CHELMSFORD,U.K- With a weekend of back-to-back wins against second place Vectis Tigers, the Chieftains now look set to have the ENL2 (South) title wrapped up inside the next two weeks. Saturday night saw the Chieftains hammer the Tigers 13-4 at home with Darren Brown continuing his great run of form and picked up 3+2 night with Danny Hammond also picking up a 3+1 points total. Alex Murray of the Tigers was the standout with an assist on all four of the visitor’s goals. That was not enough to net him man of the match though as that went to David Webb for a hat trick game. The game was not without controversy though as Chieftains hard man BT Williams was given a combined 54 minutes worth of penalties on the 18:02 mark when he received a 2 for cross-checking, 5+game for checking to the head and a match penalty for going after Michael Palin of the Tigers seconds after being sent head first into the boards from behind at about shoulder height. Williams reacted with a cross-check to the chest and a tap on Palin’s helmet with his stick and then threw the gloves down and went crazy trying to dive through the scrum of players that had now developed on more than one occasion. He also attempted to get onto the Tigers bench as Palin had managed to get himself off the ice and was sitting there smiling about what had gone on. The Chieftains though upped the tempo of the game and took control in the second period with five goals in less than nine minutes, including two in nine seconds and two in just over one minute. The return fixture on the Isle of Wight, (Vectis is the Roman name for the Isle of Wight) on Sunday February 1, was a much closer affair with the Chieftains taking the spoils 5-3. This time it was a player at the other end of the age scale in Richard Whiting who took the game by the scruff of the neck and scored three and assisted on one. Man of the match for the Chieftains was Ben Clements the netminder who had a tougher night than Mike Robinson the night before, but was in fine form. With only 11 games to go now and the Chieftains sitting comfortably at the top of the table by 10 points from second placed Vectis, it is only a matter of time before the title is given to the Essex side. It will be their first piece of silverware since the 1999-2000 season when they won the treble. Many critics of the Chieftains have said that they have “bought their success” and that “They have filled their team with experienced players”. This theory was brought crashing back to earth this week when it was revealed that the Chieftains have the second youngest team in the league with the average age of around 20 years old. Nolan Smith also picked up on this point in his programme notes from Saturday night’s game stating “An interesting fact – for those at the EIHA and the league above, we have the second lowest average age in the league. Invicta Mustangs (Supposedly a stepping stone for their under 18s) have the highest average age in the league. The point being that we have not got where we have by buying success, but instead by picking a young enthusiastic outfit playing the right way for each other.” For the majority of the squad this season should prove to be their first piece of silverware in senior hockey. Head coach Dean Birrell commented on what the feeling is within the camp. “For a lot of the players they can now see the finish line in sight but we need to make sure we don’t start slipping up now, we want to get the title out of the way quickly to make sure we get promoted, It is ours to lose now for sure,” Birrell said “The players can sniff the trophy and they have one hand on it, It will be a close run thing but I am confident the players can complete the job quickly and efficiently and only when the season is over can we sit back and relax.” One of the better developing players Ross Brears summed up the team’s season. “We have had our ups and downs and poor games, but we have always come back fighting and we have more than deserved every single one of our victories. The title will be the icing on the cake for us and we are all looking forward to celebrating when the time comes.” Brears said Contact the author at Pete.lewis@prohockeynews.com
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