BASKETBALL:BORD GÁIS Neptune are back on track in the Nivea for Men's SuperLeague after a hugely significant 74-67 away win over UL Eagles. It was a vital win for Neptune, who were in danger of being overtaken by UCC Demons at the top of the Southern Conference.

Mark Scannell’s side had suffered the ignominy of a 35-point defeat to bitter rivals Demons on Friday night, and yesterday’s victory was a timely boost to morale.

Scannell was keen to rectify what he had described as “an unacceptable defensive performance” against Demons, and the squad have been working on tightening the rearguard in the aftermath of that defeat.

Scannell said: “We are a very proud team. We didn’t do ourselves justice the other night. Everybody, myself included, knew we needed to improve on that, and to be fair we have worked very hard in the last few days. We put it right tonight and got a much-needed win. We have now beaten UL in the head-to-head this season which could be hugely important when it comes to the play-offs.”

Elsewhere in the Southern Conference, UCC Demons continued their impressive run of form to see off the challenge of Moycullen with a final score of 88-65.

It has been an encouraging Christmas period for Paul Kelleher’s Demons side, still riding on the crest of that impressive victory over Neptune on Friday.

In the aftermath of that victory, Kelleher was keen to stress the need for focus, insisting the derby result needed to be followed by victory against Moycullen.

“We were on a high after the Neptune result, but we knew the first five minutes of this game would determine the tempo of the game,” said Kelleher. “The lads started really well and showed a great hunger and attitude.”