ENL South Round-up Week 22

LONDON, UK – Players antagonising former team mates, last minute goals and a Shisha lounge opening night. Must be another standard weekend of ENL hockey.

 
The BBC website continued its recent interest in the ENL South title race as it interviewed Wightlink Raiders player coach Jeremy Cornish and Invicta Dynamos coach Kevin Parrish. Unsurprisingly both reiterated that their respective sides could not afford to drop any more points in the league for the rest of the season. This is not technically true but everyone gets the gist of what they are saying.
 
Interestingly in the interview, Cornish seemed simply relieved that his side had overcome Oxford the previous weekend, describing the City Stars as the Raiders bogey team, which is even more appropriate given the green colour of their jerseys. Within his interview, Parrish intriguingly challenged his players to ‘pull their socks up and stop moaning’.
 
Also in bullish mood was Chelmsford Chieftains Coach Dean Birrell, who spoke out to website thisistotalessex.co.uk following his side’s 3-3 draw in Invicta the previous weekend saying: “I felt we should have won that game as we were all over them. How many times is a goalie meant to get away with knocking the net off?”
 
Indeed at some rinks in the ENL, the goals are easily dislodged and it is frustrating when it happens on a regular basis. There are a number of solutions to the problem however they all involve either piercing/drilling into the ice or spending cash on more innovative ideas. Neither idea being particularly attractive to rink managers.
 
On Friday, Streatham Redskins forward Dan Marashi opened his very own Shisha Lounge and Coffee House in Tooting Bec, South London. The imaginatively named ‘Marashi’s’, has a distinctly Arabic theme complete with mood lighting and of course a selection of shisha pipes to smoke on. Normally a Redskins social night on a Friday would have Coach Barry Spours in cold sweats; however he was a relieved man when he learnt that Dan’s new establishment was an alcohol free zone.
 
The grand opening was attended by a number of hockey players from various clubs in the South East of England along with some Streatham supporters and friends of the Marashi’s.
 
A number of Redskins players and fans showed up including Lukas Zilak, Tomas Valko and Casimir Britton along with the author of this piece. Other hockey players pledging their support were Tom Avery and Gareth Wheeler from Bracknell and Lee Hardy of Slough ENL Jets. Behind the counter serving the customers were helpers for the night, Bracknell Bees goalie Adam Marashi and full time employee/Redskins Captain Ed Koral.
 
Due to my current diet I was unable to enjoy the free canapés and Panini’s, which was a shame, especially as I had been assured that Koral had actually washed his hands before preparing them. Apparently its company policy at Marashi’s, which is a relief for all.  
 
The shishas were pretty cool I have to say, and I think most people who have met Dan, will agree he is a likeable guy and want him to make a success of his new venture. So if you do find yourself at a loose end before watching hockey at Streatham or are just in South London, please swing by for a coffee or a smoke.
 
Thanks to the two way agreement between the two clubs, Chelmsford youngster Aaron Connolly appeared for Slough Jets in the EPL on Saturday against MK Lightning and managed to get his name on the score sheet in an exciting 7-4 win for the Berkshire outfit. Connolly adds his name to the list of Robbie Brown, Steven Fisher, Tom Avery, Ben Duggan, Grant Rounding and Liam Chong as ENL players who have hit the back of the net in a higher league this season.
 
Saturday
 
Any time the Invicta Dynamos travel to Cardiff to take on the ENL Devils, those who make the effort to go along and watch are rarely disappointed. Last season the ENL Devils had the Mo’s number in Wales, however this time the Kent side followed in the footsteps of their rugby playing compatriots by returning back over the Severn Bridge with a hard fought victory, hours after England’s egg chasers had beaten Wales at the Millennium Stadium.
 
In a tight game, that had the usual wind-milling and semi bench clearances, the Dynamos largely kept their cool and were rewarded with a vital 4-3 victory to keep their title ambitions in check. Cardiff gave their all and were so close to pulling off what would have been a pivotal result in the league title race, but a brace from Andy Smith and one each from Mike Timms and former Cardiff agitator Corey Watkins gave the Mo’s the win.
 
Watkins endeared himself to his former team mates with a less than muted celebration in front of the home bench, and Liam Chong withdrew halfway through the game with an undisclosed injury.
 
Cardiff’s goals came courtesy of a brace from Luke Piggott and one from veteran Lee Cowmeadow. The Welsh side will be particularly disappointed to lose such a close game, but when they take into account the fact that the Mo’s drubbed them 8-1 on their last visit to the Bay back in October, Mark Cuddihy’s men should take the positives out of the marked improvement.
 
