Recap

Magic show from visiting Manchester clips Eagles’ wings

The Eagles U16 boys were second best against Manchester Magic at the Vertu Motors Arena as they went down 96-48 in a league meeting.

Physically dominated, the Eagles boys didn’t stand up to the visitors as needed and it was one-way traffic in a bruising first-half as they trailed 57-19 heading to the locker room at the interval.

Not coping with the ball pressure on offence and not boxing out or playing the the kind of help defence they needed, things didn’t improve much after the break. The Magic outscored the hosts 27-15 in the third quarter.

While the Eagles did better defensively in the last 10 minutes to hold Magic to 12 points which was a big positive on a difficult day, it was still scant consolation for what was perhaps their most under-par performance of the season.

“We need to consider the choices we made as individuals and as a group in that game,” stated Head Coach Chloe Gaynor.

“We have to physically stand up to an opponent. We allowed them to dictate and that is the opposite of what we had in our game plan.

“Against the best teams, they don’t need that kind of encouragement. If anything, you have to play even more aggressively than you normally would.

“However, playing against these leading teams in our league gives our players a chance to see the positive work we need to produce to close that gap during the remainder of the season.”

Jakub Bobkowski top-scored with 12 points, while Aston Hall chipped in with 11.