You will struggle to find a city more vibrant and lively than Newcastle on the final Friday evening before Santa comes to visit, this was not the case in the Vertu Motors Arena,

The Newcastle Eagles performance felt lifeless from the first whistle. Even the crowd displayed a lack of energy in the first quarter of the game as the Gladiators took advantage and took an early lead into the end of the quarter.

No matter what they tried, the Eagles lacked rhythm and could not get the ball moving they wanted to in the opening period. The Gladiators did their namesake proud as they fiercely defended their basket on every possession and when Newcastle finally got to their spots, it felt like the ball just would not fall for them.

Cole Long racked up eight points late in the quarter – sinking two beautiful 3-point shot attempts – to prevent the deficit from becoming insurmountable – the score sitting at 14-19 going into the first break.

Caledonia smelled blood as they action restarted in the second quarter, with Elijah Cain and Jared Wilson-Frame scoring a 3 point-attempt which silenced the crowd even further.

Darius Defoe responded with four points of his own as he bullied his way into the paint, refusing to let this tie get out of control for the home side.

However, the Gladiators went on a devastating run where it seemed like the ball had some kind of magnet attached to it as they sank shot after shot. Each time Marc Steutal’s side would respond, rousing the crowd, the side from Scotland would sink another devastating blow.

If you asked any home fan what they wanted from Father Christmas in that first half, they would have told you that they just wanted the half-time whistle to blow. Fortunately, he must have checked his list for a second time and decided the crowd had been good this year. The curtain closed on the second quarter as the Newcastle Eagles trailed the Caledonia Gladiators – 31-47.

With a 16 point deficit to claw back, the Eagles were going to need a gigantic effort from both players and fans if there was any chance of keeping this tie competitive.

Darius Defoe and Mike Okauru knew the assignment and did not shy away from it. The duo came back onto the floor with a vendetta. Suddenly, it was like someone had injected a sense of urgency into the offense.

Defoe and Okauru put early points onto the board, with Allen-Eikens getting involved in the action by scoring a couple of 3-point attempts of his own.

It felt like there was a shift of momentum inside of the Vertu Motors arena as buckets continued to fall – the home crowd could feel the energy that the players were putting into bringing this game back into touch.

Okauru continued to relentlessly chop down the deficit and the Eagles ended the third quarter in touching distance of taking control of this cup tie – 64-71.

One last big push was needed from Steutal and his players to complete the turnaround, that many would have thought was impossible at the half-time break.

Both sides began the quarter exchanging blows and it seemed like neither team were willing to give the other an advantage. It was going to be a long quarter for both sets of fans.

Again, Defoe and Okauru put the team on their back and continued to star as they looked to bring the two sides level.

Although, it would be Allen-Eikens that would convert to layup to give Newcastle a slender lead – that would inevitably be their only lead of the contest.

The side from Scotland regained the lead and refused to let it go as they put a dampener on any early Christmas celebrations in the city of Newcastle.

Black-eyed Friday truly lived up to its name in that second half as both sides landed some killer punches but it would be the Caledonia Gladiators who landed the knockout blow and would advance to the second round of the SLB cup.

It will feel like an opportunity missed for the Newcastle Eagles as they are left to rue a slow opening to the game. Despite the players never laying down their swords, it was not meant to be for the most successful side in English basketball league history.