Milton Keynes Thunder entertained a Streatham Redskins side, knowing that two points could put further pressure on both Bracknell and Cardiff in the battle for the final play-off spots. The Redskins were yet again missing bodies including defenseman Casimir Britton, however Slovak forward Tomas Valko returned to the line-up replacing Lukas Zilak. Thunder were without Paul Gore and Mike Lucas but drafted in Mike Knights for a rare appearance on the blue line.
 
This worked out well for the home side as the two wily veterans of Knights and Simon Howard provided a barrier that the Redskins found it difficult to overcome. At 3-3 in the third the game was edging in the Redskins favour until a 5 on 3 power play gave MK the perfect chance to pull away, and they did with two quick goals.
 
The game finished 6-3 with Ross Bowers getting two for the Thunder along with lone goals for Connor Goode, Maros Stefanco, Martyn Snape and Lee Featherstone, who also suffered a suspected broken nose after a collision with Valko. Streatham scorers were Valko with two goals on his return and Michael Ranby with one.
 
Both sides probably believe that they were worthy of the win, but the Thunders first line forwards caused problems all night, with Jamie Randall the undercover link behind Bowers and Stefanco’s scoring. A frustrating off night for the Londoners, but the locker room afterwards was one of reflection rather than recriminations.
 
The final game of Saturday took place on the windy Isle of Wight, where Oxford City Stars braved a choppy Solent to face the Wightlink Raiders on Ryde. After a disastrous sixty minutes of hockey for the Stars in which they were outplayed and outsmarted by the rampant Raiders, Oxford Coach Ken Forshee ended up wishing that the car ferries had been cancelled earlier in the day, as the hovercrafts had been.
 
The 8-1 win for Wightlink was a welcome one for Coach Cornish; however the gloss was taken off as the Cardiff v Invicta result filtered through. Raiders’ goals came from Jason Gorrie, Dom Hopkins and Robbie Brown with two goals each and Nathan Taylor and Jeremy Cornish with one each.
 
Oxford’s lone effort came from the stick of former Wightlink player-coach Gareth Endicott.
 
An unlikely altercation between Oxford’s Mike Whillock and Wightlink’s Brad Watchorn earned both guys six minutes in the box.
 
The City Stars have been solid in mid table for most of the season after a brief foray at the top in September; however they have a tough run of fixtures from now until the end of the season that could leave them vulnerable when it comes to qualifying for the play-offs. The Stars face Romford, Chelmsford and Invicta in their next three fixtures, followed by a further fixture against each of those teams before the end of the season, not to mention trips to Streatham and Milton Keynes.
 
The Stars have the talent to upset teams in the top four but it certainly won’t be easy.
 
Sunday
 
Streatham faced their second former coach in as many days with a trip to Chelmsford to take on Dean Birrells’ Chieftains side (MK Thunder coach Darryl Morvan is the other – for those at the back not paying attention). Chelmsford were keen to get revenge on a Redskins side that had upset them a few weeks prior with an unexpected 3-3 draw in South London.
 
As Chelmsford raced into a 3-0 lead early on, most people watching probably expected a goal-fest, however we came back and gave the Chieftains a real scare, only to let in a couple of breakaway goals in the third, with the score finishing 5-2 in Chelmsford’s favour.
 
Ross Brears got two goals for the Chieftains with Aaron Connolly, Kyle Jones and Tom Long the other scorers. Warren Rost and Tomas Valko were on the score sheet for the Redskins.
 
Perhaps the Redskins decent performance had something to do with the fact that Anderson’s Coach Company provided the team with the Leyton Orient team bus for the road trip. The Orient bus may not sound impressive on paper, but if I tell you it has leather recliners and satellite fed televisions then you get the picture how good this vehicle is.
 
Not that yours truly benefitted as I had to take the train straight from the office, and I was amazed to see all of our fans sat on the team bus watching Chelsea v Liverpool live on Sky before our game. It wasn’t that long ago that any TV’s on a hockey bus meant back to back adult movies or a continuous cycle of movies consisting of Bloodsport, Youngblood and bizarrely Howard the Duck. I must be getting old!
 
Back to the game and Chelmsford certainly missed Rudi Dzurko on their blue line and looked a bit shaky at times. Having said that, their forward line is so quick and agile, they always have a threat of goals.
 
Invicta stayed west with their second road trip of the weekend with a game against Bristol Pitbulls at Frogmore Street. I cannot confirm or deny that they stayed at the 5 star Celtic Manor Resort on the Welsh border, however with their money bags reputation who would put it past the flash Kent club.
 
