Moycullen Superleague Match Report

Date: 17^th November 2018

Venue: De La Salle SC, Belfast

Belfast Star 106 (50)

Moycullen 88 (49)

A fast start and free-flowing offence was not enough for a gallant Moycullen to come away from Northern Ireland with a win against Superleague table toppers Belfast Star as the Galway side lost 106 to 88.

The men from the west showed from the tip that they had not travelled north to simply make up the numbers and jumped out to an early 10 point lead behind good ball movement, aggressive defence and some great fast break scores.

However, Belfast Star have been the team to catch in the early going of the season for a reason and they showed their class by never panicking, slowly chipping away at the visitor’s lead.

Worryingly for Moycullen head coach John Cunningham, Star’s American point guard Mike Davis was proving somewhat unstoppable. Davis was ably supported by Star’s two European imports for the season, Mark Berlic and Sergio Baldovi.

Those three players would end up contributing a combined 76 points by the end of the game and their first half play steadied the ship for the league leaders, who managed to enter the half time break up by a point, 50 to 49.

Moycullen started the second half the same as they did the first and quickly retook the lead. A disastrous end to the period however, characterised by sloppy turnovers and defensive break downs which were brutally punished by an efficient Star outfit.

It left Moycullen with an uphill battle in the final period as they suddenly found themselves trailing by double digits. That gap remained for most of the closing minutes and in the end, Star persevered and finished deserving winners 106 to 88.

“It is really frustrating to have played so well in lots of ways but then throw away the game with one bad, short period of play,” remarked Moycullen captain Patrick Lyons.

“Against a quality team like Star, they just punish every little mistake and ultimately, we made too many. It has been a tough few weeks but the spirit is still definitely there in the squad and I think we can turn things around.”

Moycullen’s road journeys continue next as the go to Dublin to face the challenge of Swords Thunder on Saturday night. It is a game they will be desperate to win having lost to the Dubliners by just five points when the teams last met in October.

Moycullen Scorers: Isaiah Harris Winn 21, Cian Nihill 20, Patrick Lyons 18, Dylan Cunningham 10, Paul Kelly 9, Joseph Tummon 4, Kyle Cunningham 3, Connor Curran 2, James Lyons

Categories: Men's Superleague, News