CARDIFF, UK – Cardiff ENL Devils became the latest ENL team to secure their spot in the play-offs and Head Coach Mark Cuddihy believes that the knockout stages at the business end of the season suits his team down to the ground.
It has been a mixed season for last season’s league runners up with some big wins overshadowed by some poor defeats. This is a team that tied with bottom side Swindon yet steamrolled the Redskins 12-2 in Streatham, inflicting one of the Londoner’s heaviest defeats in a number of years at the High Road.
Cardiff boys ready for business end of season
Cardiff’s challenges have been two fold. Some big changes on their roster from last season saw them lose defensive lynchpins James Manson, Andrew Shurmer and Dan Madge. This loss of key personnel combined with an influx of quality players at rival clubs meant that the Cardiff management had to re-assess their ambition for 2010/11.
“I had targets in my head for this year and my minimum target was 8th (play-offs) with 5th I felt was the best we could do” admitted Cuddihy.
“We lost so much from last year, if you look at defence alone, the guys that left would be a huge loss to any team. I looked at the signings in the summer at Wightlink, Romford, Invicta and especially Chelmsford and I didn’t think we could compete for the title again”
“Also I looked at the guys returning to Streatham and I really liked Oxfords team, even Milton Keynes. People were saying they would compete, if you look at MK’s team and look where they are it shows you just how good the league is”
Indeed Milton Keynes Thunder, Oxford City Stars and Bracknell Hornets are now left to battle it out for the two remaining play-off spots now that Cardiff and Streatham have qualified. The ENL Devils sealed their qualification with a convincing 8-2 win over the Hornets last Sunday, in front of a bumper crowd.
Party time at the Bay
With the Elite League Devils taking on Hull Stingrays immediately prior to the key ENL game with the Hornets, a ticketing initiative and link up with the Elite side gave fans the chance of watching a second game of hockey in one night.
An estimated 1000 fans stayed to watch the ENL side and whilst the crowd had dwindled by the time the game finished at 11pm, there was still a sizeable support that enjoyed the whole game. A brace each for Tim Burrows and Steve Maile plus goals from Steve Fisher, Luke Piggott, Gareth Dixon and David James took the points for Cardiff.
“The game against Bracknell was really good” explained Cuddihy.
“Bracknell were brilliant in helping us shoehorn that game in like that, and we really appreciated their flexibility. The response from the Elite fans was great and there are calls for it to happen again next year”
“For people to stay till 11pm after being in the building from around 4pm was a big deal, hopefully we’ve won some new fans with our performance”
Whether the fans getting their first taste of ENL action will return to watch the team in the future remains to be seen, but it is not all about attendances for the ENL Devils and just as much about showcasing the young talent within the Cardiff Junior Development system.
The ENL Devils are an important stepping stone for youngsters hoping to reach the top tier of UK hockey and whilst that can bring its own problems in terms of player retention and stability, it gives the club the ability to bring through fresh talent.
“I knew this year would be tough” admitted Cuddihy.
Fiesty spirit amongst team
“We brought on some more youngsters and have also got Tim Burrows up with the Elite League team and a number of guys training regularly with Gerad Adams’ and his guys, that why we are here so it has been a success despite the lower league placing”
“If we finish the best ‘2nd’ team and above a few first teams while bringing on players that’s great for us, every coach wants to win the league of course but this year we knew what we had to do, a lot has gone on behind the scenes and we are producing some fantastic kids, if they stick with it we are going to have a great team in a year or two”
The ENL Devils may not have been involved in the title race, but hopes are high in South Wales that they can spring a surprise in the play-offs. Last season the team were victims to a surprise run of form by Wightlink that dumped them out of contention, however this year Cardiff will start as one of the under dogs.
“We are happy to play anyone really” admitted Cuddihy.
“We’ve pushed a lot of these teams close at times and play-off style hockey suits us down to the ground. I guess you could say Invicta look vulnerable as their results have been poor of late, but you don’t really know what’s going on unless you’re in the camp”
“From what I gather they have rested a few guys lately so I wouldn’t count them out, we can only get them or Romford now and either is fine with us, you have to beat everyone to win it so it doesn’t matter what round you do it in”
Cardiff now face a road trip to Romford on Saturday followed by the final league game at home against MK Thunder this weekend before those all important play-offs a week later.
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com
Photos by Tim Bowers
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