JUST when it looked as if Watford Royals were finally in the mood to capture their first win in the Budweiser League, bad luck thwarted them at Newcastle on Friday.

Two wins in the Uniball Trophy could not compensate for 14 successive league defeats but Vince Macaulay-Razaq's side had performed admirably at Greater London Leopards the previous week and hopes were high.

However, they were effectively dashed after just 15 minutes when both the impressive Phil Powe and the inspirational Cleave Lewis were sidelined.

Powe was unable to continue after deciding he was fit after a obtaining a twisted ankle in training, but he broke down after five minutes, closely followed by Lewis with a pulled hamstring.

Consequently, Newcastle were able to win for the first time in five attempts at home, taking a 43-25 lead into half-time.

Despite Jimmy Ratliff scoring the final quarter's first eight points, they were unable to close the gap and the home side took 15 of the last 18 points to win 89-65.

Royals were also without Alan Hopper, due to work commitments while Ernesto Moreno top-scored with 19 points.

Royals' second defeat of the weekend came at Renault Leicester Riders despite an excellent performance from Moreno, who hit 29 points.

Watford looked good in the opening exchanges and the Spaniard helped them to a 15-8 lead in the first quarter.

However, runs of 9-0 and 7-2 in the second quarter put the Midland side into the ascendancy and they did not lose their grip, eventually winning 112-86.

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