CT v Southside Flyers 21/01/12

Team 1: Karl, Sean, Matt F, Dan, Josh.

Team 2: Joe. MattA, So, Tom, Harry.

First Half:

Team 1 had a difficult start to the match. Southside Flyers came out aggressively to score twice within the first minute. Cheadle responded with some hard defensive play for the next few minutes, stopping any further score and moving into attack, forcing a foul from the Flyers which Josh converted into Cheadle's first 2 points. It looked as if CT were back in the game, but from that point SF turned on the pressure. CT defence cracked under the strain, conceding a string of easy baskets and rarely getting the ball out of the danger zone. There was a good drive from Josh just before the exchange that gave him another chance to practise his free shots (and another point), but the rare Cheadle attack was too one-man to worry SF much.

Team 2 came on with the score at 18-3. After a shaky start they went on the attack in a more coordinated way, getting the ball up the court using quick passes that wrong-footed SF's defence and made opportunites. The shooting was a bit inaccurate but Kudos to Joe for CT's first field goal in the 15^th minute. CT defence also looked smart, keeping SF out of the key – unfortunately there were some Southside players who had been practicing those 3-point shots! A smart basket from Tom in the final seconds left the score at 31-7 to SF.

Second Half:

Team 1 made a much better start to the second half, holding back the strong SF attack more confidently than they had before. But although individual CT players demonstrated some good ball skills the CT attack still failed to gel, with players typically not getting into forward positions ready for a pass. Josh and Karl scored - both great individual efforts that showed up some weakness in the SF defences – but CT players in attack often looked isolated. Score at exchange 39-11 to Flyers.

Team 2 came on after 8 minute. They did relax a bit on defence, but were lucky that SF seemed to be slowing down. Again there was a lot of good passing and good positioning in attack. Matt A made some cool drives and 4 points. Joe and Harry both scored by finding a good space, taking a good pass, and making a good shot.

Final score: Cheadle 19 – SF 55 (?)

Stats:

Josh – 5; Joe, Matt A – both 4; Tom, Karl, Harry – 2 each

SF's dangerous players were #5, #8, #12 and #14.

Best bits:

Good to see Josh scoring on the free throws.

Harry, you were 6 inches within the 3 point line when you scored and a minute from the end of the game. You're making me nervous.

And finally, Joe, that was a really great pass at the end of the first half, going straight across the court and through the SF defenders to Tom in high post position. All Tom needed to do was execute a 360° turn to outwit the man marking him to make an easy lay-up from a low crouch! Exciting play, more please.

CT v 14/01/12

First of all, apologies for missing report on the last two games. Work has been getting in the way. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. 

Just a few (disorganised) words about the match on the 14^th Jan.

This was never going to be an easy match against the best team in the league, and the final score at 68:6 shows the big difference in age and experience between the two teams. But we saw a lot of good play from Cheadle, with all the lads putting in some hard work and keeping the pace to the end.

There was some determined man-on-man defence throughout the game – not always a strong point for Cheadle. A great effort from Matt F in particular – he seemed to be all over the court this week, keeping up with the oppositions lightening transitions, getting up close and personal and foiling what could have been some easy baskets (and generally staying on your feet, Matt!). Harry was exceptionally quick up and down the court, while Tom and Dan were both hot at the face-to-face stuff too. Tom was also active on the rebounds, and in marking the dangerous #12..

Speaking of rebounds, we saw some great positional play by Matt A in this game (and the previous two in fact). This is the way the team has to go. Follow that Boomerang!

In attack, well, we all know who never stops trying, and is ready to get floored for the team doing it. Good hard drives by JCB Josh, as ever (hard luck on the penalties). Joe made two excellent baskets (the first a beautiful long shot), and the Super-Collider another, right out of the blue.

Pros and cons:

More players were more active at man-on-man, and this stopped a good few attacks. More please! It's not Rugby, you don't have to be a heavyweight to do it – as Matt A showed this week. Get outside your comfort zone and make them feel uncomfortable!

Often, though, a lack of positioning in defence let the attackers find good passes and make easy baskets. Cheadle need to concentrate on position, without backing off from confronting their opponents. And I suppose the same goes for attack as well – don't just leave the attack to the man with the ball, get ahead of him and get a good position. (This isn't a reason to let someone else do all the driving, by the way).

Overall though this was a good match to watch, much less one-sided than the score suggested. Cheadle looked like the new boys this week but they also looked as if they belonged in the Premier Division. We're getting there.