LONDON, UK – It was not exactly an emotional home coming but it was still good to see some familiar faces at Alexandra Palace on Sunday. Hobbling on my crutches I took my place on the visitor’s bench to watch the London derby between Haringey and Streatham. I looked behind with surprise to see our massed ranks of supporters complete with flashing helmets, drums and replica shirts all willing the team on. The game was short on quality but certainly not effort. I thought the fact we were short benched helped us in a weird way. The players are displaying backs to the wall type spirit which would only have been helped by the opposition naming two former Redskins on their roster in Owen Murphy and Perry Richardson. The fact another former Redskin Steve Paris was sitting in the crowd seemed to be even more motivation for the lads on the bench. Obviously I am new to the team so that kind of thing has no relevance but to some of the players and supporters I could tell this was a game they really wanted to win for more reasons than just two points. In the end the game was notable for two things. Firstly the performance of our Slovakian Peter Molnar who dominated the game a hat trick and two assists giving him a deserved man of the match award. Peter tells me he has been out of the game for six years before this season so if that’s the case then he is only likely to get better. Secondly was the fight between Haringey player coach Lee Mercer and Streatham’s Richard Hardy in the second period. Hardy is a tough competitor and isn’t afraid to drop the gloves with anyone but he found a willing opponent in the big Scotsman whose size and strength won through. The fight was notable in that it could be Mercer’s last real action in a Haringey shirt this season as he has stepped down due to work commitments. The league will lose a real character which is a shame. Mercer’s replacement is former Lee Valley Lions coach Sergei Smollenko. I have actually played for Sergei when he was coaching the University of London and I found him to be very knowledgeable of the game. I think it will be interesting to see how the Greyhounds respond to his methods as he can be a hard task master at training sessions. One of his ‘fun’ drills involves skating hard in to a corner and being timed. Not much fun for me and even less when I saw my time! So in the end we managed a much needed 5-3 victory but it’s certainly a long season ahead for both teams I suspect. The Greyhounds had won their first game of the season the previous night which is a feat in itself. The fact Dave Richards managed to score a goal for them was even more miraculous but he is at least honest enough to admit it is a rarity. The Greyhounds victims were the Peterborough Islanders who completed a miserable weekend by getting thrashed in Chelmsford by the Chieftains. Two goals from Aaron Connelly helping the Essex side to an 11-1 win over the ill disciplined Islanders. That completed a four point weekend for Chelmsford whose Andy Moffat inspired performance between the pipes, earned his team a tough win over the Bracknell Hornets. A tight 4-2 victory that also saw Watchorn offer BT Williams a dance that was declined on tactical grounds. Bracknell caught the backlash of an angry Cardiff on Sunday going down 5-2 in Wales. Cardiff were convincingly beaten the night before on the Isle of Wight with the Raiders whitewashing them 5-0. The game was notable for three fights including the first of the year for Wightlink’s Jeremy Cornish who easily disposed of Adam Wood. The other two scraps were between Phil Manny and Dan Scott, then Kev Tanner and Alex Madge. I am sure the crowd went home happy which is good news for the Raiders who need numbers on the gate. Juraj Rusic failed to inspire Oxford to a better performance in Invicta with the Stars getting trounced 11-2. The result will be bitterly disappointing for the Stars who seemed to be on a roll after recent results. The Dynamos are our next opponents at the High Road so let’s hope they have an off day next week. One last thing to mention is Angela Taylor’s five goal haul against Streatham Bruins in ENL 2 making her the first woman in any ENL league history to score a hat trick. I spoke with her Lee Valley team mates Steve Paris and Nicky Braithwaite on Sunday and they both described her as composed with excellent positional sense. The specialist says it could take over a month for my ligaments to heal so it is a frustrating time for me personally. As I have said before, I am not a good spectator. Thanks for reading and stay safe Carrsy Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com
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