Match Report – Lemmings vs Yateley in Plate Semi-Final

• in Club News, Lemmings, Lemmings

Aztecs Lemmings 62 – Yateley Silverbacks 2’s 71

(13-21; 22-37; 48-56; 62-71)

Leading scorers:

Gavin Baker and Axel Jahnke 11; Tim Gosev 10; Dimi Noltsis 8

Match summary:

The Lemmings lost out to three strong runs of 8 points each by the Silverbacks in a thrilling encounter at Wellington College. The first burst was after just two minutes at 4-4 when Yateley stretched to a 7-15 lead in five minutes. In the second period the Silverbacks hit another purple patch extending their lead to 16 at 17-33 and the final burst was, agonisingly for the Aztecs, in the last two minutes when the visitors scored the final 8 points of the game to win by 9 after the Lemmings had fought back to trail by just a single point at 62-63.

Key stats:

The Lemmings played really hard to get back into the game after trailing by 19 early in the second half, with eight players scoring, three getting double figures and three players netting the game’s only triples. Tim Gosev hit two and Robbie Deacon one. Unbelievably Mike Cairncross also hit from downtown, closing out the third period and sparking a strong push in the final period that saw the Lemmings out-score the visitors 11-4. With four minutes to go the Lemmings had battled back into the game to trail 59-60, but with time running out were forced to foul to stop the clock. The Silverbacks hit their foul shots when it mattered: 20 of 27 in the game and 7 of 9 in the last two minutes. In contrast the Lemmings were 8 from 15 in the game. In the final period the Silverbacks played with real discipline, only committing just three fouls to 8 by the Lemmings, including crucial 5^th fouls for two players. Yateley’s Antony Green top-scored in the game with 27 including 11/11 from the line.

Coach McAllister’s assessment:

I was delighted by the way the team forced their way back into this game, and if they can maintain that focus, determination and commitment in the remaining league games we should secure some much-needed wins in the coming months. The defence was excellent for much of the game, with the switch to man-to-man paying dividends, and the close marking of key opponents was the springboard to our tremendous comeback. Offensively when we moved the ball, passed quickly and looked for the extra pass to get an open shot we looked a much more of a threat.

Next game:

Thursday 24^th January at 8:15 away to Farnborough Phoenix in Wessex Division 2