LANCASHIRE, UK – Nottingham Lions travel to Sheffield Steeldogs on Sunday aiming to build on last weekend’s 5-4 victory against Solihull Barons.
The result was Nottingham’s first success this season and lifted them off the bottom of the Moralee D1 table.
Former Solihull forward Richard Slater scored the winning goal, but he admits the team can’t afford to get too carried away just yet.
“It’s been a lot of hard work trying to get everyone working to the same systems, as there’s been a lot of changes from last season with people arriving from other teams, adding experience and depth to the squad,” said Slater.
“I think the initial reaction to our results has been positive – we’re holding our own against more established teams and we really deserved to chalk up that first win. Having said that, there are areas we need to make vast improvements on in order to make sure we keep ourselves ahead in games.
“It was definitely a strange feeling to score against the Barons in my first game back there, especially when it turned out to be the decider!
“We need to take each game as it comes – we know the challenges we’ll be facing each week and we can’t get carried away with any recent success as we’ll be brought back down to earth with a bang.”
Sutton Sting visit Sheffield Senators on Sunday hoping to continue their push towards the top end of Laidler D2.
Sting’s new-look team have won four out of five games this season, with their only defeat coming against league leaders Widnes Wild.
Player/Coach Simon Butterworth is happy with Sutton’s form, particularly with his squad featuring numerous players who have stepped into the senior ranks for the first time.
“Overall I’m very pleased with the start we’ve made,” he said. “Four wins out of five and our only loss against the current league leaders and title favourites in a game that could have gone either way – you can’t complain at that.
“We have got a very young team this year with about half made up of U18s and U20s, so it’s great to be competing every game and giving them the opportunity to develop, which ultimately is what our team and club is about.
“We have a tough game coming up this weekend against Sheffield – a team I expect to be finishing top four this year.
“I’m not placing too much importance on the result – it’s still early days and the important thing is that we get better each and every week.
“If we do this I would hope to see us making the play-off finals weekend for our division.
WEEKEND FIXTURES
Moralee D1
Sunday
Billingham Stars v Whitley Warriors
Deeside Dragons v Blackburn Hawks
Sheffield Steeldogs v Nottingham Lions
Solihull Barons v Hull Pirates
Laidler D2
Saturday
Bradford Bulldogs v Telford Tigers 2
Coventry Blaze NIHL v Altrincham Aces
Deeside Dragons 2 v Hull Jets
Sheffield Senators v Sutton Sting
Sunday
Altrincham Aces v Deeside Dragons 2
Blackburn Hawks 2 v Sheffield Senators
NIHL National Cup
Saturday
Hull Pirates v Sheffield Steeldogs
Solway Sharks v Billingham Stars
NIHL Autumn Cup
Saturday
Swindon Wildcats v Telford Tigers
Sunday
Telford Tigers v Swindon Wildcats
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