First Half:
Cheadle made a flying start. Josh won the tip. Before the Hawks had touched the ball Sean made a basket in the first minute, followed by another a minute later.
For the next 5 minutes Cheadle kept on the attack. Good rebound work and interceptions gave them most of play against a determined but defensive opposition. Then the Hawks finally ground into attack. Their forwards, #12 and #30, presented the big problem for Cheadle, both of them accurate shots and tall enough to play over CT's heads. Despite some active defence from CT, Hawks coordinated well to get the ball to these two players and gradually pulled ahead.
Half Time score: Cheadle - 8: 13 - Heaton Hawks.
Second Half:
Second half began with CT caught on the wrong foot, #10 making a quick score pretty much unopposed. But strong defensive play by Matt and Josh soon blunted the Hawks' attack. CT took control of the court, and took their opportunities. A great basket from Sol and a cool sequence of 3 from Joe put CT ahead in the 7th minute, 16:15.
Then Cheadle let #12 score easily in a moment of relaxation. All of a sudden Hawks were back in the game, #12 and #10 pushing their score up to 23 before CT found their feet again. And it was a great recovery: the lads were fighting for every ball, going after every rebound and really working as a team. 2 baskets from Sean and another 2 from Joe put Cheadle ahead 25:23. with just 3 minutes left of the game.
The final 3 minutes left supporters gasping, cheering, and sobbing. Cheadle had plenty of chances, but forgot to watch out for the Hawks' main chance, #30. He just hung around at low post on his lonesome and waited for the ball to come to him. It did, twice, giving Heaton Hawks the game.
Final Score: Cheadle - 25: 27 - Heaton Hawks.
Stats:
Cheadle:
Points: Joe - 10; Sean - 8; Josh - 4; Sol - 3.
Shots: Joe - 12; Sean -10; Josh - 6; Sol - 9; Matt 5; Tom - 3: Karl - 2.
HH:
Shots: #30 - 10; #12 - 8; #10 - 4; #7 - 2; #5 - 1. (I suspect the missing 2 pts were #12)
Special Mentions:
Defence Award: goes to Josh for his aggressive, physical marking of #30; without it HH could have rolled over us in the first half. That #30 eventually lost his temper and made an outrageous foul against you just shows how well it worked, Josh! More, please, everyone.
Transitions: Sol was back in blinding Super-Colliding form in the second half, getting the ball up court before the Hawks had turned on their particle detectors. A huge contribution to the catch up in the second half.
Interceptions: Joe and Sean looking smart this week.
BOOMERANG AWARD:
Joe takes the Aboriginal stick this week with 8 rebounds, 2 up on last week. (Josh and Matt weren't far behind. Overall improvement since last week - 6)
Bob's Thoughts:
We could have won this match and we should have. The main problem for us was #30 and #12, two players who were tall and could shoot. What we didn't do was take advantage of their weaknesses. #12 (the tall dark kid) was muscular and quite fast, but his mobility was poor - if there was a player in the way he generally couldn't get past. #30 was just plain lazy, waiting for the rest of the team to send him the ball. Josh did a great job marking him. If someone else had done the same job when Josh was off court we'd have won the match.
C U L8ER, ANDY & HARRY:
Very sadly Andy has had to step down from his role as the coaching team, due to work.
Many, many thanks from me and Tom (and I'm sure from everyone involved with the team too) for all that you've done over the years. We may not have said it too often but we're very grateful. Good luck with getting the bank-balance in order.
And so-long to Harry too! I'll miss those amazing pursuits down court, H. I never did work out how you went so fast without moving your legs.
Don't be afraid to come back and see us, both of you, and all the best,
Bob
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