Having clipped the wings of a well-organised Newcastle Eagles U14 79-42 the previous week, we knew that a trip to play arch rivals Sheffield Hatters would be more testing. It was. The challenge wasn’t made any easier when our opponents lovingly moved the tip-off time an hour forward to 11.00. This meant I had to set my alarm early enough for me to wake up almost before I went to sleep!

I mention this only because it provides me with an excuse for muddling up the numbers for our 5 starters – I was still half asleep! In yet another senior moment, I gave Elsa’s number as her usual 12 as we prepared to win the tip. It wasn’t and we didn’t. Elsa was #14. Maisie was #12 so she had to start and pretend to be a foot taller than she is for the briefest cameo appearance on record.

This did not influence our excellent start which resulted in a dominant 17-9 opening 10 minutes. We soon extended the lead which prompted me to be more liberal with substitutions than perhaps I should have been. Sheffield took advantage of this and our foul trouble to eventually shade what was a ‘close encounter of the second kind’ by a point at 13-14.

Their full court press had caused a few problems just before the break but with fewer changes for the majority of the third period these were easily overcome thanks to some smart thinking by our guards. We now controlled the tempo again and excellent team defence helped us push the margin up to 20 at one point.

Such a comfortable lead again presented me with the opportunity to share court time more equitably. Consequently, the fourth quarter was as even as any number which isn’t odd. It ended all square at 14-14 to give us a fully deserved 66-49 victory via a team performance which was as polished as my dining table. Sheffield’s only other defeat was at the hands of Birmingham who we play the week before and the week after the Christmas break in what look like being league deciders.

Sincere thanks to James, Annmarie and Lorna for their invaluable assistance and to those parents/grandparents who aqua-planed their way along the A57 Snake Pass which has more twists and turns in it than any Agatha Christie crime novel. The good news is we have to do it all again next Saturday when we are away to Sheffield’s U16s.