Kendal Warriors v Tameside

IT WAS another net loss for Kendal as travelling Tameside proved to be in a different bracket.

The unlucky Warriors came into the game against in form Tameside on the back of a heavy defeat at Newcastle and faced the same fate - losing 57-120.

But they were not helped by an ever expanding injury list.

Before the start of the game, hot-prospect Peter Howarth and starting centre Keith McInnes were declared unavailable.

This meant Nathan Williams was promoted to a starting position and this proved an inspired choice as he put Tameside under pressure straight away.

Williams' fancy footwork lit up the court at Dallam School on Saturday night as he forced the visitors to foul him numerous times on his way to the basket.

Kendal were playing well as a team and coping with the pressure defence applied by Tameside as they made a promising start to the game.

However, some poor passing at vital times and some squandered opportunities gave Tameside the opportunity to take the lead.

The Warriors missed a total of 9 points from the foul line early on and this meant they trailed14 - 20 by the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter continued in a similar manner to the first as Kendal remained within touching distance of the visitors.

Things looked good as the Warriors' defence remained tight.

Mathias Basedow and Tom Withnell pressured any outside threat and Philip Mason was having success rebounding the ball against bigger opposition.

Kendal continued to find a route to basket as Gareth France and Marc Crockford hit long range shots with Kevin Mason and Basedow hitting from closer range to bring the hosts back to within 9 points with four minutes left in the half.

As the half approached its conclusion Kon Arfanis came on to aid the guard position but his fresh legs proved no match for the tenacious Tameside team.

In the final seconds of the half they out scored the Warriors 9 - 18 to take a healthy lead of 32 points to 52 points into the break.

Shocked by the action at the end of the half Kendal began the third quarter in a daze and gave up a further 6 points without reply.

In response, the Warriors began to rush their play and stopped utilising the effective team play they had demonstrated in the first half.

Kendal already looked like a beaten team and, sensing the match was getting away from them, they used rolling substitutions regularly.

But Tameside thrived on this, hitting a number of outside shots and scoring regularly on the fast break.

Despite only playing for pride the Warriors still continued to give their all but they were dealt a final blow when WIlliams injured his leg trying to defend his basket.

He is likely to be out for some time.

The match finished 57 - 120 in favour of Tameside.

Kendal face Liverpool this coming Saturday at Dallam School at 5pm with doors opening at 4:30pm.

Scorers

G France 19 N Williams 13 K Mason 8 T Withnell 6 P Mason 5 M Basedow 3 M Crockford 3 K Arfanis 0