Fan power can help us against Flyers says Matthew

Leeds Force Guard Eddie Matthew has called on the fans to reproduce the deafening atmosphere from last week as they look to win back-to-back home games, writes Arif Ahmed.
Matt NewbyMatt Newby
Matt Newby

Leeds Force Guard Eddie Matthew has called on the fans to reproduce the deafening atmosphere from last week as they look to win back-to-back home games.

The Force produced a scintillating performance a week ago as they ran out winners for the first time in their history against the Newcastle Eagles.

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A major part of getting over the line was the noise created by the fans and Matthew hopes they can help do the same against the Bristol Flyers at the Carnegie Sports Arena tomorrow (4pm start).

Matthew said: “The atmosphere was just incredible against Newcastle. It was that loud we didn’t actually know what they were chanting.

“It helped push us on and when they get going it really did help us on the court. If they can do that against Bristol we could level the series.”

Bristol do have the advantage in the three-game series after they beat the Force 96-79 on their own patch in December.

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A win for Leeds would take the series to a decider later in the season and could be important in the play-off push for the Force.

Matthew added: “Coach (Matt) Newby has mentioned this to us during the week about the importance of levelling the series with Bristol. It could be the difference come the end of the year of being in the play-offs or not.”

Having beaten the recent BBL Cup winners the confidence of the side rose dramatically and the defeat to Plymouth 48 hours later hasn’t dampened the spirits in the locker room.

“Beating Newcastle was huge for us,” added Matthew. “The confidence in the side has returned to what it was like earlier in the season.

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“We couldn’t get the win against Plymouth a few days later but I think we still played well despite not having our top scorer Jermaine (Sanders).”

With the focus now on the Flyers, Matthew hopes he can continue with his contribution to the team when out on the floor.

He added: “I would say I am happy with my work on the court. Against Newcastle I may not have hit many buckets but defensively I helped the team a lot. Against Plymouth I put up something like 14 points in 24 minutes so my game is coming along nicely.”