Newcastle Eagles are preparing for the middle section of three consecutive double-header weekends with the visit of Surrey 89ers to the Vertu Arena on Friday night before they make the trip to the newest Super League Basketball (SLB)  franchise, Liverpool, on Sunday afternoon.

Last weekend head coach Marc Steutel’s side had mixed fortunes. On the Friday they went down to a frustrating home defeat 76 – 81 to Manchester Basketball before bouncing back in thrilling style at Sheffield on Sunday defeating the Sharks 87 – 81.

“Pleased with the performance at Sheffield. It’s a difficult place to play,” said Steutel.

“The team faced a lot of challenges in the game but over the 40 minutes we showed our defensive DNA particularly in the second half.”

“It was a solid team win and pleasing that we got contributions from across the board. The front line defensively did a really good job of forcing the defensive ideas that we wanted to implement.”

“To have our leader Josh Ward-Hibbert back in the line-up doing what he can do and finding a way to influence our winning was great. The backcourt of Mitch, Blondeau and Tavis consistently doing what’s asked of them and another good night in an Eagles jersey for Cole Long.”

“We were pleased to finish the weekend with a win particularly after Friday’s loss,” concluded Steutel as he turned his attentions to this weekend’s games.

“Quick turnaround time, double-header weekend and being on the road last Sunday. It was good to get the guys some recovery on Monday and then start to ramp up the week for another tough challenge. Double weekends are always tricky.”

A talented free-scoring Surrey side and then a more physical challenge away at Liverpool await Steutel’s Eagles. But as always, the Head Coach knows it has to be one game at a time as he talked about the 89ers task.

“Surrey will come in on the back of a buoyant overtime win at home against Leicester so I’m sure they feel good about themselves,” Steutel added.

“It would have been good for them to get their first win of the season on the board.”

“They’re a talented roster and obviously have some key strengths. Their spacing is a key consideration when you play against them. They look like they have the ability to score the ball inside and out through [Jalen] Graham, [Marreon] Jackson and the rest of the roster.”

Steutel and his players were disappointed and frustrated at not being able to give the home fans what they wanted last time out at the Vertu Arena.

“We’re going to have to make sure we’re at our best. Last time we played at home all of us left the building not feeling satisfied,” the Eagles coach continued.

“Want to make sure that this place is a place where nobody looks forward to coming to play because of the way we play and the atmosphere our fans create.”

“We know we have a tough task in front of us but for sure we’re looking forward to it, and we’ve had a really good week in preparation.”

Tip-off in Friday’s clash with Surrey is at 7:30pm and tickets are still available from the box office.

A look to mount win is what is on order to keep confidence high and take the Eagles into Sunday’s game at Liverpool in the right frame of mind as they look to continue to progress.