Match Reports 2007/08

Cobras lose to the Players 2

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:50:55 +0100

Players 47 v Cobras 45

Report Mike Foster & Ian Trott
Photos by Ian Trott & Andy Corney

The Stratford Players put an end to the Leicester Cobras winning streak at the last league match of the season. They are a tough team and play a very physical game as the Cobras have found out in the past with bruises to prove it. The Players were going all out for victory against us, as if they did they could go to the championship finals as runners up.

Stratford are all very good players, they have a lot of talent and play very well as a team with some great team plays. With the Cobras missing three top players, the pressure was really on for the Cobras team to win the game. The Cobras team was hand tied for points on court with the choice of only a one point player for subs to keep within the allowed 15 points per team.

With the old man Mike trying hard and with Dipen playing his first ever high level game, against the toughest team we have played this season, it was going to be really hard going.

From the start of the match the Stratford team used the “crash and bash” form of play to dominate the Cobras weaker squad, with a succession of heavy charging fouls committed by the a couple of the Stratford squad. Sam was left a little dazed after one of the opposing team mistook her head for a basketball. While this might be described as exciting to watch it was not very subtle approach to the match.

For the first three quarters of the game the Cobras were behind in every quarter, with the score ending at 40 v 25, after three quarters.

In the last quarter the Cobras changed tac with Jig and Gus running a two man press which proved to be devastating to the Stratford players. Gus (now carrying an injury) and Jig together played an absolutely outstanding last quarter, stealing the ball repeatedly and scoring several times, really putting the opposition into big trouble, you could see the panic setting into the Stratford team.

In the 9th minute of the last quarter the score was Stratford 47 v Cobras 43. The 10th minute started with Gus, whilst being fouled again, scoring another two points and a free shot (a bit tricky with a broken figure) that ran around the ring and came out. After another foul by Stratford, now on team fouls, another two free shots for the Cobras were taken with both missing very narrowly.

The last minute of the game was electrifying to say the least, the Stratford players were gob-smacked to see the Cobras pulling the score back so quickly and almost stealing the game with just seconds to go. With a final score of Stratford 47 v Cobras 45, the Cobras (Jig, Gus, Sam, Dipen and Mike) played an outstanding game despite their lack of top players and available subs.

If only our top players were there or a few more of the Cobras 17 free throws (from Stratford’s fouls), had been successful the ending would have been much different.

The Stratford team fouled the Cobras more in one match than most of the other teams we have played put together this season. Is that a good reflection on the other teams we have played or a bad reflection on Stratford? These were not tactical intentional fouls at the end of match to take a poorly shooting team to the free throw line. This was heavy, full out charging, from the very start of the match - it was more like watching a demolition derby! All the Stratford team managed to do was rake up fouls at a tremendous rate (I think it was 20 but I lost count) and get players fouled off! More composure and discipline from the experienced Stratford team would have been welcomed.

All of the Cobras kept their heads through extreme provocation and no one 'took the bait' that would have ended in all out war.

The Cobras that could make it to the game played their hearts out. The Stratford Players performance was the toughest we have played this season but it was often far from acceptable. It is disappointing that a few of the Stratford team chose to play this match in such a way. They are all very good and talented players but played this match in a way that was far from being a good example for the sport of wheelchair basketball. The Cobras are a team who believe in fair play above everything else.

The Cobras recognise that the Stratford Players played a more commanding match for the first three quarters of the game, it is just sad that some of the Stratford team chose to play in such an aggressive and negative way, when they didn't have to, to win. Stratford almost lost the match on Sunday, which they shouldn't have done, if you look at the strength of both available teams, it should have been a walk over for Stratford by at least 20 points.

It is a credit to the Cobras team that they managed to fight back like they did in the last quarter. Especially Gus, who played over half the match with a broken finger after a particularly heavy handed Stratford foul earlier in the match. Gus is an extremely talented junior player and he has just about the lowest foul rate of any of the Cobras. He plays fast, clean, intelligent basketball that flows. He will now have his work cut out to be fit in time for the championship finals, which are just three weeks away.

At the end of a tough match it was smiles all round from the Cobras team after their best season yet, eleven wins from twelve matches. You can see the pain on Gus’s face though (far right) as he is nursing a broken finger. His third injury in successive years after playing away against Stratford.

The Cobras scorers for the Stratford match were:

Gus Baird 22
Jig Vaidya 9 (3 x 3 pointers, great stuff)
Sam Taylor 6
Mike Foster 4
Dipen Shama     2

Total                             53

Qtrs            Players          Cobras
1                    10                      8
2                    12                      5
3                    18 12
4                      7 20

Totals            47                     45

Good luck to Stratford (and all the other teams) at the championship finals. The Cobras hope to be playing Stratford again next season in the 2nd division.

See you all at Sheffield in mid May.

Return to: Match Reports 2007/08

Cobras victorious over the Rhinos

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:00:50 +0100

Rhinos 16 v Cobras 53

Report & photos by Ian Trott

The Cobras made it 11 wins from 11 games as they produced yet another impressive display against the Rhinos at Wolverhampton. The Cobras our now assured promotional to the 2nd Division for next season.

It was almost a sub-tropical heat that greeted the Cobras at the Rhinos home venue, it seems that someone had the heating turned up to 11. With heat like that Robby thought it best to rotate the squad to keep everyone fresh. The Cobras starting five were: Robby, Sam, Jig, Gus and Steve.

At tip-off it was the Rhinos that scored the first basket of the match but the Cobras were quickly on top of the game and opened up a 16 v 6 lead by the end of the first quarter. That lead was soon extended to 31 v 6 by half-time.

With the Cobras subbing players on at regular intervals the pace of the match was maintained and those who normally are on the bench got a chance to have court time. The Cobras bought on Moh, Dipen, George, Ian and Mike (at different points through the match). All did a great job in keeping the pressure on the Rhinos.

The third quarter was the closest the two teams got in points scoring terms with 10 v 6 at the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter started with the Cobras playing their original staring five and produced a strong finish as they took the final quarter 12 v 4.

It was an excellent team game from the Cobras with ALL players in the team getting on court.

The Cobras top scorer for the match was Jig Vaidya who racked up 14 points.

The Cobras scorers were:

Jig Vaidya 14
Sam Taylor 10
Gus Baird 10
Steve Gill 9
Moh Abdullahi 8
Robby Davy-Cripwell    2

Total                             53

Qtrs             Rhinos          Cobras
1                      6                      16
2                      0                      15
3                      6 10
4                      4 12

Totals            16                     53

Return to: Match Reports 2007/08

Cobras victorious over the Rhinos

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 17:00:39 +0000

Leicester Cobras 63 v Wolverhampton Rhinos 24

Report by Anthony Quinn - Photos by David Forryan

It was an important and emotional final home match for Leicester Cobras, on Sunday. Victory against Wolverhampton Rhinos, a team they had not played this season, would guarantee Cobras promotion for the first time in the clubs history. Defeat could give Rhinos that opportunity. Players from both sides lined up at the start, wearing yellow ribbons tied to their chairs as a mark of respect to the memory of Bradley Whitfield. Chairman Mike Foster spoke kind words about the youngster, who was an enthusiastic fan of Leicester Cobras, and thanked the Whitfield family and many friends attending for their generosity and support and hopes for a better future. Applause rang out, Cobras players grouped together and chanted Bradley’s name, before the game began, to inspire them to victory.

In the first quarter Wolverhampton Rhinos got off to a bright start, with their Captain Caron scoring from the centre of the key with his first shot. It looked like Cobras would be in for a tough game. For Leicester Cobra’s Vaidya scored straight in from the side. Both sides battled hard to control the early play and got further opportunities to score. Emmanuelle looked lively, with some good controlled play, but is then penalised for a foul. For Cobras Gill’s shot hits the ring, but Taylor is quick to convert the rebound, to give Cobras the lead. Cobras break and Vaidya scores. Emmanuel commits a second foul. As Ray protects him, Dehar’s shot goes in the ring and out. Smith is also close with a shot. Caron and Gill grapple for the ball. Smith hit the ring. Vaidya scores again and Gill scores off his own rebound. Rhinos swap Emmanuelle for Baynton. Cobras pick up the pace and start intercepting the ball very quickly. Vaidya nicks the ball off Smith and Baird scores. Cobras steal the ball again and Baird swoops in to score. Rhinos throw the ball up court, a shout to Taylor, with her back to ball she puts up her hands and miraculously stops it in mid-flight. Cobras Captain Davy-Cripwell scores. As the seconds count down Vaidya scores again. Rhinos started well and looked organised and strong. Once Emmanuelle was taken off and Cobras picked up the pace, Rhinos seemed to lose their way. Cobras took control of the game and started scoring at will.

