are, we got OK. We were a little slow today, but… I think for a first game it’s OK. It’s good for them to go through this”, the Vukovi’s coach John D. Harper told football-austria.com after the game.