CT v Thameside Tigers Juniors (TTJ) 25/06/11

First Half: Cheadle were in control of the match from the start. The team kept hold of the ball, made a lot of chances, took at lot of shots and to begin with had a lot of near misses! Finally, after 3 minutes of groans from the supporters bench as the ball failed to find the basket , Tom clocked the first 2 points of the match..

From then, CT took their shots with more confidence, largely over the heads of the younger, shorter Thameside team. TTJ only slowed the Cheadle scoring when their fast #28 got hold of the ball. Half Time Score: CT 18: TTJ 1.

Second Half:

After the first five minutes, when their #25 made an excellent basket,  the Juniors looked tired and their defence looked ragged against good runs by Joe and Sean. Their coach's warning not to try passing over the heads of the much taller CT players was a good call, but they found it hard to find alternatives.

CT racked up the score as Karl marked  #28 closely, keeping him out of the game and looking very frustrated. Without him, TTJ found it hard to get hold of the ball and keep it long enough to pose a threat. Cheadle's defence only relaxed at the very end, letting TTJ #15 make the final basket.

Final Score:  CT - 44: TTJ - 5

Pros and Cons:

Defensively, CT were much improved since last week. Marking #28 neutralised the main threat and allowed the team to play their game.

Cheadle made a slow opening to the game - another opponent could have taking the lead decisively in the first few minutes. Though there were a lot of good shots in the game, there were quite a few that were inaccurate or sloppy. Against a better (or bigger) opponent those missed shots might be decisive.

TTJ are short, it's a big disadvantage. Cheadle have been there, and done that, and still have last year's T-shirt - only now it doesn't fit! Kudos to CT for taking full advantage of their height - enjoy it while it lasts.

Highlights:

I like seeing penalty shots in pairs, and Matt A looked cool making his. Good to see you back, Matt, and try not to scratch.

Apologies : for the late arrival of this post.

Stats:

CT: Sean -14; Joe, Josh, Matt F - 6 each; Sol, Matt A - 4 each; Tom. Karl, Tom - 2 each.

TTJ: #25, #15 - 2 each; #28 - 1.