1st quarter ends 18 v 2 – to the Cobras

Second quarter Dehar slows Rhinos build up play, to try and regain control of the game. Ray nips through Cobras defense, but collides with a Cobras player. Baird scores three baskets without reply. The best was when he stole the ball, dribbled it low to the ground, all the way up court and popped it home – superb skill and simply unstoppable. Baynton takes his time and rolls the ball in over the rim, from close range. Gill commits a foul. Smith’s penalty shots hit the back of the ring both times, but bounce out, very unlucky. Baird weaves up court and immediately scores again. Rhinos battle hard, passing the ball well around the key looking for an opening, but Cobras defend well and regain possession. There is a loud ‘Ohhh!’ from the crowd as Gill nearly scores. Vaidya scores. Ray shows real determination racing at great speed to try to stop Vaidya’s next attack, he misses, but Baird is there to convert it. Smith tries a one handed shot. Next attack, Cobras have all sides of the basket covered and Davy-Cripwell converts it in. Davy-Cripwell scores again, as Vaidya collides with two Rhinos players. There is a loud bang as the tyre bursts on one of Cobras chairs. Rhinos bring on No. 4 and she gets straight into the action and does well. Ray battles through, but is knocked about like a pinball, clipping several Cobras players as she charges forward. She fires a long powerful shot, but it is just too straight to go in. Cobras bring on Abdullahi. Baird races down the side, but Ray clips him, as he is about to shoot. Baird neatly twirls in the first penalty shot. Baird scores again in open play. Baynton has the ball in his own half, but Vaidya cheekily nicks it off him. Rhinos regain possession, but Caron struggles to catch a high pass and overbalances. Baird tries to help him up, but with play continuing nearby, he has no choice but to help defend. Cobras regain the ball and Vaidya has room to attack, but Captain ‘Courageous’ Caron pulls himself along the floor, arm in the air, determined not to give Cobras an inch. He succeeds in getting play stopped and then amuses everyone with a ‘Thank you’, as everyone waits patiently for him to strap himself in - ready to do battle again! Baird converts two penalty shot, the first going straight in and the second hitting the ring and over. Ray nips through Cobras defence and is close to scoring. Abdullahi races free and scores. Caron pulls the ball out of reach of Gill, Gill swipes for the ball, accidentally catching Caron under the eye. Gill taps him on the arm later, to check he is okay, as play continues. Baird goes for a long shot on the hooter. With Cobras playing some of their very best basketball, swooping in to steal, breaking at speed and scoring lots of baskets, they are simply unstoppable, relaxed and really enjoying the game. Rhinos continued to work hard, but had fewer opportunities to score.

2nd quarter ends 43 v 4 – to the Cobras

Third quarter Rhinos bring Emmanuel back on. Baynton scores from the side of the basket. Dehar scores from the side in the key. Caron does well closely man-marking Vaidya in the key, but is quick to back up and stop a shot by Cobra’s Captain Davy-Cripwell. Baynton launches another attack and Rhinos score again, that’s three baskets without reply, the away supporters urge their team to continue the fight back. Bramley links up well with Gill, but Cobras fail to score. Some subtle passing from Dehar and Rhinos threaten again. Cobras call a time out. Bramley goes for a shot. Davy-Cripwell works his way around the key and picks out Bates, he launches a long powerful shot straight down the centre, but it bounces off the ring. Rhinos continue to perform well. Dehar scores straight in from the side. Caron in the key, takes his time and scores. Vaidya is back on and tries to re-inject some urgency in Cobras play. He knocks the ball out of the hands of Dehar and tries a long shot. He races to pick up a long ball, but it is too far ahead. Dehar calmly brings the ball up, as Rhinos attack Cobras key on all sides, but instead of passing Dehar simply shoots and scores, a superb individual effort. Emmanuel blocks Vaidya’s pass to Bates inside the key, but he then wastes possession with a pass behind Dehar that rolls off court. Dehar threatens again, nipping unseen, behind Vaidya into the key. Finally Vaidya gets the ball and loops it in, under pressure from a pursuing Caron. Abdullahi tries a spectacular backward shot. Baynton gets up to the basket, unmarked, but fails to convert. He gets further chances to score, this time from the penalty spot, after a foul by Vaidya. Gill scores again, but Rhinos have scored more than Cobras this quarter. With Cobras making changes, Rhinos kept their heads up and really got going early on, scoring some excellent baskets. They could have created even more shooting opportunities, if they hadn’t lost possession due to some loose passing, when they were not under any pressure. Cobras still have a big lead.

3rd quarter ends 47 v 16 – to the Cobras

Final quarter Cobras bring Foster and Taylor back on. Quick thinking Foster spots a chance and darts through Rhinos five man defence, to face the basket, but surrounded on all sides Cobras can’t get the ball through to him. Cobras are looking sharper again. Vaidya attacks. Gill calls for him to hold possession, giving him time to battle through into Rhino’s key. Vaidya passes and Gill scores. A brilliant piece of communication by Gill. Emmanuel scores for Rhinos. Vaidya scores a three pointer. Vaidya’s bounce pass to Gill, unfortunately hits the wheel of a passing Foster. Baird races free and scores. Dehar works his way up court and scores, straight in. Baird breaks again, but this time turns instead of attacking the key. Vaidya is passed the ball and scores another superb three pointer. Caron scores, under pressure, over the head of Gill. Baird gets two penalty shots, but doesn’t convert this time. He shows great skill passing the ball around behind his back as he attacks again, but fails to score. Davy-Cripwell passes to Taylor in the key and she scores, to cheers form the home fans. Ray hits the ring from the side. Baird’s long shot hits high on the backboard and drops in. A one two with Caron and Baynton scores. Baynton has two penalty shots, but they fall short. Baird races down court and scores, to finish top scorer.

4th quarter ends 63 v 24 – to the Cobras

It was a very sporting match, with a huge crowd applauding every basket. Rhinos started well and had a superb third quarter. However, once Cobras got going in the first half, they were simply unstoppable, quick to steal the ball, good passing and communication, flying down court to score basket after basket. They had the game won by half time. The importance of this victory is massive, still undefeated, Cobras have gained promotion with two games in hand. A club with superb team spirit, a great passion for the sport and honesty in their play. With strength in depth, Leicester Cobras look well placed to establish themselves in the second division. It has taken many people past and present to build the club to what it is today. Under the leadership of Robby Davy-Cripwell, Leicester Cobras have finally got the promotion they deserve, after over 14 years of trying. A historic day for the City of Leicester. To the people there, a day to be proud, a day to celebrate, but above all a day to remember.

Wolverhampton Rhino’s Captain Piers Baynton said “We got off to a good start in the first quarter, but we were then very slow for us. They were stronger, fitter, faster. We came back into it when Cobras made changes, worked hard, played better as a team and had good team spirit. Their No.6 was a great player. It was a good game and we go away high spirited.”

Wolverhampton Rhino’s Carl Marsh said “We started well, but then they overpowered us. Second half we started to work harder, communicated better and play more as a team. We had too cold a start today. They put us under too much pressure.”

Cobras Head Coach Robby Davy-Cripwell said “We were a bit slow off the mark, a bit nervous, with what was a riding on this game. Once we got into the game and played how we can, by the end of the first quarter we felt we would win. I like it when I don’t have to shout at the players, the guys train hard and were up for the challenge. The start of the second half Rhinos showed what they can really do, if you allow them too much possession. Our players were less cohesive as a unit and didn’t communicate as much. It’s not sunk in yet that we have got promoted, it just feels like another win at the moment. At the beginning of the season we played the Black Cats and were unsure of ourselves, once we trained hard and knuckled down, we started to play consistently well, especially after Christmas. We slipped up last year, now we have got promoted, we will really be able to test ourselves and see how far we can get. We need some really tough games. We have got huge potential. Sean and George are great prospects for the future.”

