Men's Regional 2 Vs. Tamworth Storm
Sunday 18th January 2009
On Sunday 18th January 2009, UBVC Men's West Midlands team was knocked out of the West Midlands cup after losing against Tamworth Storm 3-2 at home. Even though the Tamworth Storm team was the favourite in the clash, the Birmingham team was not prepared to give in without a fight. The match itself was delayed for about half an hour, and later on this delay played an important role in the defeat of the Birmingham team.
At the very start of the match it could have been seen that this was going to be a tight clash. Neither of the teams managed to get more than three points ahead of the other and the lead switched constantly between the teams. However, at the very end of the set, Birmingham setter, Dalla Fontana, was infuriated by, to his view, a dubious decision of the referee. This incident disturbed the concentration in the Birmingham team, which was exploited by the more experienced Tamworth team, who won the set 25-23.
The start of the second set was also very even. However, towards the end of the set Birmingham, led by Damian Wabisch's strong and accurate hitting, managed to get a four point advantage at the score of 19-15. This time Birmingham players kept their heads cool and held on till the end of the set, winning 25-22.
The start of the third set was rather bad for Birmingham, and soon they found themselves six points behind, losing 0-6. Tamworth Storm kept their advantage till the very end of the set, when at the score 23-19 for the visiting team, Joe Ng took the game into his hands. Joe's serving turned the tide of the set, and at the end of his show Birmingham had equalised the score at 24-24. In what was expected to be a dramatic finish, Birmingham used the lack of concentration in the Tamworth team to score two easy points, winning the set 26-24.
Before the start of the fourth set, the high morale in the home team was damaged by the fact that the gym was booked for only fifteen minutes more. The prospect of winning the match against a higher level team put some pressure on the inexperienced Birmingham team and was compounded heavily by the necessity of making it a quick win.
Birmingham started the fourth set without their first setter, Dalla Fontana, who was substituted in the previous set by Fook Goon due to cramps in his calf muscles. Again it was a tight set, but towards the end of it Tamworth took control and won the set 25-20.
The start of the fifth set saw the return of Dalla Fontana in the first six. At that time the sport centre personnel were urging the players to end the match as soon as possible, which put much more pressure on Birmingham, as the home team, than it did on the visitors. At the change the teams were still very close, with Birmingham losing 7-8. However, at this point some of the Birmingham players lost their concentration, which was again, as in the first set, exploited by Tamworth who won the set 15-11, and the match 3-2.
Match Facts
Competition: West Midlands KO Cup.
Played: Home.
Result: Lost 2-3.
Set Scores: 23-25, 25-22, 26-24, 20-25, 11-15.