Melbourne United secure Good Friday win over Cairns

Melbourne United kept their winning streak alive with a strong win over the Cairns Taipans on Good Friday at John Cain Arena.

Throughout a variety of methods, including sponsor and fan donations, Melbourne United raised a total of $36,633 for The Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal. Melbourne United would like to sincerely thank everyone who donated, including sponsors SodaStream, Sportsbet, DrinkWise, Roll'd Vietnamese, Tyrepower, Dreamstreet Lending and Hoop City.

The win, which was powered by superstars Jock Landale and Chris Goulding, was United’s fourth in a row. The only sour note on the evening for Melbourne was an apparent achilles injury to rising star Jack White.

In an entertaining first five minutes of game time, it was a battle between White and Scott Machado as they traded buckets from long range and in the paint. When Cairns’ Jordan Ngatai drilled a triple halfway through the term, the Taipans held a one-point lead, 10-9.

An 8-0 run in under a minute powered by Goulding and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. gave United a seven-point lead, 17-10, and it was Lual-Acuil Jr. who kept the scoreboard ticking over for Melbourne as the first quarter wound down. At the first break, United held a 26-21 lead.

Melbourne jumped further ahead in the opening stages of the second quarter as Landale was involved in everything and helped United go on a big 11-0 run to hold a 13-point lead, 39-26, after four minutes of play.

Machado and Ngatai calmed things down for the Taipans but Goulding kept it going from deep to keep United in the lead. Cam Oliver hit a pair of triples in the closing minutes of the first half to bring Cairns back into the game and at the main break Melbourne’s lead sat at four points, 49-45.

Landale (11 points and 6 rebounds) and Goulding (9 points) paced United in the opening 20 minutes, while Ngatai (13 points and 4 rebounds), Machado and Nate Jawai (9 points each) kept the Taipans in the game.

The second half got off to a great start for United with a 7-0 run, which included another Goulding triple and when White connected on a pair of free throws halfway through the term Melbourne boasted a 10-point lead, 62-52.

Jarrod Kenny helped the Taipans fightback into the contest with back-to-back three-pointers and when he nailed his third triple of the term with just over two minutes left, Cairns trailed by seven points, 68-61.

The mood inside John Cain Arena quickly turned when United young gun Jack White went down gripping his lower leg in the final couple of the minutes of the quarter. White left the game immediately and wouldn’t return. Initial injury assessments suggest White has suffered a serious achilles injury that will require further scans in the coming days.

United had to re-group after the White injury, and a Mason Peatling and-1 with 45 seconds remaining in the term settled things down. At the final break, Melbourne held a nine-point lead, 73-64.

To Cairns’ credit, they wouldn’t go away as Oliver remained involved in everything and the away team cut the deficit to just four points, 75-71, after two minutes of play. A Landale and-1 play steadied the ship, before Scotty Hopson drained a jump shot to have United back in control with an 11-point lead with 5:31 on the clock.

Hopson hit a big triple with just one minute left and when Landale scored a lay-up with 38 seconds remaining, Melbourne was all but home as they eventually ran out 10-point winners, 95-85.

Landale (20 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists) was massive in another dominant display, while Goulding (16 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists) and Hopson (14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists) were instrumental.

Mitch McCarron (6 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists) was also important, while White (11 points and 5 rebounds) was in fine form before his injury.

Oliver (19 points and 12 rebounds) and Ngatai (17 points and 5 rebounds) were best for the Taipans.

The win sees Melbourne claim their fourth win on the trot and will look to make it five in a row on Sunday when they face Cairns once again. Tip off is at 5pm in Cairns.