(Apologies, didn't get the name of this team, I'll correct it anon, Southside Hornets?)
First half :
Matt A, Tom, Sean, Dan and Sol were first out for Cheadle against a depleted Team X of only 4 players. Sol made the first basket for Cheadle after four minutes of slow play, and this seemed to wake up the opposition, who responded with aggressive play and quick baskets from #7 and #31, driving through an out-of-focus defensive line. CT did recover their sense of direction for a while, and went on the attack, but missed a lot of chances, looking nervous in the key and taking too many long shots. Excellent rebound play, interceptions and steals from Team X took advantage of CT's loose play, with only some lightning defensive runs by Sol and Matt A preventing further losses. At the exchange, after a very easy basket from #31, the score stood at 7:2 against Cheadle.
Matt F, Joe, Josh and Harry came on at the 10 minute mark, with Matt A staying on court. The New line up seemed to get more into the game, holding their opponents back, but could not stop #7 driving into the key for a quick 2 points. The game moved up a gear after a basket from Harry in the 14th minute prompted a determined CT attack. Joe was looking smart. A good steal and transition and a spot-on pass set Josh up with the chance to drive in and score. Then he was driving in, forcing a rare foul (unlucky with the free shots ); then he was working some good passes with Matt F to score. Boomerang was, as always, picking up those rebounds, but CT's defensive play was just not active enough - #24 kept on driving to the basket and scoring to the last few seconds
Half time score 15-8 to Team X.
Second Half
Sol, Tom, Dan and Sean came on, and Joe stayed on to join them. Team X looked a tired at the start- and who can blame them! - and couldn't stop Sean making a long transition and quick drive to the basket in the first minute. Joe made a lot of the attacking plays at the start and was unlucky not to score. But with the ball going up and down the court it was Tom who managed (twice)to be in the right place to score. But Team X were still driving aggressively through CT's defence and more than matched Cheadle's score. At exchange the score was 14;25.
Josh came on to make another single-handed long transition right down the side of the court for a quick basket, that Sean followed quickly followed up. #24 drove to the basket and matched both. The game became a bit of a scrap towards the end, with a lot of falls and fouls. For a side that had played the whole match a man short, Team X looked fresher, still running hard to intercept, still driving hard and daring Cheadle to foul them, still scoring. Matt F did some smart steals and did some good driving at the end of the game and rewarded with a basket in the last seconds, but this still left the final score a very disappointing 21:40.
Stats:
Josh - 5; Tom, Sean - 4 each; Joe, Harry, Matts A&F - 2 each.
#24 was clearly the best player for Team X, #7 and #31 were joint second.
A Big Dollop of My Opinions
Yes, some good play was done by all....... BUT
Not enough drive! Against a defence of just 4 men we should have been driving in for the basket and forcing the fouls. This should have been a game where Cheadle went strongly on the offensive. It wasn't. Team X had 4 players, but they were all prepared to drive into the key and dare Cheadle to obstruct their shots. If all 9 players for Cheadle had been as brave it would have been a different result. And lads, it's not as if Andy hasn't made this point before.
And not energetic enough on the defence. It's not enough to take up a good position and get in the way, the point of defence is not just to stop the opponent from scoring, its also to get the ball back! The defence looks static and lazy. This isn't going to work against the teams we're playing now. Getting in the way isn't enough. Rebounds, steals and interceptions won the game for Team X. Yes, that means wearing out your trainers, and doing a lot more work for not much glory. Tough. Everyone needs to do it.
Sorry to rant, but I'm disappointed that CT didn't use this chance.
Inshallah, I'll see you at weekend.
Bob
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