ENL South Round-up Week 4

LONDON, UK – When it comes to upsets, the ENL is not traditionally a league where the underdog often comes out on top. Now and again however, the perceived favourites can and do come unstuck.   If I was a betting man, I wouldn’t have made any money from predicting Saturday’s fixtures. Bracknell Hornets hosted a Swindon ENL Wildcats side that had lost both of their opening fixtures convincingly. The reigning play-off champions have had a hit and miss start to the season with victories over Milton Keynes and Oxford mixed with defeats to Streatham and Invicta.

My prediction for this game would have been a Bracknell win by four or five goals so Swindon proved me wrong with a resounding 5-2 win. Two goals from Sam Feeney and one each for Dan Smith, Grant Richardson and Alasdair Barrow gave Swindon the edge with Alan Lack and JJ Pitchley replying for the Hornets. Veteran goalie Jamie Thompson took the man of the match award for the Wildcats with vintage display between the pipes, but Bracknell awarded their man of the match award to the mascots. I am not sure whether two seven year old kids have an appreciation for a crate of Stella Artois, but then times they are a changing.   Hornets Coach Ben Pitchley was without a few key players for this fixture but even so, it’s not the result he will have hoped for, however Wildcats Coach Justin Bonello will be absolutely delighted to get two points on the board. Swindon looked well drilled against us last week but I thought they lacked a cutting edge. For Swindon to score five past Hornets’ goalie David Wride however, proves that perhaps they are not slouches in front of goal after all.   Romford Raiders left the safety of Essex to face those fierce Welshmen in Cardiff, the ENL Devils. I wouldn’t normally bet against the Devils on home ice but I think Romford have a decent roster so I thought they would get at least a point in this fixture. Prior to the game the Raiders announced the signing of former Solent and Haringey goalie Nathan Lawrence due to Glen Jackson suffering from a groin strain. Michael Gray started this game however.   If the Raiders thought that last weekends 6-0 win over Bristol was an easy introduction to ENL life, they certainly got a shock in Cardiff as the home side pulled off a fantastic 6-3 win in front of a decent crowd. The goal scorers for Cardiff were Robert Sedlak and Tim Burrows with two each and one for Ricky Deacon and Brent Pope. Romford’s goals came courtesy of Anthony Leone, Frankie Harvey and AJ Smith.  It would have been a long journey back to Romford for the Raiders players and supporters alike, made all the more frustrating for the fact that any chance to bounce back the following day was lost due to strike action at Swindon’s Link Centre. This action by employees of the leisure centre meant that the proposed fixture on Sunday between the ENL Wildcats and Raiders bit the dust.   The last game of Saturday was arguably the most attractive to the neutral. Wightlink Raiders ‘welcomed’ dear friends Invicta Dynamos to the Island, in a game that lived up to its billing, for all the right reasons. No bloodbath that some were expecting but a closely fought, entertaining game of hockey with the majority of the crowd going home with a wide smile on their faces.   This game could have gone either way but it was the Raiders who ran out 4-2 winners. The impressive Liam Chong got two goals for the Dynamos, but Damon Larter and Nathan Taylor got a goal each for the Raiders whilst former Belfast man Robbie Brown notched two, the last of which was an empty netter. New signing Richard Facey was given the man of the match for Raiders, which was impressive given that he only joined the side a few days before from Bracknell Bees in the EPL.   Invicta had a good chance to bounce back on home ice against the table topping Oxford City Stars 24 hours later. Oxford were high in confidence following a good start to the season and must have fancied their chances against the Dynamos, especially with the Kent side having a long journey home from the Isle of Wight the night before.  In a rink where the Stars have suffered some heavy defeats in recent years, the 3-2 loss may not seem too bad on reflection. Stars goalie Robin Lindva once again stole the show between the pipes facing 66 shots, but goals from forwards Dax Hedges and Darren Elliott were not enough for Oxford, who lost their top spot in the league as goals from Daniel Calitri, Liam Chong and Daniel Borges gave Invicta the win.   The Stars were replaced at the top of the league by … wait for it …. Streatham Redskins. We had a tough game in Milton Keynes against the Thunder and managed to grind out a 3-2 win. Tomas Valko got two goals and Michael Ranby the other, and we held on to a 3-1 lead for the first two periods (Thunder’s Paul Jamieson got the Thunder’s marker).   Sadly the last period saw us spend most of it shorthanded and to the Thunder’s credit they penned us in our own zone for most of it. When Jamie Randall scored on the power play with five minutes remaining I have to say, we were well and truly on the ropes. We held on to the win but could have perhaps got an empty netter at the end but defenseman Simon Howard made a save either goalie would have been happy with as he volleyed a shot away with his skate as the seconds ticked down.  Personally I think Milton Keynes have the personnel to do well this season and I was shocked to see that they had lost 4-0 to Bracknell last week. Forward Jamie Line in particular is rapid and it would be interesting to see him in a skating race with Invicta’s Andy Smith or Callum Fowler. The Thunder may not be up challenging for titles come the end of the season, but they will be a potential banana skin for any of the more fancied sides assuming they stick together.   Two things for me stood out in the game from a Redskins perspective. Firstly was the amount of fans we brought to the game and the noise they made. I am not exaggerating when I say that we have travelling support that some EPL sides would die for. Secondly congratulations have to go to man of the match Stefan Nubert.   A beast of a goalie, Nubert was always inconsistent in my opinion up until last season. I first saw him play around six years ago and he very much blew hot and cold in games. This season he has built from his experiences last year and has pushed on to become a real match winner with some fantastic performances. Luckily our other goalies (Will Sanderson and Shane Kemp) are also match winners on their day so I don’t envy Spoursy (Redskins Head Coach) choosing his starter when all three are available.   So we now have a week to enjoy the summit of the English National League and prepare for the visit of Wightlink next Sunday. It should be a cracking game in the old barn at the High Road and I’d guess most of our fans cannot wait. We are under no illusions that it is a long season and that most people had us down as relegation candidates pre-season so obviously the lads are just enjoying surprising people. There is certainly no arrogance in our dressing room and the team spirit is partly the reason we are doing well. Contact the author: david.carr@prohockeynews.com