Middlesbrough Lions match report

Tough Opening Test For Young Lions

at Tyne Met College, 11/10/08

Newcastle Eagles U15 91-34 Middlesbrough Lions U15

Middlesbrough Lions travelled to the famous Newcastle Eagles in their first ever National League game in the U15 League. The game actually began well for Lions with Patrick O'Connor forcing the steal and driving to the basket, where he was fouled. With the shot dropping O'Connor went to the line for a bonus free throw which he missed. With the scores at 2-2, Luke King hitting the points for Eagles, Lions were looking the stronger side as they stole the ball time and again. Dan Brown and O'Connor were providing a formidable defence. Eagles took advantage of their height as they played the ball inside where Hamish Crackett was on hand to deliver the goods. This was then followed by a 3 pointer from Brad Hadfield. Lions kept coming strong however and again were stealing the ball at will and being fouled as they penetrated. Their problem was converting the free throws as Shane Beadle and O'Connor missed all 4 attempts. O'Connor made amends shortly after as he hit both shots after being fouled yet again on the drive. This was then followed by excellent play from Dan Brown who drove to the basket for 4pts to bring the Lions within 1pt, 8-9 in the eighth minute. The following two minutes provided a blow for the visitors as Eagles produced an 8-0 run to finish the quarter 17-08.

Newcastle began the second just as they finished the first with Crackett in formidable form under the hoop, scoring half of the home teams 16-0 run. Crackett would continue his scoring run to finish this quarter alone with 14pts. Lions absence of height was proving a real problem both in rebounding and out muscling the Eagles big men. Lions also struggled to feed the ball into Beadle, who at 6'5" was their only big player and without more help was struggling to cope with the physical presence of the Eagles. Patrick O'Connor hit two shots in the fifth minute and Chris Chapman and Alan Slasor found the net with well take shots but the gulf was building as Eagles took a half time lead of 23pts, 16-39.

The third and fourth quarters were much of the same as Lions struggled to stamp any form of authority on the game and while they didn't look out of place, Eagles at times forced a complete take over of the game and in too many spells amassed a large points haul. The overall problem for Lions were their lack of power and height down low which afforded the strong Eagles with countless rebounds to ensure second chance shots.

Lions though can take positives from the game, especially considering Lions were 2 years younger than the Eagles and it was their first ever National League encounter. As the game went on Beadle began to settle, collecting 5 blocks, Brown collected 9 steals and O'Connor contributed with 5 steals and 18pts, but the telling factor was Beadle grabbing only 5 rebounds which was double the amount of the next closest teammate, a statistic that will have to be improved in future games.

In the end, Newcastle were worthy winners, although Lions can feel a little hard done by at a scoreline which didn't really reflect how well the Lions played at times.