Carnegie pass through the eye of the storm
After three losses, Leeds Carnegie finally tasted victory for the first time in Division 1 this season, with a 79-73 win over Worthing Thunder on Sunday.
In true Carnegie fashion the easy option was not selected, instead the Yorkshire side battled back from a 13-point deficit to grind out a six-point victory.
Leeds’ National Trophy campaign may only be four games old – their first two games were postponed due to facility problems – but their soirée with the Division 1 league cup is already all but over. Carnegie were not afforded a comfortable start by the fixture lists and an opening weekend which consisted of Bristol Academy away – regular season table-toppers last year – and Brixton Topcats at home was certainly a case of being thrown in at the deep end, or if you like, a baptism of fire. Carnegie drowned or burned, depending on one’s preferred cliché, losing 76-63 in Bristol and 65-72 against Brixton to leave them languishing at the bottom of Pool 1.
There was no respite for the merry green men this weekend, as another double header had them in Westminster on Saturday, before facing Worthing Thunder in Leeds on Sunday.
Westminster Warriors lived up to their fearsome moniker knocking off Carnegie 86-77, to leave last year’s play-off runner’s up still without a win going into Sunday’s match. And for the first 35 minutes of that game winless is how Carnegie seemed set to remain. But on the back of 18 Justin Berry points Leeds eased the loneliness of their win column.
The win will act as a welcome confidence boost going into Sunday’s Yorkshire derby away to Bradford Dragons in the second round of the National Cup. Leeds and Bradford have acted out this dance on many stages in the past and the two sides are certainly not strangers. They share the same Division for the first time since Leeds were in third tier of England Basketball in the 2007/08 season, meaning that this rivalry contains all the extra fervour which comes with two teams matched in more than just geographical location.
Content courtesy of Joesph Fitzpatrick.
