Leeds Force: Marsden's eyeing an upset against the Eagles

The Force host the league leaders and BBL Cup winners Newcastle Eagles tonight before making over a 600-mile round trip to Plymouth on Sunday.

Leeds came close to ending their six-game losing run against the Surrey Scorchers last weekend but lost in final seconds of the game.

“The defeat was hard to take against Surrey,” said Marsden. “We ran them really close but in the end they had the luck.

“It could have easily been a different outcome if Rob’s (Sandoval) attempt bounced in, but it didn’t so we have to move on.”

Move on is something the roster have done and Marsden believes the team are ready to entertain the team 10 places above them in the league.

He added: “Surrey is out of our system now. We took the positives from the game and are now fully looking at beating Newcastle and showing everyone we can mix it with anyone on the court.”

Newcastle currently lead the three-game series 1-0 after beating the Force 91-86 at the Carnegie Sports Arena in late November.

The Force put the Eagles to the sword in the game and even had a lead of 12 points at one stage in the game.

Marsden said: “We played really well in the first game. We were the aggressors and took the game to them so we know we can hurt them.

“If we can close the game better then I think you can see us picking up the win. That will give us huge confidence going into Plymouth.”

The Force will have to recover quickly as they are back in action on Sunday against the Raiders who are flying in sixth.

Leeds will be out to level the series with Plymouth as well as they are the second team this season to put over 100 points past the Force.

Marsden added: “We are looking forward to playing Plymouth, they did a number on us at home. We contributed to that by playing so poorly. We have been waiting for this fixture so we can put things right.”

Breaking the losing duck and getting points on the board will be vital for Leeds as they look to gain ground on the play-off pack.

Marsden said: “We are not where we want to be in terms of league standings. We can’t afford to drift too far behind the pack.”

Leeds currently sit 11th with six points, eight points behind the Scorchers who occupy eighth. Vitally for the Force, Surrey have played four more games than Leeds.