By Ryan Gillham
Newcastle Eagles make the short journey down the A1 to face local rivals the Durham Wildcats in this Saturday’s BBL league match.
Both sides sit at opposite end of the table but this game isn’t a write-off by any means. The Wildcats are looking to break their bad run of late, after not winning in six games whereas the Eagles will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the table after losing to Plymouth Raiders in last Friday’s match up.
Lately the Wildcats have seen some good individual performances but struggled to work well as a team. There have been glimpses that the Wildcats could really put up a close fight and win some games but some of the big named players are finding it hard to put the points on the board and help their team to victory.
The Eagles on the other hand have performed very well of late with Joe Chapman and Charles Smith showing to be a real threat to other teams from downtown and proving to be a difficult thing for the opposition to stop. With other players like Andrew Thomson, Paul Gause and Darius Defoe making up the rest of the starting 5 for the Eagles, they are a real force to be reckoned with and they have shown that this season with the best record in the BBL, 18-2 with two games in hand on second place Worcester Wolves.
Wildcats head coach Dave Elderkin was pleased with last week’s performance and thought there were many positives to take from the game and bring them into the local derby this Saturday. He said: “I thought we executed well against Plymouth which was a big positive as well as putting up some good shots and if they fall for us in this weekend’s game against the Eagles then I think we can put up a good fight and make it a really good encounter.”
The Eagles are clear favourites going into the local derby after coming out on top in both of the BBL trophy matches and in both of the league games so far this season, but can the Wildcats cause and upset at the fifth time of asking? Get yourself along to the Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre this weekend Saturday 10th March; tickets are £5 for adults and £4 for Children/Concessions. For any more information go to the Durham Wildcats website www.godurhamwildcats.com or call the ticket hotline on 01325 300500.