Cobras Chairman Mike Foster said “It was a special day and an important game, against an unknown team we have not played this season. We were a bit apprehensive. We put on a tremendous show, in a promotion game. After fourteen or fifteen years of trying, it is a massive day for Leicester Cobras, and to be supported so well was really good. Rhinos played a super game. I have never seen Cobras move the ball around so quickly. We had nailed it by half time. Sooner or later it had got to come together for us. It is down to the players and head coach, the management staff, the people raising money, promoting and administrating the club. A lot of effort by the whole squad. It was a big, big day for Robby. To get the first team he has coached into the second division, at the first attempt, is a real accolade. A high on high. He has worked very hard, been assertive and demanding, but got the players to jell, work together as a team and well drilled. He gave them the incentive, drive and will to win. He has got the best from his players - a really super team. Brilliant!”

Leicester Cobras: R. Davy-Cripwell (Capt), M. Foster, J. Vaidya, A. Baird, S. Taylor, S. Gill, M. Abdullahi, S. Bramley, G. Bates

Wolverhampton Rhinos: A. Caron (Capt), F. Mitchell, I. Dehar, C.Emmanuel, F. Ray, S. Smith,
P. Baynton

Cobras scorers for the match against the Rhinos were:

Gus Baird                             27
Jig Vaidya 18 (includes 2 x 3 pointers)
Robby Davy-Crippwell   6
Steve Gill                             6
Sam Taylor                          4
Moh Abdullahi                  2

Total                                     63

Qtrs                                     Cobras              Rhinos
1                                              18                           2
2                                              25                           2
3                                              4                         12
4                                              16                           8

Totals                                   63                           24

Return to: Match Reports 2007/08

Cobras victorious over the Black Cats

Sun, 2 Mar 2008 17:00:56 +0000

Cobras 47 v Black Cats 28

Report by Anthony Quinn -  Photos by Sam Taylor & Dave Bramely

It was nine wins out of nine, as Leicester Cobras brushed Birmingham Black Cats (2) aside on Sunday. Cobras got off to a quick start, with Abdullahi scoring with the first shot of the game. Holter scored in reply for the Black Cats. Gill scored and Davy-Cripwell moved into an open key to score for Cobras. Holter scored again. Smith’s shot is blocked by Gill. Black Cats call an early time out. It is end to end basket ball, with both sides quick to put pressure on the shooters and defend. Singh commits a blocking foul. Abdullahi turns to face the basket and scored easily. Foster man marks Killeen and Cobra soon regain possession. Gill gets in another shot. After rushing his early shots, Baird finally shows what he is famous for and breaks up field and scores. Smith shows good movement and nips through Cobras defense to get a shot. Gill’s next shot rebounds into his own hands and he converts it straight back into the basket. Stone races to the edge of Cobras key, but Smith misses. Holter grapples hard for possession. Following a foul by Abdullahi, Stone gets two penalty shots. Holter gets into the centre of the key and scores. Stone loses the ball and Baird races down court to score. Holter’s shot hits the backboard, bounces off the ring, hits the backboard and drops in! Stone nips into Cobras key, but Baird blocks his shot. Black Cats work hard to hold Baird back, but he is just too quick and soon gets another chance to shoot. Black Cats were organised and quick but found it hard to break through Cobras tight defense. Cobras capitalised with some fast breaks. Black Cats are still in the game, giving them a run for their money.

1st quarter ends 14 v 8 – to the Cobras

Second quarter Holter is close to scoring. Davy-Cripwell breaks but misses. Stone turns to attack Cobras key, but Foster and Abdullahi sandwich him either side, so he is going nowhere. Smith hits the net from the side. Baird tries a fancy shot but it is too low. Holter blocks Gill’s shot. Black Cats bring on Parker. Cobras regain possession and Foster’s dandy shot twirls slowly in. Abdullahi scores with a close range shot. Parker looks lively hitting the back of net with her first shot. She soon picks out Stone, who scores straight in from the farside. Singh man marks Gill. Having wasted some good possession and scoring opportunities early in the quarter, Cobras really get it together, covering all sides of the basket, Abdullahi, Davy-Cripwell and Baird raining in shots, until Baird finally pops it in. Black Cats prowl the edge of Cobras key but can’t get through. Baird breaks and scores. Singh stops Abdullahi, but Davy-Cripwell sneaks round at the back to score. He soon scores again with a long shot. Holter nips into Cobras key but misses, the ball is passed out to Parker but she is also unlucky hitting the back of the ring. Baird scores from close range. Parker moves down the centre of the key to score, to cheers from the away bench. Black Cats maintain their momentum and launch another brutal attack, only stopped when Holter collides with Gill. Stone tries another shot from the far side. Abdullahi is blocked by two Black Cats players, but Baird goes onto score. Parker scores as the seconds count down and Baird tries for a three pointer at the end of the quarter. Black Cats slowed their play down and had some good build up in attack, but failed to convert their shots. At times Black Cats struggled to get out of their own half, as Cobras kept up their relentless attacking pressure, extending their lead.

2nd quarter ends 30 v 14 – to the Cobras

Second half Holter gets some early scoring opportunities. Then Baird suffers a heavy fall on his arm and Cobras immediately call a time out. Baird still winded failed to convert his penalty shots, but he soon scored again in open play. Holter weaves through into Cobras key and nearly scores, the away bench loudly encourages their team. Foster nips into a crowded Black Cats key and scores. Holter stops Gill. With the pace of the game slower, the game open ups with both sides getting time to build scoring opportunities. In a superb Black Cat’s move, Stone turns and picks out Parker, who picks out Holter who scores. In reply Foster’s shot rolls across the ring, too a loud ‘Ooooh!’ from the home fans. Abdullahi is also close to scoring again. Davy-Cripwell scores to cheers from the home fans. Parker puts up another good effort which bounces off the ring. Holding the ball high she soon picks out Stone, but his shot sails over. Singh breaks free and scores, a superb individual effort. It’s exciting stuff. Singh threatens again but Baird hits ball out of his hands and with a cry of adrenalin races into attack with Abdullahi. Baird misses but is awarded two penalty shots, he converts his second one straight in. Smith is back on and gets in an early shot. Cobras get chances but fail to convert. Holter picks out Killeen and then Singh, but Black Cats also fail to convert. Holter scores. Baird scores. Smith’s basket counts as Cobras commit a foul, her single penalty shot goes in the ring and out. Davy-Cripwell and Stone both get chances to score late on in the quarter. With the seconds counting down Black Cats lose possession and Baird scores. Black Cats are showing some good intelligent moves, but Cobras are just too strong in attack.

3rd quarter ends 41 v 22 – to the Cobras

Cobra’s bring on Taylor. Foster tries a quick powerful shot early on. Taylor misses. Fouled by Holter, she hits the ring with both penalty shots. Smith is close to scoring again. Holter magically gets control of a high ball and charges forward, only to collide with a wall of three Cobra’s players. Black Cats are awarded possession but soon lose it again. They bring Parker back on. Baird races and scores. Parker and Singh have shots. Parker breaks into a congested key and scores. Holter races man marking Gill, to try and stop the next Cobras attack. Cobras bring on Bramley. Stone battles with Baird and nips through gap into the key, but misses. Holter scores. Gill misses twice and continues to be frustrated by Holter. Singh gets the ball and scores straight in. Davy-Cripwell continues to get shots. Gill suffers a tyre problem, but is soon back on. Abdullahi, Davy-Cripwell link up well and Taylor scores. In the last minute Cobras Captain Davy-Cripwell scored. Davy-Cripwell and Holter both try three pointer shots before the final hooter. In an entertaining game, Black Cats put in a good performance. Cobras played five players for three quarters of the match and they were made to work hard for this crucial victory.

4th quarter ends 47 v 28 – to the Cobras

Leicester Cobras Player and Chairman Mike Foster said “In our last game against them we only won by one point and our first half was really bad. We have progressed a lot since then and now work a lot better as a team. We set ourselves up for a tough game today, scoring within three seconds set us up. The team played well, but our defense was weak at times. In the second half we got our defense together and did not miss much. A good lead, gave us the confidence to push ahead, and work the game in our favour. We showed our dominance and what we can really do. They did well, putting their no. 6 onto our no. 23, it was a real hard fight. No. 6 was their main scoring threat and we knew if could control him, we could control the game. We are still undefeated nine out of nine, but still have Wolverhampton Rhinos to play to decide who gets the automatic promotion spot.”

