Raiders’ Adam Smith confident of silverware

ROMFORD, UK – Romford Raiders’ record-breaking start to the 2011/12 campaign came to an end with derby defeat in Chelmsford a fortnight ago. Since then, a short-benched Raiders have managed to post wins over the Slough Jets, Isle of Wight and Bristol Pitbulls, something Raiders forward Adam ‘AJ’ Smith feels shouldn’t come as a surprise. Speaking to Pro Hockey News, Smith said that he believed their defeat to the Chieftains may have given the Raiders a much-needed wake-up call after a few less than impressive performances toward the tail-end of their 14-game win streak. “I think Jason [Buckman, Raiders’ utility man who had tweeted after the defeat] was right when he said that we had begun to coast through games because we had been winning so easily. Maybe looking back now the Chelmsford game was the kick up the arse that we needed to realise that we weren’t untouchable.” “But with a coach like [Danny] Marshall, a captain like [Anthony] Leone, and all the other top, experienced players in our dressing room, there was no way that we were going to let that one defeat get us down or knock our confidence. And I think the way we battled to beat the Isle of Wight last weekend despite being severely short-benched proved that.” After a slow start and a couple of mistakes in the opening minutes in Chelmsford, Raiders battled back to the tie the game before falling into another two-goal hole either side of the second intermission. Injuries and indiscipline, Smith feels, played a part in his team coming up short. “Losing to Chelmsford was gutting and although losing is sometimes part of the game it had been so long since we had lost that I think it hurt us that bit more. The most painful thing in my eyes though was the way that we lost as we could easily have won that game. We gifted them their first two goals and then pulled it back to 2-2, and I think had it not been for a few injuries and our own indiscipline then the game could have gone either way.” “Not to take anything away from Chelmsford though as they were better than us on the day, but we look forward to our next trip there so we can settle the score.” With two close contests behind them and little to separate the sides in the English National League table, it comes as no surprise to hear Smith endorse the Chieftains as the Raiders main competition for league honours this season. “Having played all of the other ‘ Top 4 ’ teams both home and away already this season I think personally, and I ’ m sure most people would agree, that Chelmsford are our main competition. They have some good young players on their team and [player-coach] Gary Clarke looks to be making a real difference there.” “The Isle of Wight don ’ t seem to be as strong as last year but they are still a dangerous team to play and anything can happen when you are playing on the Island. It ’ s definitely one of the toughest places to go in our league.” “Invicta also don ’ t seem as strong this year, but I know they have had a lot of bad luck already this season with players leaving and long-term injuries, and just when they seemed to be putting some decent results together another player leaves. [Kevin] Parrish is a good coach and I ’ m sure he will pull something out of the bag, but I think the damage may already have been done.” Of course, it’s not just league silverware that Romford and Chelmsford are vying for this year. Raiders need one win from their two scheduled meetings with the Chieftains to claim the South-East Cup, a four-team competition involving the two Essex rivals, the IOW and Invicta, while Tuesday saw the confirmation of a home-and-away meeting between the two for the reinstated Essex Cup. “I think the league is the big one that everybody wants to win and then the playoffs, but I think you can tell from our performances so far in the South-East Cup that we are quite happy to win that too as well as any other cup competition we find ourselves a part of. The more silverware the better, and I think that there is definitely going to be some silverware at RVW come the end of the season. But for now we will continue to take each game as it comes and try to win them all.” Much like the rest of his team-mates this season, Smith has started strongly and believes the minimal turnover in the Raiders roster throughout the summer has played a huge part in their fast start. In a league accustomed to wholesale team changes at the end of each season, Raiders have made comparatively few in adding ex-players Matt Turner, Grant Taylor, Andrius Kaminskas and Shaun Wallis to a strong, returning core. “I think that chemistry and familiarity are an extremely important part of doing well in this league. We have kept pretty much the same team as last year which says a lot about Marsh as a coach … the boys love to play for him. Even the players that have come in have mostly played for the club before which helps too.” “One of the biggest surprises for me last year was how quickly the team gelled together considering we were a brand new team in this league and not a lot of the boys had played together before. And I think it shows how quickly we bonded by how well we did in the league, finishing third on our first attempt. By keeping so much of last years team together we were able to pick straight up from where we left off while other teams may still have been getting to know each other, and I think that ’ s been part of the reason we have had such an amazing start to the season.” One of the biggest plus-points for the Raiders so far this season has been the strength in depth across all positions. Michael Gray and Glenn Jackson have again proved to be a valuable one-two punch between the pipes, while Tom Davis, Grant Taylor and JJ McGrath have worked tirelessly to grind opposing forwards down, something Smith is quick to allude to. “We have an amazing squad. Without a doubt we have the best defence, goalies included, as well as the three strongest lines in the league. Our third line of JJ, Tom and Grant is the best third line in the league by far, they are game-changers and set the pace of each game for the first two lines to match. Our imports aren ’ t bad either, and I know most fans think that their club has the best imports, but I ’ m sure they would all swap them in a heartbeat for Juraj [Huska] and Bomber [Andrius Kaminskas].” “As far as my own personal start to the season, I ’ m very happy with how it ’ s going so far. I feel I ’ ve started well and I just want to keep up this standard all season long. I feel a lot fitter and quicker this year, but that ’ s probably because I ’ m just trying to keep up with Matty Turner all the time.”
Smith says he was quick to re-sign with player-coach Danny Marshall this summer, and though a fractured thumb hampered his play for a period earlier in the season, everything is healed up now. “There was nowhere else I wanted to play this season other than back in Romford and I pretty much signed again with Marsh within a week of last season ending, leaving me free to enjoy my summer and look forward to the new campaign.” “Fracturing my thumb was a bit of a pain but it ’ s all healed up now. It was hard work playing through the pain for about a month but I couldn ’ t bring myself to sit and watch just because my thumb was broken when the rest of my body was ready to go.” With a mounting casualty list testing Raiders’ squad depth, one player that may have been forgotten is young Frankie Harvey. The 19-year old has been sidelined since playing a mere handful of games earlier in the year, but with 85 points to his name last season, Harvey will provide a serious shot in the arm through the second half of the campaign. “He [Harvey] will be like a new signing. I think he only played three or four games before his injury and I know he can ’ t wait to get back on the ice.” As for personal targets, Smith, who has 34 points in 15 games after registering 57 in 43 last term, is quick to put team success before personal glory. “I don ’ t really have any personal targets, beating last seasons points tally is always nice but it ’ s not something I ’ m overly concerned with. As long as the team is playing well, winning and I ’ m helping to contribute towards that then I ’ m happy.” Raiders play the Invicta Dynamos on Sunday at 5:15pm. Visit www.romfordraiders.co.uk for all ticket information, news, galleries, game reports and statistics.
 
 
Contact the author – alex.nunn@prohockeynews.com