Bears boss generous in defeat

POOLE PIRATES 52 REDCAR BEARS 38 (KO Cup Final, 1st leg)

- By KEITH MCGHIE

GAVIN Parr was forced to concede that: “Poole are just a very, very good side” after a second comprehensive defeat of his Redcar side in just 72 hours.

But the ‘never say die’ Bears boss was keen to encourage as many people as possible to come along to the ECCO Arena tonight when the Teessiders bid to overcome a seemingly insurmountable 14-point deficit in order to claim the Championship Knockout Cup.

The 2019 cup winners were knocked out of the league playoffs 96-84 on aggregate last Sunday and the treble-chasing Pirates remained in punishing form on their own Wimborne Road track on Wednesday to now stand set to repeat the double which resulted in a 100-79 cup final defeat of Redcar in 2022.