Sheffield couldn’t lose!

Sheffield Sharks vs Gateshead Tornadoes

30th January 1.15pm tip off (delayed)

Springs Leisure Centre

Sharks 1713 2118 69

Tornadoes 11 9 12 7 39

The report writer’s day started with an 8.00am text from Geneva airport asking what time the tip off was. The fact that the supporters arrived from Geneva to see the game, must go down as one of the longest journeys to see a junior sharks game ever! Who says we don’t have committed followers?

Funnily enough both Geneva and Gateshead had been on the receiving end of snow the previous night. This affected the Gateshead team in both by them being late for the game and also, we understand, their kit was left by the roadside somewhere, we hope it has been recovered. This meant they played in the Sheffield home strip. So it was a Sheffield against Sheffield match and at least there was the guarantee that the team in the Sheffield strip would win. However we did hear of a few bemused latecomers and neutrals wondering what was happening.

Eventually the match got underway with a starting 5 of Tyler, Marcus, Daniel, Josh and ConnorD and although the tip was won, the ball went out before Josh could convert the advantage. Josh and ConnorD bagged a basket each and Eddy got one from two however the starting 5 seemed to be at sixes and sevens. The sharks knew that the opposition number 5 would be a handful and a couple of baskets from him put the score at 5-4 to the sharks half way through the first quarter, not exactly the dominance that we would have liked. Marcus got a basket and then picked up 3 fouls within a minute that meant he would sit out the rest of the half. The home team’s form at home was once again the subject of debate. Garnets response was to send on the bench and it was David that came to the rescue. A well taken basket followed by a great trey saw the sharks pull away. Kenneth took a basket and the last play of the quarter saw Michael get one from two from the charity line. Not the greatest of performances, but as expected they sharks were ahead.

The second quarter was a similar story. The sharks were the better team but couldn’t really gel and push home the advantage as they had showed against this team away. Things started off well enough with ConnorD scoring and then Eddy getting a trey. There did seem to be a lot of three point attempts. Whether this was a tactic or the players were using this match as a means of improving their shooting we don’t know. Marko was brought into play with great effect and Gateshead response was to give away fouls. He didn’t manage to convert all of them but still managed to get a basket and register himself on the scoresheet. Daniel got basket with an “and one” and the quarter ended with one of the crowd’s favourite, Kenneth, getting a further score. So the sharks edged the quarter 13-9 as stated not great, but ahead.

The return of Marcus in the second half could be one of the reasons why things started to change or it could be that the team was now warmed up after a week off last week, but eventually things started to return to normal. The Josh, ConnorD and Marcus trio kicked in and accounted for 17 of the 21 points this quarter, but as is the case, it was the team that started to play well. The other scorers were Marko and Kenneth but there was more cohesion, communication and desire to win. The accumulation of points meant that a 19 point lead at the end of the quarter put the game beyond doubt but we wish it had happened sooner.

A quick mention to those who were not on the scoresheet as their contribution was tireless and effective. Tyler’s incisive runs through the middle created opportunities for the big men to collect rebounds, George’s interchanges with Marko showed why the pair of them are the spearhead of the U13s whilst ConorDS, as ever, opened up the defence with this forays down the left. In terms of scoring this quarter ConnorD and Marcus carried on where they left off before Daniel and Josh took over. Fittingly David got the sharks last basket which marked one of his best games and with a 30 point victory is was job done.

Even though it was the lowest scoring U14 match this season they were still relatively untroubled and showed they have a lot in reserve if there is a need. Well done again and we’ll have that “great” performance next week please?

Team and scorers

Connor Dixon (14), Josh Edwards (13), Marcus Welsh (10), David Frost (9), Daniel Jenkinson (7), Kenneth Nwose (6), Marko Backovic (5), Eddy Brownell (4), Michael Carnall (1), George Darling, Conor D’Souza Kelly, Tyler Gayle