Northumbria Lose Grip On Cup

Team Northumbria have failed to defend their National Cup title after falling at the first hurdle against Nottingham Hoods.

In the biggest upset of the third round - the stage at which the top flight teams enter the competition - the Division Two side knocked out Marc Steutel’s men on the back of a 66-63 win.

And TN must now regroup ahead of Wednesday’s BUCS fixture against Loughborough at Sport Central.

“The Nottingham match was a hard game to analyse,” admitted a disappointed Steutel.

“We played well defensively throughout and I really thought we did a good job limiting their shooting opportunities at times.

“Credit to Nottingham who did a good job in stifling our offence and really dominating the physical side of the match. I just want to wish them the best of luck in the next round.

“For us it’s a case of moving on and making sure we prepare properly for a tough Loughborough team in our opening BUCS fixture.”

TN’s 2017 National Cup win was a significant highlight en route to an historic double-winning season.

And despite a relatively unkind away draw against one of the rising forces of Division Two hoops, Steutel will be wondering what went wrong against lower league opposition.

The hosts opened up a three-point lead at the end of the first quarter as TN struggled to step out of second gear.

However, the visitors appeared to hit their stride in the second quarter to take the period by nine points and establish a solid advantage.

The Hoods reduced the deficit by a point during a tight third quarter.

And the Division Two league leaders caught TN cold down the stretch to take the final period 22-14 and book their place in round four.