Trophy a chance to end barren run
Swimmers can Focus on future after group’s backing
NEWCASTLE have their eyes on the prize tonight as the WBBL Trophy opens up a much-needed route to redemption for the embattled Eagles.
Chris Bunten’s side has lost nine of the last 10 games in all competitions and endured back-to-back defeats last weekend.
But the visit of Manchester Mystics in the Trophy quarter-finals offers a potentially season-saving shot at glory for a Newcastle team desperate to end a horrible run.
“We targeted this game some time ago as the match that could make or break our season,” said Bunten.
“We’re in the more favourable half of the draw and we’ve already beaten Manchester this season.
“I don’t like losing games of basketball but if I’d been offered just one win in February then this is the one I’d have taken.
“As a team we’ve come through some serious adversity this season but we’ve been working towards the Mystics tie for a number of weeks.
“I was hoping we’d peak this week and in terms of performances we hit a season high on Sunday against London Lions.
“We lost the game but the players won my respect. They played as one, stuck to the game plan and probably didn’t deserve to be on the losing team.”
Newcastle last won at Oaklands Wolves on January 23 but the Eagles had chances to close out each of their last four matches.
Narrow defeats to
Cardiff Met Archers and Caledonia Pride were opportunities lost and cocaptain Rachael Bland said: “We know we’re better than our league position suggests.
“The Trophy tie is a chance to prove we can mix it with the best teams in the league. “London was the start of that and I think we showed glimpses of our potential throughout that game. “We weren’t prepared to sink as low as we did against the Pride the day before. As a group of players we agreed that the performance up there was unacceptable.
“Sunday was the right response and filled us with confidence heading into the Manchester match.” Bland’s return to action has been a huge boost to a Newcastle team running out of time to salvage a disappointing campaign.
But the guard’s return has coincided with an injury to Ruth Thornley.
And Jorjah Smith’s absence for the majority of the London clash once again left the Eagles short-handed.
“Jorjah should be able to play a bigger role this week,” added Bunten. “She had a horrible blister on her big toe that popped towards the end of the Pride game.
“She tried to run it off against London but she was in agony.
“It’s more or less cleared up now so that’s an extra body that we badly need against Manchester.”
Newcastle defeated the Mystics in November before Manchester exacted revenge a month later.
The Eagles have lost both Mante Kvederaviciute and Lisa Koop since the last time the two teams met.
“We’ve proved that we can hang with the big teams before this season and we need to do that again,” added Bland.
“We have a lot of talent in this team and we need to believe in that and believe in ourselves.
“Of course, Manchester pose a challenge but our target is to make the semi-finals.”
Tonight’s clash tips off at 7pm. Visit the Eagles’ website for details of how to watch the live stream.
ONE of the North East’s oldest swimming clubs is ready to make a splash in 2021 after being selected as a GiveToLocal Focus Club.
Gateshead and Whickham ASC was founded more than a century ago and is home to more than 200 members.
However, a combination of cancelled galas and fewer swimmers returning to the sport following the first national lockdown has adversely affected the club’s coffers.
Officials applied to become a GiveToLocal Focus Club in the hope of generating fresh funds and offsetting 2020’s losses.
Club treasurer Matthew Grant said: “We believe GiveToLocal’s service is the best way for us to generate the additional funding we need to offset the operating losses.
“Working with them we have the potential to generate significant income from new donors and sponsors and therefore we don’t require parents to increase their monthly fees.
“Swimmers at the club have a great track record in supporting fundraising activities and I think that is what made a positive impression with the team at GiveToLocal.”
He added: “During the first lockdown, the club launched a fundraising initiative to fund the purchase of a new set of swimming starting blocks.
“Swimmers in the squads all recorded the distance that they ran, walked, cycled or swam in open water during the last week in May, with the target of reaching the distance from Gateshead to Budapest (1,200 miles).
“Budapest is where the European Swimming Championships would have been held last year.
“The total miles achieved by the swimmers were actually double the target and the club raised £7,000 towards the target of £7,500.
“As a GiveToLocal Focus Club I am sure we can achieve even more. We were delighted when our application was successful.”
GiveToLocal is the North East-based national organisation on a mission to pump an additional £10m annually into community sport.