Cobra’s Captain Robbie Davy-Cripwell said “This was a big game for us, we are so close to promotion and it needed a big performance from us today. We are one game away. I don’t even think about what could go wrong. The team knows what they’ve got to do and to focus. I am confident we can do it and I have full faith in the team, that we will do it this season.”

Black Cats Coach Tony Lakin said “We found their movement difficult to contain, they are not losing much. Their no.6 was excellent. We changed things around in the second half and when we do our moves and the players listen, we do well. It can be difficult in the heat of the game and players can get confused. Our players need to improve their awareness of what’s going on around them and their sense of urgency. Don’t let your head drop, carry on and don’t let up.”

Black Cats Kamaldeep Singh said “We played well, but are gutted to have lost. They were well drilled and no.6 was their best player. Our second half was good. We need to keep our heads and just keep going. They were too good for us - but we played well as a team.”

Leicester Cobras: R. Davy-Cripwell (Capt), M. Foster, M. Abdullahi, A. Baird, S. Taylor, D. Sharma, S. Bramley, S. Gill

Birmingham Black Cats (2): J. Smith (Capt), L. Holter, L. Parker, O. Killeen, K. Singh, B. Stone

Cobras scorers for the match against the Black Cats were:

Gus Baird                             21
Robby Davy-Crippwell   10
Moh Abdullahi                  6
Mike Foster                            4
Steve Gill                             4
Sam Taylor                          2

Total                                     47

Qtrs                                     Cobras              Black Cats
1                                              14                           8
2                                              16                           6
3                                              11                           8
4                                              6                           6

Totals                                   47                           28

Return to: Match Reports 2007/08

Cobras victorious over the Dynamos

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:00:34 +0000

Cobras 71 v Dynamos 8

Report by Anthony Quinn - Photos by Ian Trott

Leicester Cobras achieved an easy victory on Sunday against a weakened Northants Dynamos side. In the first quarter, Baird is first to score, racing up court to convert for Cobras. Buchan scores a great basket in reply for Dynamos, on the edge of the key. Walden impedes Baird who converts his second penalty shot straight in. Cobras defend well, closely man marking every Dynamos player out of the key. However, Northants press hard, and Buchan gives Dynamos the lead. Gill at the side of the basket scores easily for the Cobras. They immediately get the ball back off Dynamos and Baird scores from the other side of the basket. Taylor gets chances, her close range shooting bouncing off the ring. Both sides man mark closely as they battle to control the game. Buchan is close again. Then Gill converts a hat trick of baskets as Cobras dominate the game. Cobras nick the ball back again and Captain Davy-Cripwell scores. Dynamos call a time out in the last minute, only to then see Davy-Cripwell’s next shot drop neatly in and Vaidya race down court with Baird who converts again easily. With Cobras close range shooting paying off big time, unless Northants can hold possession more it could be a complete whitewash.

1st quarter ends 21 v 4 – to the Cobras

Second quarter a Buchan shot is blocked by Gill. Davy-Cripwell catches a loose pass and scores. Walden gets into a great position to shoot in front of the basket, but passes instead and the opportunity is lost. Dynamos Captain Pickering gets the ball out of danger, as Cobras threaten again. Walden races up court with the ball, but Vandersteen’s shot goes in and out of the basket. Baird misses with his next shot, but Gill is there to convert the rebound. Finally there is a great sequence of passes from the Dynamos, they keep possession and build a strong coordinated attack. Unfortunately, Buchan’s shot is just wide of the basket. Cobras are quick to swoop onto Dynamos players, like predators, repeatedly intercepting the ball and regaining possession. Vaidya nicks the ball and Baird scores again. Cobras defend well, keeping Dynamos far out, so they have no opportunity to even shoot. At one point Cobras squeeze Buchan either side, like a sandwich, so he can’t even move! Vaidya scores, to cheers from his fans. Baird dribbles the ball back and forth tormenting Vandersteen, there’s nothing she can do to regain possession. Dabos chases a long ball but to no avail. New player Abdullahi, soon gets on the score sheet for Cobras, with a shot from the side of the basket. Davy-Cripwell misses, but Abdullahi is there, converting the rebound on his second attempt. Bramley tries a high shot. Baird converts again. Vandersteen nips into Cobras key but fails to convert. Vaidya scores a three pointer as Cobras continue to run rings around the opposition. With no substitutes available, Dynamos stand no chance in the second half. Cobras already have the game wrapped up leading by 36 points.

2nd quarter ends 40 v 4 – to the Cobras

Third quarter Cobras bring on substitutes, they defend well calling out numbers. Foster breaks into the key and can score, but picks out Abdullahi, he misses but smashes home his own rebound. With the pace of the game slower and Cobras defending deep, Dynamos have space and time to work around the key. There is a tangle of three Cobras players marking one Dynamos player on the far side of the key, Dynamos go for a difficult shot instead manoeuvring the ball into the open space in front of the basket. Dynamos Pickering, Buhcan and Walden link up well. Vandersteen’s soon gets in a shot, which hits the ring and out. Abdullahi weaves his way up court, picks out Baird who scores from inside a congested key. Abdullahi nips into the key from the side and scores. Pickering hits the backboard. Baird weaves through and scores as Dynamos desperately race back to defend. Baird calls for everyone to get back and defend as Dabos threatens, but there is too much power in his straight shot, which simply rebounds back. Twomlow is quick to defend Dynamos next attack. Fouled by Abdullahi, a tired Vandersteen, just can’t muster enough power in her penalty shots. Dabos holds off Baird, he is restricted to a distant shot. Vandersteen is finally rewarded with a basket, to cheers from the away bench. Cobras call a time out. Cobras Captain gets Cobras to fifty points. Dynamos Captain misses in reply. Twomlow converts from close range, to huge cheers from the home fans. Vandersteen’s shot bounces on the ring, before finally dropping in. Sharma looks lively up front and Davy-Cripwell soon scores again. Walden is unlucky, with a shot that hits the backboard and bounces off the ring. Despite Dynamos having time and possession to attack, Cobras mixture of experienced and new players gelled well, their defense remained solid and they extended their lead 46 points.

3rd quarter ends 54 v 8 – to the Cobras

Final quarter, Cobras original starting five are back on. Gill scores. Baird whips up the ball, catches it and scores. Buchan goes for a long shot from the side, which bounces off the ring. Dynamos continue to try hard. There is some super speed passing from Cobras, in through and around the Dynamos, which looks fantastic. They fail to convert, but Baird gains penalty shots – he neatly converts the second straight in. With Gill blocking her every move, Vandersteen gives up and simply collapses forward hugging the ball to her lap, much to the amusement of the watching crowd. She thanks the referee as possession is awarded back to Cobras. Walden has a close range shot hit the backboard and Vandersteen gets further chances. Abdullahi continues to impress, scoring another neat basket. Baird releases a huge pass up court, straight to Taylor sitting next to the basket, she is unlucky not to score. Davy-Cripwell misses, but Abdullahi backs him up and scores. Baird misses, but Vaidya converts the loose ball. Vandersteen tries a long shot. Baird races free and loops a one handed shot neatly in. He next tries a three pointer. Abdullahi is there to put up another shot. A master at catching his own rebound and converting it, he does it again, to reach a magnificent 14 points on the scoreboard today. Pickering gets frustrated with his team as Cobras continue to press forward and Dynamos get nowhere near Cobras key, before losing possession. Vaidya’s three pointer is close. Vandersteen, surrounded, gets a long pass through to Buchan up front on his own, he hits the backboard. Baird hits the ring with the final shot of the match, finishing top scorer with 26 points. Northants battled throughout the match, but for Cobras it was a stroll in the park with some superb shooting. Final score an amazing 71 to 8.

4th quarter ends 71 v 8 – to the Cobras

Northants Captain said after the match “It was a hard fought match. We need better defending, throwing, catching and a better understanding of how to play basketball! We have a large injury list and struggled to field a team today.”

Cobras Jignesh Vaidya said “It was one of our easiest games in years. It’s good when you get over sixty points on the board. Some of the players said we could have gone for eighty or even a hundred points. It gave us a chance to try other players coming into the squad. Sam and Mo did great today and Sean is improving. It was a good game.”

