BRISTOL, UK – The Bristol Pitbulls ENL2 team’s season has got off to a coughing start, but things are looking up as the team recorded a convincing win over Chelmsford Warriors, one of the top teams in the league. The Pitbulls ENL2 team opened its season against Slough away where the team was dealt a decisive 11-2 loss. This was then followed by a spirited effort against a strong Lee Valley side and the Pitbulls narrowly lost out 6-4 in the final period.
However, the match against Solent and Gosport Devils saw the young Pitbulls squad go down 16-1.
“A poor display saw us go down by 15 goals and it was the worst defeat I have experienced for some time,” said Bristol Pitbulls ENL2 coach Ian Clark. “The team has no excuses for this performance. We just played terrible and did not stick to our game plan.”
Against the Warriors, the Pitbulls had to put up a better effort to make sure that similar result was not seen at Frogmore Street. Additionally, what made the set up even better for the game was that the Warriors had been dealt a blow by Peterborough Islanders the previous weekend, so both teams were hungry to get their first wins of the season. From the opening face-off it was evident that the match was going to be fiercely fought, as both teams were hungry to win.
The Pitbulls wanted to end their three game losing streak and knew it would be a great opportunity as a good number of fans had turned up for the game, along with the ENL1 side who turned up to show their support to the ENL2 side.
Pitbulls got things off underway in the first period and saw itself lead 2-0 for the first period break with goals from Adam Young who picked up a juicy rebound in the slot and Paul ‘Sakic’ Davies whose backhand shot surprised the Chelmsford keeper, Dave Abbot. The fierceness of the match was seen early on as Pitbulls captain, Tom Eggerton dropped the gloves against Grant Bartlett.
In the second period the Pitbulls came out strong and carried off from where they left off. The Warriors did their best to put on offence but were unable to find their way past the Pitbulls keeper, despite numerous good goal scoring opportunities. Meanwhile, the Pitbulls were more successful with Adi Smith and Liam Williams finding the net.
The third saw a spirited fight with Warriors desperately trying to get on the scoreboard and eventually finding the net. However at 4-1 the Pitbulls soon answered with Adi Smith scoring his second of the night, soon followed by Adam Young’s second goal of the game. The Warriors managed to pull back one goal before the buzzer, but it was of a little consolation as the score stood at 6-2. Before the end, the Pitbulls saw Dave Bufton sent off for his second fight of the game.
The Pitbulls Clark was pleased with the team’s performance and the win.
“After the Gosport game, we went back to practice on and got our heads down and worked really hard in training and showed good attitude there. The 6-2 win over Chelmsford has been the high point of the start of the season. All the players turned it up a gear, stuck to the system and most importantly worked really hard for the whole 60 minutes.”
Clark is also optimistic about the teams’ chances following the win: “Our team continues to improve every week and it is great to watch the guys developing, so hopefully we can move steadily up the table.”
The Bristol Pitbulls ENL2 team will next face off against Romford at Rom Valley Way on Sunday 2nd of October.
Contact Janne.Virtanen@prohockeynews.com
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