Its aim is to back sport, boost businesses and build networks with a focus on supporting players, coaches, parents and volunteers across the UK.
The Focus Club initiative was launched to throw the spotlight on proactive clubs committed to fee-free fundraising using GiveToLocal’s innovative app.
GiveToLocal CEO Neil Gardiner said: “It is clear Gateshead and Whickham ASC are proactive and committed when it comes to fundraising.
“That is what we are looking for in our Focus Clubs. Although we are a national organisation we are proud of our North East roots.
“It is great to see a local swimming club come to the fore and submit such an outstanding application.
“I am confident Gateshead and Whickham ASC can make giant strides as one of our Focus Clubs and we cannot wait to help the club plan for a bright future.”
Via the GiveToLocal app, Gateshead and Whickham ASC has the potential to connect with hundreds of local donors who are asked to pledge a minimum of £3 per month and in return can access a growing number of offers from local businesses.
GiveToLocal is working closely with Gateshead and Whickham ASC to bring on board local businesses as sponsors. A minimum £8 per month donation can connect firms at the heart of the community with new customers and help to support sport in the process.
Grant added: “We are proud to provide a borough-wide centre across Gateshead for swimming which encourages enjoyment and progression within the sport.
“We are a professionally-run, amateur swimming club with every section providing qualified coaches offering targeted training. Our swimmers enjoy a great deal of success at county, regional and national levels.
“Achieving an additional income stream from new donors and sponsors via the GTL scheme will significantly reduce our annual operating loss and help to make the club sustainable financially.
“Without a significant injection of new sustainable funding, there is a risk the club will not be able to continue in the near future.”
For more information on how your club could benefit from becoming part of the GiveToLocal community visit www.givetolocal. com/clubs.
‘YOU have to win games in a number of different ways.’
That was Lee Johnson’s assessment in the wake of his team’s latest win against Fleetwood Town.
Looking back over the last ten days in Sunderland’s season, they appear to have discovered that knack.
Johnson was comparing the performance against the Cod Army with that at Burton at the weekend but he might just as well have included the previous league game against Doncaster Rovers, too.
Against Doncaster, Aiden McGeady and Charlie Wyke formed a devastatingly effective double-act.
At Burton, Sunderland switched to a 3-4-3 system and played the struggling Brewers off the park.
While the Black Cats did not hit the same heights against Fleetwood, they still found a way to win. After weathering a strong start from the visitors at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland dominated for the remainder of the game. However, in a tight first hour, the Wearsiders had to be patient and keep on testing and probing the Fleetwood defence. Their 3-4-3 formation did not cause the visitors enough problems in the first half but Johnson had prepared a Plan B just in case.
The change to a back four at half-time did the trick when Aiden O’Brien took advantage of flat-footed defending to head home McGeady’s cross. Simon Grayson, formerly of this parish and now in charge at Fleetwood, could only offer a wry smile he was the manager who brought McGeady to Wearside in the summer of 2017.
Max Power then capitalised on non-existent marking to head in from a corner inside the final ten minutes.
Incredibly, it was Sunderland’s first win against Fleetwood - this being their seventh meeting in all competitions.
It also marked three league wins in a row for the Black Cats for the first time this season - for the first time in a year, in actual fact.
With promotion rivals Lincoln City, Hull City and Charlton Athletic, all dropping points, it was a very good night for Johnson and his men.
Sunderland climbed to fifth in the table and trimmed the gap between themselves and the automatic promotion places to seven points.
As far as the bigger picture is concerned, this win - and the current winning run - builds on the sense of optimism Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’ takeover has fostered on Wearside.
At half-time, the club broadcast Louis-Dreyfus’ first interview since taking control and Sunderland fans have reacted with positivity to the vision he set out.
He acknowledged the magnitude of the task ahead, particularly given the financial landscape caused by the pandemic.
He still believes Sunderland can win promotion this season but won’t ‘panic’ if it does not come to pass.
The Black Cats set out this season with promotion the sole focus and that must remain the case.
However, in the Swiss billionaire heir, Sunderland at least have an owner who can absorb losses and bankroll them in League One should they miss out again.
This win builds on the optimism Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’ takeover has fostered on Wearside James Hunter