Sheffield Steelers

Development Team plays games 3 and 4 with mixed results

Steelers hosted their first home matches for the development league this season. The first match of the day for Steelers 5 were against the Carlisle Panthers, a new team/ club in the UK. Despite Panthers large set up in players, SSB Steelers showed experience and coolness on court, getting early in lead and were never threatened throughout the game. 

Joe Williams showed again brilliant shooting on countless penetrations in the key and scoring points for Steelers. Guards Sultan, Dale and Damien worked hard on curls and picks and point guard Chris Rainforth controlled the game well from the top. The fourth quarter finished with a 18 - 0 run for Steelers.
 

Altogether a great performance by the team, who clearly picked up on passing skills after their last game. Final Score 56 - 15 for SSB Steelers 5.
 

Scoring Steelers: Joe Williams (24), Liam Twigg (16), Chris Rainforth (12), Stephen Birkby (2)
 

Scoring Panthers: S. Alecock (7), N. Pattinson (4), D. Wise (2), J. Longworth (1), P. Johnson (1)

The second match of the day proved to be a tougher encounter for the young Steelers team. Despite Steelers Liam Twigg scoring the first basket, Spiders, who had additional key player and point guard Tezza Rankin this time, seemed unstoppable in the first quarter, finishing 12 - 2. Similar in the second quarter, finishing the half with 22 - 7 for Spiders. Although Steelers forwards got into key positions, the pressure resulted in rushed decisions and missed shots.

At this point all what mattered was to improve the court performance. SSB Steelers gave a remarkable come back in the 3rd quarter, showing grit and determination. Forwards Twigg and Williams entered the key with help of their guards and scored 14 points to Spiders 8. Also the defense was much improved, the team pulling together and calling switches when necessary. The fight was back and point guard and captain Chris Rainforth led the team well in their come back. Despite Chris being fouled out in the last quarter, Steelers finished the quarter losing only by 2 points. 
 

The game was a very valuable learning experience for the newest SSB Steelers development team, one to be proud of, as it takes true winners to play through difficult phases, pull together and come back dramatically and true winners to keep their heads high when losing. Final Score: 39 - 28 for Leeds Spiders

Scoring Steelers: Liam Twigg (14), Joe Williams (14)

Scoring Spiders: A. Smith (14), J. Cowards (19), J. Gardner (2), C. Batey (2), T. Rankin (2)

Due to a higher point win against Spiders in their first encounter, SSB Steelers 5 are currently on top of their table for development north.