Leicester Cobras: R. Davy-Cripwell (Capt), J. Vaidya, M. Foster, S. Taylor, M. Abdullahi, S. Gill, A. Baird, S. Bramley, D. Sharma, L. Twomlow

Northants Dynamos: E. Pickering (Capt), R. Walden, C. Buchan, N. Vandersteen, C. Dabos

Cobras scorers for the match were:

Gus Baird                             26
Moh Abdullahi                  14
Steve Gill                             12
Robby Davy-Crippwell   10
Jig Vaidya                            7
Lorna Twomlow                     2

Total                                     71

Qtrs                                     Cobras                  Dynamos
1                                              21                           4
2                                              19                           0
3                                              14                           4
4                                              17                           0

Totals                                   71                           8

Return to: Match Reports 2007/08

Cobras victorious over the Jaguars

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:00:54 +0000

Cobras 47 v Jaguars 13

Report by Anthony Quinn - Photos by Ian Trott

The first quarter was intense, competitive, fast paced basketball. The first basket a rarity – an own goal off a Jaguars player! Jaguars hit back with a basket from Edwards. Vaidya picks out Gill in the key and he converts from close range. A push from Blackman and it is penalties for Taylor, her second penalty shot is close hitting the back of the net. Vaidya scores from the edge of the key. Captain Davy-Cripwell releases the ball into a crowded key but neither team can control it. Blackman misses from the edge of key. No. 34 R. Sargent prowls the edge of the key until he finds an opportunity to shoot. Vaidya picks out Bates, who races under pressure into the key, his shot bounces off the rim. Vaidya picks out Bates again, his shot bounces on the rim several times and off. Edwards releases the ball to R. Sargent who races down the centre and scores. Davy-Cripwell rushes a shot. Ainsworth crashes into Taylor at speed, it is Cobras ball. Bates breaks free, races down the centre of the court and is unlucky again. Vaidya goes for a three pointer. For Jaguar’s Ainsworth nips into the key and misses, Blackman’s shot bounces in the net and out. Davy-Cripwell to Bates who intelligently picks out Gill sitting in a great position in the key, Gill turns and scores easily. Jaguars fail to penetrate Cobras defensive line in the key. Jaguars protect their key in numbers, but Bates nips through. Jaguars charge up court, but leave no support down field, Vaidya nicks the ball, but fortunately for Jaguars, Cobras fail to score. With both sides quick to react and disrupt each others play, neither side has had time to dominate the game, but Cobras had built a lead by 8 to 4.

1st quarter ends 8 v 4 – to the Cobras

Second quarter, Cobras show why they are undefeated at the top of the table. Gill misses, but converts the ball on his second attempt. Vaidya, like a silent assassin, converts a penalty which doesn’t even touch the net on the way down! His second penalty shot simply rolls over the rim and in. For Jaguars, Sargent hits the ring twice and Captain Fox tries a speculative long shot, from one side of the court and then the other. Gill scores twice as Cobras try to build on their momentum. Vaidya breaks but Davy-Cripwell’s low pass is too strong. Blackman unmarked gets in a shot, Fox converts the rebound. Baird extends Cobras lead, to chants of “Easy! Easy!” from the home fans. Jaguars play quickly breaks down. It’s showtime, a long pass from Vaidya and Baird flies up court on his own and scores. Fox’s shot ricochets inside the basket and back out and Jaguar’s moral sinks, as Cobra’s soars. Gill passes and Baird scores. R. Sargent’s long shot from the side goes in, as Jaguar’s only consolation. Blackman fouls Baird who converts his second penalty shot straight in. Jaguars look defeated as the quarter ends.

2nd quarter ends 25 v 8 – to the Cobras

Third quarter Taylor and Abdullahi get some shots. Davy-Cripwell scores. There are a few loose passes from Cobras but Jaguars still don’t score. A foul by Vaidya, Ainsworth hits the rim with both penalty shots, get his own rebound but misses. Edwards hits the rim, as the ball just won’t go in for Jaguars. Cobras defend well and play freezes for a moment as Jaguars just don’t know what to do to get through. Ainsworth threatens but Abdullahi defends well. Cobras pass well and retain possession. Davy-Cripwell races into the key and picks out Bates, but he has the ball pulled off him. Vaidya misses and finally Abdullahi scores after a long period of attacking play by Cobras. Jaguars grapple hard for the ball and try to get some momentum going. R. Sargent catches and is pursued up court, his shot goes over, a great effort, just the finishing let him down. Davy-Cripwell breaks and Taylor, backing him up, scores. Vaidya goes for a diagonal run and scores, as everyone is distracted by Baird breaking through on the opposite side. Taylor fouls, Sargent’s second penalty shot goes straight in. Davy-Cripwell catches a difficult ball one handed and neatly converts it from the side of the basket. Jaguars got some possession, but their shooting was poor. Cobras eased off the gas, but still extended their lead.

3rd quarter ends 35 v 9 – to the Cobras

Final quarter, Blackman tries a three pointer. Baird races free supported by Bramley. Taylor picks out Baird who scores. Fox shot falls short as Cobras guard their key. Baird to Gill, he can shoot but spots Taylor in a better position. Taylor, who has worked hard throughout the game, scores. Gill scores twice. Bramley’s shot is close. Sargent gets frustrated with Baird as he nicks the ball again and hits the backboard. Cobras bring on Sharma and Corney late on and they get straight into the action. R. Sargent has to resort to a one handed shot to get it over Gill. Cobras Captain scores again. Sargent weaves through and into the key but fails to score. Jaguars Captain scores. Sharma tries to loop the ball in. Baird swoops in and scores again. H. Sargent tries a high-handed shot. Blackman scores a late consolation basket for Jaguars. Cobras were unstoppable winning easily 47 to 13.

4th quarter ends 47 v 13 – to the Cobras

Jaguar’s Bernard Fox said “They are at the top of the league, so we knew we would lose. We put up a lot of shots but they didn’t go in. In practice, it is easier to score, when the pressure is not on. We are a young team, developing reasonably well.”

Cobra’s Head Coach Robbie Davy-Cripwell said “We just keep getting better and better. What we’re doing in training, we’re applying to games - that’s impressive. We had a set game plan, busy shots, to not let them in the key and fast break aways – we stuck to the game plan and it worked. It was good to see our set plays come together. George has stepped up and fitted right in. Making space for other players, really intelligent play, he could become a great player for the future. We put distance between us and really started flying in the second quarter. I told the team to keep up the momentum and push on and we picked it up again at the end. We are nearly there, this was a good result for building towards the really big games still to come.”

Leicester Cobras: R. Davy-Cripwell (Capt), M. Foster, S. Taylor, G. Bates, S. Bramley, S. Gill, J. Vaidya, A. Baird, A. Corney, D. Sharma, M. Abdullahi

Nottingham Jaguars (WBC 2): B. Fox (Capt), A. Ainsworth, S. Edwards, S. Handley, G. Relph, C. Blackman, H. Sargent, R. Sargent, M. Ainsworth

Cobras scorers for the match against the Jaguars were:

Steve Gill                             14
Gus Baird                             11
Jig Vaidya                            8
Robby Davy-Crippwell   6
Sam Taylor                          4
Moh Abdullahi                  2
Jaguars home Basket     2

Total                                     47

Qtrs                                   Cobras                 Jaguars
1                                              8                             4
2                                              17                           4
3                                              10                           1
4                                              12                           4

Totals                                   47                           13

Return to: Match Reports 2007/08

Cobras victorious over the Maulers

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 17:00:57 +0000

Leicester Cobras 39 v Mansfield Maulers 19

Report by Anthony Quinn - Photos by Ian Trott

The Cobras made it six wins from six games as they played against a much improved Maulers team.
After recently winning a prestigious Leicester Mercury Sport Award, Cobras season just gets better and better. On Sunday they decided to try out some of their newer players, who put in a confident performance against a good Mansfield side. Coach and Captain Davy-Cripwell showed how it was done, scoring within the first few seconds of tip off. Youngster Bramley got in an early shot and Maulers No. 9, Alex Tyler threatened with a high shot. Cobras break up court and Foster scores from the far side. Cobras guarded their key in numbers, but Mansfield’s steady controlled build up play is effective, and they found their way through Cobras defence a number of times. Maulers Alex gets in a couple of shots before being fouled by Bramley. Alex’s penalty shots hit the ring, Maulers get the rebound and Sheppard scores with a high shot, under pressure. Foster tries a backward shot. Taylor misses. With Cobras all in the key, Kinsley nips through and scores, an excellent effort. Fouled by Taylor, Kinsley rolls up to get power into her penalty shots. An excellent pass from Brooks and Kinsley nips round the back of key to shoot from close range. Bates is fouled, his first penalty shot goes straight in, the second sails round the ring and drops in, to huge cheers from the home crowd - first class penalty shooting from this young player. Maulers attack again but Taylor deflects the shot. Foster fouls. Bramley releases a clever low ball to Davy-Cripwell who immediately attacks up court. Maulers race back to defend in numbers. With Mansfield putting them under pressure Cobras up the tempo, Davy-Cripwell breaks and Taylor nearly scores. Sayles get into a great position in the key as Mauler’s attack again looks promising. Foster easily sneaks past his opposite number, who has his back to the ball. Maulers rush their next shot. Maulers coach makes some quick substitutions. Davy-Cripwell scores. Sheppard links up well with Alex who scores with a high shot. Foster commits a backing foul, off the ball, but this is spotted by the referee. Davy-Cripwell scores and converts a penalty shot straight in. Kinsley hits the ring and Alex goes for a long shot. Maulers created some good shooting opportunities through a tightly packed Cobras key, but Cobras quick breaks and good lay ups paid off.

