Sunday 16th October 2011
LEEDS CARNEGIE     vs.    TCAT SHROPSHIRE WARRIORS
EBL Division 3 North

TCAT Shropshire Warriors travelled north on Sunday for their EBL Div 3 top of the table clash with Leeds Carnegie at the grand setting of Leeds Metropolitan University. Both teams were flying high in the top two league positions following convincing wins in both their opening fixtures. Unfortunately though, and possibly due to the very early start to their long journey, the Warriors produced a below par performance against a Leeds side that on the day ran out a shade fitter and faster than the TCAT team.

The first quarter proved to be a very low scoring affair, with both teams missing easy chances. Defensively though Warriors were showing better form, with Sam Shepherd and Simon Hoar taking control under the board with a number of fine defensive rebounds, and Aaron Withe  was strong at the other end with two well taken lay-ups that followed some sharp TCAT passing around the key. Score at the end of the first quarter, Leeds 12pts to Warriors 9.

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Leeds stepped up the pressure in the second quarter with a full court press giving the Warriors guards no time to settle on the ball and forcing a number of turnovers, but they failed to take full advantage due to some poor finishing. Warriors captain Craig Strickland found his shooting arms with a neat inside jump shot for 2, followed by an excellent long 3 from outside the arc. Guards Arnas Liutkus and Alex Boden finished well with two points each, but the half time score read a disappointing:
Leeds 30  :  Warriors 20

Coach Nico must have served up some much needed firepower in his half time talk, as the Warriors looked a far better side in the third period, playing with a lot more confidence and strength, and putting the Leeds players under mounting pressure. With Shepherd and Hoar again scoring well from inside, and another long 3 from Strickland, the Shropshire side were suddenly fighting their way back into the game. Ben Parry added 2 following a well executed drive through the Leeds defence, and another from the line, giving a much more respectable score-line at the three quarter mark of, Leeds 47 Warriors 42.

As hard as they tried though, Warriors found it difficult to maintain their new found momentum in the final quarter, although Withe played his part with 5 fine points from the line, and Jared Rushton finished off a well executed passing play for 2 off a lay-up. As the game reached it’s conclusion, Leeds finished strongly to win with a final score of:
Leeds 68   :   Warriors 52

 

Following on from two excellent performances in their previous games, Shropshire Warriors’ drop in quality proved harder to take than the result. Knowing that they are capable of playing at a much higher standard though, and that Leeds will no doubt be one of the teams at the top come season end, Warriors can take a lot out of managing to keep the score-line relatively close, and will look to set the records straight at the return match at the TCAT Sports Arena soon.

Match Report: Adrian Rushton

Photos: Carsten Dieterich