MANCHESTER SWARM 74-69 LIVERPOOL
(Q1: 18-23, Q2: 14-18, Q3: 17-16, Q4: 25-12)
TOP SCORERS:
- MANCHESTER SWARM: Joseph Swindells (16 Pts); Nathan Schall (15 Pts); Louis Weaver (12 Pts).
- LIVERPOOL: Kildisas (16 Pts); Parkinson (11 Pts); Deveney (10 Pts).
Manchester Swarm came through a nail biter in the first part of a league-cup double header against rivals Liverpool. The 5-point victory sees the Manchester outfit take top spot overnight.
Following a pedestrian outing in the last game, Swarm were met by a determined Liverpool side right from the tip off, the visitors taking the early lead in the game. Second chance points were the story of the period, with Liverpool benefitting from the extra possessions to lead by 5 going into the 2nd quarter.
It was more of the same for the 2021/22 third-placed team, as they exploited some uncharacteristically poor Swarm transition defense to push their lead out further. Swarm were able to get to the freethrow line often enough to keep the deficit in single digits, going into the long break 9-points in arrears.
In the absence of the talismanic Barry Webster, rebounding was at a premium for the hosts, and the 3rd period saw debutant Antonio Darkwa step up efforts in that regard, injecting an energy into the game that had been missing early on. With both sides trading scores for the entire period, there was barely any change in the margin, however Manchester claimed the slightest of edges over the 10 minutes to inch 1 point closer.
The 4th quarter would finally see Swarm shift up a gear as they used a strong defensive effort to first close the gap, then nudge ahead for the win. Nathan Schall drove the final nail in the visitors' coffin with a crucial score out of a timeout with less than 35 seconds left to end the game as a contest.
Coach Mpofu offered his thoughts on the game: "First things first, Liverpool are a hell of a team. You can never be caught slacking against them. They hit us in the mouth in the first-half, and were well worth their lead. I wasn't particularly enamoured with our performance, but I was impressed with our resiliance. The guys never got down, and kept plugging away, and it eventually paid off once we got to the 4th quarter. At home like this we have to be a tough out, and we eventually showed that we're capable of making it tough on teams to play, but be have to be far better than we were at the beginning. Now we have to turn this around quickly and go at it again tomorrow. We know what we need to do."
Manchester Swarm play Liverpool at home again on 9 October (16:00) in a National Cup Round 2 fixture at NBPC Belle Vue.
