In their final match before Christmas, UEL emerged 66-55 victors at SportsDock to round off 2018 on a positive note. After the final buzzer, there was an air of confidence about Alli-Balogun’s ambitions for his team:
“I was one of the few people that thought that we should really be trying to compete to win the league. You can’t go into the league thinking that you’re going to lose every game and just playing to stay up. If anything, I’m more convinced that we can win the league.
“We played the team that’s undefeated, we took ten points without our whole team. Our best player got fouled out, so I’m pretty much convinced we have a chance to win the league. It’s a little bit out of our control, Essex haven’t lost enough games for us to catch up, so they need to lose some games but if that happens, we have a good chance of finishing first or second.”
Health Check
After winning just one of their opening four league games, UEL have experienced a resurgence having orchestrated a run of four consecutive league victories. Alli-Balogun believes a clean bill of health has been crucial to unlocking this good run of form:
“We’ve got everyone healthy, finally! I say everyone, Charlotte is missing today as she got hurt in last week’s game so we’re not 100% healthy. By January we’ll be healthy again, just having everyone there. We’ve just brought Ash back from last year so we’re trying to integrate her into the offence. It’s going to take time for us to really get clicking.”
Room To Reflect
Despite getting the right result against London South Bank, the performance levels failed to meet Alli-Balogun’s expectations:
“It wasn’t one of our better performances. We played more to the level of the opposition as opposed to what our talent level dictates. Our talent level is way higher than our performance level today. That’s something we need to address but we’re going into the Christmas break with a win, so I can’t complain too much.”
Familiar Foes
UEL went into this encounter having faced South Bank only a week ago where they came away with a 58-77 victory. Alli-Balogun thinks playing the same opponent in consecutive weeks can both benefit and hinder preparation:
“We know their personnel a little bit better so that helps. In a way no because of how the game was last week it made us a little complacent, we didn’t really play to the level that we should have because of that.”
Balancing Act
An extended break means UEL are not due back in action until January 16th, where they will travel to face Cardiff Metropolitan University. Alli-Balogun stressed the need to manage rest and recovery while staying in shape:
“We’ve got a lot of old bodies on our team and it’s important they get their rest. In that sense it’s good, a lot of the girls play for professional teams outside of UEL so obviously their bodies are wearing down as well. It’s good for them to get a break too.
“I actually said to them after the game make sure you do something, even if it’s run outside. Their reaction was interesting, but I know they’ll do stuff. They’ll get in and shoot so I’m not too worried about that, but it’s going to hit them hard when we come back.”
More The Merrier
Despite a nervous start, UEL have brushed away the cobwebs and found their feet on unfamiliar territory. They couldn’t have wished for a better Christmas present than an upturn in fortunes and will hope that the New Year brings further success.