1st quarter ends 13 v 6 – to the Cobras

Second quarter Sayles shows good control of ball calmly initiating an early attack. Alex Tyler gets in the first shot. Bates commits a foul. Andrew Tyler’s penalty shots hit the rim. Davy-Cripwell forces his way through Maulers defence and scores. With few players moving about Andrew finds it difficult to find anyone to pass to. Bramley fouls. Alex hits the rim. Cobras break free as Maulers passing fails again. Maulers Coach calls an early time out to reorganise his players roles. Davy-Cripwell tips the ball out No.9’s hands. Maulers attack but the ball is knocked out of their hands again. Maulers finally get in a long shot. Davy-Cripwell releases the ball to Bates who scores straight in, to extend Cobras lead. Both teams substitute more players. Maulers do some good passing in a crowded key, Sheppard shoots, gets the rebound and scores, a superb team effort. Maulers hands up defend their key well. Andrew gets the ball out of danger and up court. Sheppard misses but is fouled, Cobras call a time out. Sheppard’s penalty shots are too powerful. Bramley gets a pass through to Davy-Cripwell who scores straight in, from the edge of the key. Andrew’s gets more penalty shots. Cobras Captain encourages some of the younger players to maintain concentration. Twolow nips through a gap in the key and gets in a shot. Kinsley spots Sayles in a superb shooting position in the key, but he turns away early and the opportunity is lost. Bates and Abdullahi nearly score. Cobras commit too many team fouls, resulting in further penalty opportunities for the away side. Sayles penalty shots are on target but not quite high enough. Kinsley turned round to face the basket and scored, with an instinctive shot, to cheers from the away bench. Twolow misses, but is fouled by Alex, her second penalty shot hits the back of the ring. Abdullhai is quick to catch the rebound and is very close to scoring. Awarded two penalty shots, he hits the ring both times. Northedge is back on and gets straight into action for Maulers. With no support in his own half, Maulers Captain’s throw-in goes straight to the Cobras Captain, who races forward and gets in a shot. Cobras keep up the pressure and Twolow also gets in a shot. Sheppard fouls as Abdullahi scores, the basket counts, and he nearly converts his penalty shot. The game is getting very interesting game with both teams playing well. Cobras new players are learning quickly and starting to play better as a unit the further the game goes on. With both teams getting lots of scoring opportunities, Maulers are still in with a chance.

2nd quarter ends 21 v 10 – to the Cobras

Third quarter Kinsely is close with a long shot. Bates passes and Sharma nips in and scores with his first shot of the match. Another superb pass from Bates and Foster rolls all the way up the centre of the court and scores easily. Maulers Coach shouts for his players to ‘think’ more about their play. Maulers pass well and Alex gets in a shot. Foster nips round the back of the key, with Bramley guarding, he fires in another shot. Sheppard breaks through Cobras defense and shoots. Sharma commits a foul and Sheppard’s penalty shots hit the backboard. Maulers get the rebound but Sharma quickly intercepts a dangerous pass. Sheppard commits a holding foul. Foster dummies a good pass and later Davy-Cripwell launches a long low pass through a crowded key to Taylor, in a great shooting position next to the basket. Maulers pace has slowed, but they continue to pass confidently. Taylor fouls and Sheppard’s first penalty shot hits the rim and goes in. Sam Taylor races up court and passes to Bates in the key and he scores again. Bates under pressure calmly gets the ball out of the key and up court. Maulers then launch a series of attacks and are unlucky not to score. Sayles, Brooks, Kinsley and Sheppard set up a good attacking move, which is only stopped by a foul by Taylor, but Maulers fail to convert the penalty shots. Finally Cobras score again with a superb one handed shot from Abdullahi. Bramley and Twolow line up side by side and easily block Maulers next shot. Alex fouls. Abdullahi’s shot is too powerful, hitting the backboard. Bates commits a fifth foul and is ordered off the court by the referees - but is applauded by the home team for his superb all round effort and excellent shooting this afternoon. Corney is on. Kinsley has two penalty shots and Andrew converts a rebound. Andrew intercepts Cobras play well and gets a further shot. Abdullahi scores with an excellent long shot. Cobras extended their lead, but gave away far too many penalties, which could have cost them dearly.

3rd quarter ends 31 v 13 – to the Cobras

Final quarter Alex and Brooks nearly score early on. Abdullahi races up court with Corney who nearly converts from close range. Bramley races, gets the ball and scores to cheers from his fans. Abdullahi does some good interception work. Andrew blocks as Davy-Cripwell is about to break up court with the ball. Kinsley commits a push foul. Abdullahi tries a long shot. Maulers defend their key well. Davy-Cripwell scores straight in. Alex Tyler scores a well earned basket. Bramley commits his fifth foul. Alex’s penalty is missed but Andrew converts the rebound. Abdullahi races up court and Davy-Cripwell scores. Alex scores, fouled, his penalty shots are close. Alex and Andrew both commit fouls. Both sides get further chances to score, with Davy-Cripwell scoring the final basket. It was an open, friendly attacking match. Maulers did very well and got plenty of scoring opportunities, but penalties are always difficult to convert. Cobras committed too many fouls, but it was an impressive victory for their new players. Both teams should learn a lot from this game.

4th quarter ends 39 v 19 – to the Cobras

Mansfield Maulers coach Ian Richards said “This is the best we have played all season. We wanted to hold them to below 15 points per quarter and we achieved this goal – which was excellent. Defensively we worked very hard. The offence we didn’t execute our shooting opportunities. We got lots of opportunities to score, but the players panicked a bit, releasing the ball too quickly. We need to work on our finishing.”

Mansfield player Luke Sayles said “We were very good. Our defence did well today. We worked well as a team. Leicester Cobras weren’t too bad to play against, but our shooting needs to improve.”

Cobras Head Coach and player Robbie Davy-Cripwell said “It was a really good opportunity for our second team to push for positions in our first team. George grasped the opportunity and played very well, despite being fouled off. Lots of fouls were committed, partly due to lack of experience, the player’s current abilities and chair control. This will take time to develop. George and Sean would have played for the whole match, but were let down by fouling. I was pleased to see the players shooting within their range and making sensible passes. Dipen was putting shots up and scored with his first attempt. There is still a lot to learn in team play, individuals need to work for each other as a team. We hope to build on this ethos of playing for the team. I want these players to challenge the first team and push us on. Today showed we have strength in depth for the future.”

Cobras player Sean Bramley said ‘It was fun and the first time I have been fouled off! Our shooting was good, but we could have got more rebounds. We need to learn to be careful of fouls and improve our shooting. I’ve not got the foggiest why we picked up so many fouls! But we’ve only got one session to learn this - before our next match.”

