Men's NVL Firsts Vs. Nottingham Rockets
Sunday 13th December 2009
The men's second game of the day proved a much trickier affair than the previous one against Middlesbrough. Despite already beating Nottingham 3-0 earlier in the season the men could see that with a few new faces in the Nottingham ranks, they promised to be a much different proposition this time round.
Coach Graham Fowler made changes by resting middle Kieron Bradley due to a persistent ankle injury and introduced a new Polish middle into the game. The game started evenly with both teams exchanging points until 15-15. However the Birmingham team began to pull away with some smart thinking in attack from Tomasz Tomzak and Nikolay Nikolov against what was proving to be a 'brick wall' of a block. However despite taking the lead, Birmingham began to allow Nottingham back into the set. However some good setting from Carl Butcher allowed Birmingham to creep over the line and take the set.
The second set started in the same vain however some lapses in concentration allowed Nottingham to take a commanding lead mid-way through the set. At this point Fowler introduced Ronald Koko, Bradley and Marcin Pavlak into the set. The Birmingham team began to claw points back however the Nottingham lead proved to be too big and they eventually saw the set out. Birmingham knew that they had to momentum going into the third set. Fowler left his substitutes from the previous set on the court and despite some strong attacking from the Nottingham middle the Birmingham team were able to keep his points to a minimum with Nikolov and Bradley beginning to block some of his powerful attacks. Some strong attacking from Tomszak and Peter Nash kept Birmingham in the set and allowed them to take the lead. However once again they allowed Nottingham back into the set. However once again the Birmingham strength of mind allowed them to see the set out and take a 2-1 lead. At this point Birmingham felt that they could win this game in the fourth set. They took a commanding lead at the beginning of the set thanks to good distribution from Butcher and good attack from all players along with good blocking and defence. Birmingham were able this time to hang onto the lead and with Fowler making changes late on in the set, Birmingham were able to run out winners and take the match 3-1.This not only gave Birmingham their 11th win of the season but also made sure, thanks to other results, that they will sit at the top of the tree over the Christmas period.
Match Facts
Competition: National League 3N.
Played: Away.
Result: Won 3-1.
Set Scores: 22-25, 25-18, 22-25, 13-25.