Before the hate mail arrives, I may as well point out that quip was a joke and it is highly likely that the title chasers bedded down in the Bristol YMCA.
 
Regardless of where they stayed, the sleep did them no harm as they turned over Bristol 8-3 in a game that started out quite close. Andy Smith hit four and Callum Fowler got a brace for the Mo’s with the Borges brothers Chris and Daniel getting a goal each to round off a good night for Invicta. Bristol’s goals came from Richie Hargreaves, Steve Osman and Tom Evans.
 
The result completes a four point weekend for the Dynamos whose main concern will be the injury to Chong and how severe it is. Bristol would probably have expected to lose this fixture, but they have a massive home game against Bracknell next weekend that they will be eyeing as a potential win.
 
Bracknell hosted Wightlink Raiders at the Hive, knowing that they frustrated the island side with a 3-3 tie early in January in the same fixture. Sadly for the Hornets and their fans there was to be no repeat as they turned in a lacklustre performance and were thrashed 8-2 by the league leaders.
 
Jeremy Cornish and Robbie Brown both scored two goals each for the Raiders with Damon Larter, Steve Gossett, Jason Gorrie and Brad Watchorn also on target. Bracknell’s goals came from Tom Smith and Alan Lack.
 
Things went from bad to worse for the Hornet, when in the closing minutes Danny Hughes was handed a match penalty for abuse of referee Ian Hayden. This means there will be no visit to Bristol next week for Mr Hughes.
 
Fresh from the heartache against Invicta, Cardiff made the short trip across the border to take on the Swindon ENL Wildcats at the Link Centre.
 
I did say that Swindon will come good sooner or later on home ice and the ENL Devils were the victims as the basement dwelling Wildcats beat the odds to skate off with a 5-5 tie. Cardiff were leading 5-4 with less than a minute remaining before Ryan Burgess stepped up and equalised to break their hearts.
 
Swindon Player Coach Jamie Newton lead from the front with two goals and the other scorers were Robin Davison, Burgess and Grant Richardson. Chris Jones scored a hat trick for Cardiff with Dusan Krehlik and Luke Piggott also on target.
 
It is fair to say that Cardiff gave referee Anthony Decaux a piece of their collective minds with Jamie Dancey, Gareth Dixon and goalie Mike Brabon all getting ten minute misconducts. Outdoing them all was Neil Browning who earned himself a game penalty for abuse of the ironically Cardiff based official Decaux.
 
A great point for Swindon against a Cardiff side who are in decent form at present. The Wiltshire side are now four points behind Bristol with three games in hand, and next week they get the joy of Streatham Redskins coming to town.
 
Romford Raiders played their only game of the weekend, with a home fixture against Milton Keynes. The 7-0 score line in the Raiders favour is perhaps not that surprising but thankfully for this column, there is a tale to tell.
 
Last season we had the Wightlink kit saga, but this season it is the Milton Keynes tyre debacle that is a nomination for bad luck story of the year. Romford and Milton Keynes took to the ice for warm up with the visitors missing most of their defence and top scorer Ross Bowers. The absence of Bowers, Simon Howard and Paul Gore was expected however the Thunder defence were stuck in the same people carrier trying to buy a tyre after they suffered a flat on the way to the game.
 
Lee Featherstone, Aram Todd and David Coffey were the lucky souls searching for fresh rubber on a Sunday to no avail. So with a serious weakened team, the Thunder did well to keep the score down.
 
Romford goal scorers were JJ McGrath, Frankie Harvey, Pierre Wilhelmsson and AJ Smith with one each and Juraj Huska with a brace. Whilst it is funny on reflection, it is also sad for the fans who paid to get into what could have been a good match up, and also for the players who had to trudge around looking for a tyre.
Remarkably with less than two months remaining in the season, Romford have seven games in hand over league leaders Wightlink; however they will have to win every single game to stand a chance of silverware.
 
The countdown now begins for the crunch clash next Sunday in Gillingham as Invicta and Wightlink go head to head. The Dynamos home advantage has always saved them in the past, but will it this time round?
 
Results
 
Saturday 6th February
 
Milton Keynes 6 Streatham 3
Cardiff 3 Invicta 4
Wightlink 8 Oxford 1
 
Sunday 7th February
 
Swindon 5 Cardiff 5
Romford 7 Milton Keynes 0
Bristol 3 Invicta 8
Chelmsford 5 Streatham 2
Bracknell 2 Wightlink 8
 
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com