Leicester Cobras: R. Davy-Cripwell (Capt), M. Foster, S. Taylor, G. Bates, S. Bramley, S. Gill, L. Twomlow, A. Corney, D. Sharma, M. Abdullahi

Mansfield Maulers: R. Brooks (Capt), A. Tyler (J), A.Tyler, D. Northedge, A. J. Sheppard, L. Sayles, L. Kinsley

Cobras scorers for the match against the Maulers were:

Robby Davy-Crippwell      15
George Bates 6 (in only his second match)
Mohamid Abdullahi 6 (first time playing this season)
Mike Foster 4
Sam Taylor 4
Sean Bramley 2
Dipen Sharma 2 (in his first ever match)

Total 39

Qtrs                                     Cobras                 Maulers
1 13 6
2                                              8 4
3 10 3
4                                              8 6

Totals 39   19

Return to: Match Reports 2007/08

Cobras victorious over the Jaguars

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 17:00:34 +0000

Jaguars 33 v Cobras 51

Report & photos by Ian Trott

The Cobras made it five wins from five games as they produced an impressive display against the Jaguars at Newark. A 51 v 33 win helps the Cobras maintain our promotional challenge in the Central 3rd Division.

The key performance came from Gus Baird who scored a magnificent 34 points.
The Cobras were quickly on top of the game and opened up a 14 v 8 lead by the end of the first quarter. That was extended to 26 v 14 by half-time.
The Jaguars slowed the Cobras in the third quarter with both teams scoring eight points, but the Cobras produced a strong finish as they took the final quarter 17 v 11.
The Jaguars were a tougher team than expected and with the Cobras missing some of their players it was a closer encounter than the final score would indicate. An excellent team game with lots of action all the way through with continuous pressured play from both teams from beginning to end. Great game with ALL players in the team getting on court.

Scores on the Doors

Gus Baird 34   ( magnificent )
Robby Davy-Cripwell     8
Jig Vaidya 5
Mike Foster 2
Sam Taylor 2

Total                             51

Qtrs               Jaguars          Cobras
1                      8                      14
2                      6                      12
3                      8 8
4                     11 17

Totals             33                     51

Return to: Match Reports 2007/08

Cobras victorious over the Players

Sun, 9 Dec 2007 17:00:57 +0000

Leicester Cobras 42 v Stratford Players 32

Report by Anthony Quinn - Photos by Ian Trott

In their first home game of the season, Leicester Cobras achieved a great victory against strong promotion rivals Stratford Players with a large home crowd cheering the Cobras along. The first half was an intense physical affair, with quick powerful attacking play by both sides. Baird scored the opening basket, fouled in the process, his penalty shot bounced off the ring. Vaidya released the ball and Baird scored easily from close range. It is then Stratford’s turn to press Cobras back into their own half, with Bunting, Beach and Boswell all getting chances to score. Cripwell at the end of the court hits the ring. Bunting takes his time and opens up the scoresheet for the away side. Daffern misses. Both sides get penalised for travelling, colliding and holding as the battle to control the game intensifies. Cobras do some great long passes around the key, but fail to get the ball through to Huthwaite. Stratford continue to defend well, blocking a pass to Taylor in the key. Then Bunting brings the scores level, awarded a penalty his shot bounces of the ring and Beach converts the rebound to give Stratford the lead. It is end to end, with Vaidya immediately bringing the scores level. Cobras bring on Gill, a perfect pass from Vaidya and Gill scores with his first shot. Baird also scores. Stratford attack but Cobras simply thump the ball out the key and off court. Stratford call a time out. Hall’s side shot sails over the net. Vaidya’ long shot bounces in and out of the basket. Daffern instead of going for a shot, launches a superb precision pass under the net, straight into the hands of Beach who scores. Boswell brings the scores level at 10 all. Cobras lose possession and Hall scores from the side, as Stratford regain the lead. Gill misses. Vaidya misses. Stratford then give Cobras an early Christmas present, giving the ball away in their own half, Cobras pass to Vaidya still in the key he posts the ball home. Cobras keep up the pressure, regaining possession several times to peg Stratford back into their own half. It looked like Stratford would keep their lead, but Cobras sustained attacking, late on, pays off with a basket from Gill the Cobras just sneak ahead.

1st quarter ends 14 v 12 – to the Cobras

Second quarter Hall scores from the side. Gill scores from close range. Hall controls the ball well outside the key, but with little movement up front he can’t find an opening. Cripwell’s throw in reaches Baird, back to Cripwell he scores easily. After some poor passing and wasted opportunities, Beach gets in close and converts for Stratford. Fouled his penalty shot rebounds, but Boswell fails to convert. Taylor immediately commits a holding foul and Boswell’s two penalty shots are close. With three Cobras players waving their hands around his head Bunting can’t shoot, no foul, Cobras regain possession. The decision frustrates Stratford and Hall commits a technical, quickly spotted by the referee. Baird misses both penalty shots. Both teams get further chances to score. Baird breaks and scores. Beach is fouled by Vaidya, his basket after the whistle doesn’t count. Daffern’s shot is too powerful. Hall retrieves the ball and scores from the side. Vaidya immediately scores in reply. Cobras quickly break Stratford’s attacks and retain possession well. Taylor’s shot falls short. Baird breaks and scores again. After a time out Stratford pass well and Beach gets another great opportunity to score from inside the key. Then Baird flies across the end of the court, under the basket, his shot drops in - arm still raised, he accepts the applause from the home crowd. Hall finds a gap, but Beach misses from close range. With their attacks being broken down quickly, and not getting many close range shots Stratford struggled. Cobras well crafted moves and better shooting, the home side looks confident, with an eight point lead.

2nd quarter ends 26 v 18 – to the Cobras

Third quarter, with Cobras asleep Bunting gets in an early shot inside an open key. Gill scores for Cobras at the other end. Stratford pass and move well and Hall gets in a shot. Baird moves round the key but there is no opening, as Stratford defend well. Bunting fouls Taylor, her powerful penalty shots are close. Baird’s shot is wide. Gill also misses. Daffern races up court, Hall unmarked scores from the nearside. Cripwell and Hall grapple for the ball and Cripwell is penalised. With Cobras looking complacent, Stratford see their opportunity and start to press forward with well organised, meaningful attacks. Bunting scores and is fouled, his penalty bounces off the rim. With Stratford attacking again up court, the referees are quick to spot Gill committing a holding foul on Hall halfway back down court. Cobras call a time out, urgently needing to reorganise and stop the Stratford surge. Stratford home fans sensing their side have the edge, support them loudly. Hall calmly rolls forward to take another shot. Daffern gets in another shot. Baird loses possession and Hall shoots again. Cobras attack but Beach thumps the ball out of the danger area. Cripwell goes for a three point shot. Beach gets the ball through to Hall in another great shooting position. Taylor fouls and Beach’s first penalty goes straight in, he also converts the second. It is a superb fight back by Stratford. Cobras start to panic as Stratford’s score slowly creeps up. Gill and Baird both miss. Pinned in the corner Vaidya resorts to a speculative long shot. Taylor catches the ball in the key, but surrounded by Stratford players there is not much she can do. Daffern and Hall attack and Bunting scores to bring the deficit to just two points. Under pressure outside the key, Cripwell battles hard to retrieve a loose ball off the floor, he turns and passes brilliantly through a gap to Gill, who converts from close range. Baird races under the net and loops the ball, just before the hooter sounds. Could this be the turning point – despite a brilliant fight back by Stratford, a late surge by Cobras means they retain their eight point lead. Stratford must be gutted that all their hard work came to nothing.

3rd quarter ends 34 v 26 – to the Cobras

Final quarter ends with a fast paced finale. Cripwell scored with a high shot from the edge of the key. Beach scored, but missed his penalty shot. Baird dribbled the ball well under pressure, keeping possession for the Cobras and looking for new opportunities inside the key. Both sides got further chances to score. Taylor misses, but catches her own shot and passes to Cripwell who get in a close range shot. Boswell gets two chances and is unlucky not to score. Beach wriggles his way through Cobras defence to score. With five minutes left and just six points behind Stratford continue to push hard. The pace is intense, both sides repeatedly intercepting each others attacks, limiting the number of scoring opportunities. Gill scores. Taylor scores to give Cobras a 10 point lead. Daffern and Bunting attack again and Bunting scores. Bunting goes for a three pointer. Vaidya misses but Baird scores, ending the match as top scorer. It was an exciting end to match, either side could have won. Stratford looked a well balanced professional outfit, dominating the game in the third quarter. Cobras team were well organised and had good variety in their play – fast breaks and good shooting, especially from Baird, proved to be the deciding factor today. A hard earned victory, Cobras remain undefeated.

Final Score – Leicester Cobras 42 v Stratford Players 32.

