Newcastle 3rds came, saw and conquered in a less-than-entertaining spectacle played out in the tent this afternoon. A win would have seen York extend their lead at the top of the BUCS table, but a solid defensive display and clinical finishing meant Newcastle held firm.
York 1sts and York 2nds are competing in the same division this year, along with teams including two Toon sides; Newcastle 2nds and Newcastle 3rds. York 2nds lost out to Newcastle 3rds 29-49 last month.
If the warm-up was anything to go by; York looked set for a big win as their efforts consistently found the basket, while Newcastle seemed a little rusty.
However, in Ann Ogunbiyi’s pre-match team talk to his fellow players, he made Newcastle’s direct philosophy clear: “When you see an opening, always take the shot,” he said.
And it worked from the off as Jake Bradley raced forward and put the away side 2 points up. At over six-and-a-half feet tall, Bradley is certainly a real talent; everyone looks up to him.
Both sides then squandered some excellent opportunities. When York did eventually manage to increase their points tally – with two Toby Humphreys free shots – Newcastle responded, scoring twice for every York basket.
The two sides had set out with noticeably opposing tactics; with York focussing on positioning, playing some attractive build-up possession to find a good shooting position. Yet, Newcastle’s direct style was proving to be more successful and they led 5-12 at the end of the first quarter.
York’s Stephen Kajekere finished off a great move to put the home side within touching distance of the visitors, but a contentious free-shot award to Newcastle saw them go into half time 23-27 ahead.
There were some terrific individual performances from the likes of Janis Zicans and Andreas Boedt but unfortunately the same could not be said of the ladies keeping score, who had no idea what was going on for a long period of the third quarter. Thankfully, neither side scored in the six minutes it took for them to sort the scoreboard out, but soon after Jake Bradley slammed another through York’s basket.
The final quarter went fairly quickly with few time-outs and stoppages. Toby Humphreys’ exquisite free shots pulled the score back to 41-54 with just three minutes to go. But any hopes of a comeback were quickly shattered when Ogunbiyi found a way through and netted in style. The number 7 dribbled excellently, then wiped his mouth clean.
Time sounded and York found themselves on the end of a rather disappointing loss, but they were gracious in defeat and are already looking forward to their next clash with Bishop Burton.