Yea, I talked to them today. They understood that it was just fate, and that I was not trying to bully them or anything.
They ended up playing a match of their own. All 3050 mechs, one took a Cesar and a Griffin and the other took a Warhamer and a Shadowhawk. They had a good time and thats all that maters. Unfortunately the former Panther/Cursader pilot took a beating again. His Warhamer had lost an arm and the Shadowhawk had taken 2 engine hits. I was happy to hear that they played as if it was a campaign and he retreated both of his battered mechs before either was a total loss. I dont like to see wrecked mechs still attampting to fight just to see them totally destroyed for the fun of it.