Stratford Coach commented “It was very close. My team were poor in their passing and in their choice of passes, we gave the game to them. In the third quarter we came back strongly, played as we normally do, moved quickly and chose better options. We knew it was a big game, they are our main rivals. Leicester are a good team. We knew it would be tough, but the occasion got to our players and we played differently to the way we normally play. We need to play better and keep our heads in crucial matches.”

Cobras player Jignesh Vaidya said after the game “ We knew it would be a hard game, but our training paid off. We played as a team and worked very, very hard today. We changed things around in the third quarter and tried a three man press. This didn’t work and they got back into the match, we changed back to our original plan and it worked again. We got some crucial baskets, under intense pressure. Gus played extremely well, he has improved a lot and was also encouraging others throughout the match, which was very impressive.”

Cobras head coach and player Robbie Davy-Cripwell said “This has to be our best team performance this season. We worked really well together, our defence was tight and our long shooting was good. I was really worried about this game, they had beaten the Black Cats at home, which is very difficult - it was a relief when we won today. In the third quarter we came off the boil, they restricted us well and had many shots, we only came back strong and found gaps in the last minute of that quarter. By the fourth quarter, we knew we could stay ahead and just needed to run the clock down. They had to rush their shots, we took our chances and held the game right to the end - which was very impressive.”

Leicester Cobras: J. Vaidya, A. Baird, M. Foster, R. Davy-Cripwell, S. Gill, A. Huthwaite, G. Forryan, A. Corney, G. Bates, S. Taylor, D. Sims, L. Twomlow.

Stratford Players: A. Boswell (Capt), N. Bunting, D. Hall, R. Daffern, D. Smith, D. Webb, I. Beach.

Tremendous support from the bench and lots of spectators also seeing a great game.

Cobras scorers for the match against the Players were:

Gus Baird                             18
Steve Gill                             12
Jig Vaidya 6
Robby Davy-Crippwell   4
Sam Taylor                          2

Total                                     42

Qtrs                                   Cobras              Stratford
1                                              14                         12
2                                              12                           6
3                                              8                          8
4                                              8                           6

Totals                                   42                          32

The Leicester Cobras next match is in the New Year (on Saturday 12th January) when we travel up to Newark to take on the Jaguars.

Return to: Match Reports 2007/08

Cobras victorious over the Dynamos

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 17:00:21 +0100

Dynamos 29 v Leicester Cobras 57 - Another great win for the Cobras

Report by Mike Foster

Cobras showed their immediate dominance over the Dynamos by going 11 points to 4 in the first quarter with Gus Baird of the Cobras in fine form from the start. Second quarter increased the lead with some great play from the Cobras to 26 points to 10. The Cobras played a very tight defence making the Dynamos shoot from outside for almost every shot, mostly taken by Mike Goodneb, their danger man, who could shoot from most anywhere and scored 3 three point shots during the game with a total of 21 points. Cobras continued the pressure in the 3rd and 4th quarters with a final score of Dynamos 29 to Cobras 57.
Man of the match for the Cobras was Gus Baird who scored a massive 32 points with Jignesh Vaidya scoring 8 points that included 2 cool and calm three point baskets.

Quarter scores          Dynamos        Cobras
1                                  4                      11
2                                  6                      15
3                                  13                    14
4                                  6                      17

Totals                          29                     57

Points Scored per Player (Cobras)
Gus Baird                      32
Sam Taylor                    9
Jignesh Vaidya              8
Robby Davy-Cripwell     6
Sean Bramley                2

Total                             57

Cobras team were:
Gus Baird, Lorna Twomlow, Robby Davy-Cripwell, Jig Vaidya, Sean Bramley, Andy Corney, Grahame Forryan, Sam Taylor, Mike Foster, Dale Sims.

Sorry no photos for this match :-(

Return to: Match Reports 2007/08

Cobras victorious over the Maulers

Sat, 6 Oct 2007 17:00:45 +0100

Maulers 5 v Cobras 57

Report & photos by Ian Trott

The Leicester Cobras are now leading the 3rd division central league table after two wins from two matches. No other team so far this season has a 100% record in the 3rd division central.
The Cobras were expecting quite an easy match from the very young and inexperienced Maulers team who are very much in a rebuilding year after losing a lot of their players to rival teams over the summer. With that in mind a lot of the more experienced Cobras team didn't take part in last Saturdays match. In fact for four of the nine strong team it was either only their first or second league match.
After the tip off it was Sam Taylor (who is only starting her second season of wheelchair basketball) that took the first basket. She went on to put baskets in with more and more confidence as the match progressed, ending up the top scorer (with 19 points) for the first time.
As the quarter progressed the Cobras slowly but surely started to stretch a lead. Aided with encouragement and instruction from Robby Davy-Crippwell (the Cobras head coach and player) who was very busy instructing and guiding the new players.
Adrian Huthwaite, who was taking part in only his second match, made a great impression with some confident shooting inside and outside the key. By the end of the match he had scored 8 points, which is even more impressive when you realise he only play is less than half the match.
Other Cobras players who were making their debt in this match were Dale Sims, George Bates and Lorna Twomlow. Dale gained a lot of valuable experience in his first appearance for the Cobras making several shots at the basket unfortunately none went in. But his time will come.
Lorna did a great job in her first match scoring 4 points and having many more attempts at the basket.
In the second quarter Angus Baird stamped his authority on the score sheet putting in a lot of very confident baskets. By the end of the match Gus raked up 16 points in total. He would have had more but he only played for one and a half quarters as he was sharing point duty with Cobras new comer George Bates. George did a fantastic job at point in his first match, he has only been playing wheelchair basket for a few months but wasn't fazed at all with a very solid performance. He even managed to score a basket in the last minute of the last quarter.
The third quarter was quite a quiet one for the Cobras in only 5 points were scored, the Maulers had their strongest score of 3 points in this quarter.

At the start of the fourth quarter and the Cobras decided to run through a few more routines for the new players, one of which was a full court press. This brought some objection from one or two of the Maulers. But as Robby (the Cobras head coach) said, it was only for two minutes and it was as much of a learning experience for the inexperienced Maulers as it was for the inexperienced Cobras players.
The final score was 57 v 5 to the Cobras. With a score like that it might appear that the Maulers were a "push over". But to their credit they fought hard all the way through the match and never gave up. It was only a very tight Cobras defence which limited their scoring as they just didn't have the power for a lot of outside shots.

Points Scored per Quarter
Quarters Maulers Cobras
1st             2             13
2nd             0             15
3rd                3                5
4th                0             24

Totals 5 57

Points Scored per Player (Cobras)
Sam Taylor                19pts (first time top scorer)
Gus Baird 16pts
Adrian Huthwaite       8pts (in only his 2nd league match)
Robby Davy-Crippwell 8pts
Lorna Twomlow 4pts (in only her 1st league match)
George Bates 2pts (in only his 1st league match)

Total                           57pts

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Cobras victorious over the Black Cats

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:00:46 +0100

Black Cats 36 v Cobras 38

Report & photos by Ian Trott

In a very hard fought match the Cobras managed to claw back victory after under performing in the first half of the match. Despite the Cobras taking the first basket the Black Cats soon took control of the match.

At the end of the first quarter the score was 13 v 6 to the Black Cats.
In the second quarter the Cobras tightened up the defence but their shooting just wasn’t going in.

The second quarter ended 19 v 10 to the Black Cats.
Over half time a good team talk seemed to refocus the Cobras as they came out with all guns blazing, scoring 18 points to the Black Cats 8.
The third quarter ended 28 v 27 to the Cobras.

Into the final quarter and the Black Cats seem to get the measure of the Cobras attacking play. It was basket for basket and with just over a minute to go the score stood level at 36 points each. Into the last minute and Jig put up what turned out to be the winning basket for the Cobras. But with just seconds left the Black Cats went for a desperate three pointer. It just bounced of the back board with 2 seconds left and the match was over.

This match was a real test of the Cobras ability to get their heads down and fight back. It did have the Cobras bench living on their nerves though!
The final score was 38 v 36 to the Cobras.

Points Scored per Quarter
Quarters Black Cats Cobras
1st 13 6
2nd 6 4
3rd 8 18
4th 9 10

Points Scored per Player (Cobras)
Gus Baird 14pts
Steve Gill 8pts
Jig Vaidya 8pts
Sam Taylor 6pts
Robby Davy-Crippwell 2pts

Total 38pts

Return to: Match Reports 2007/08