ROMFORD, UK – The Romford Raiders recorded their best weekend of the season to date, with an overtime win and an overtime loss for three points.
A few weeks ago the Raiders were being consistently battered by their opposition, and conceding double-figures became an alarmingly regular occurrence.
However, since the departure of coach Erskine Douglas who, according to some rumours was disliked by several players, the Raiders have been in much-improved form. Injured import Jon Sitko has been running the bench, with the occasional help of captain Danny Marshall (when he is unable to play).
In midweek the rejuvenated Raiders lost 5-3 to second-placed Slough Jets, the same Slough Jets that won the same fixture one month ago 12-1. Romford followed this up on Saturday with an overtime loss away at Basingstoke. The Bison are on a roll and were unbeaten in five going into the match.
Basingstoke captain Nicky Chinn put his team ahead after a slick move when one-on-one with Romford goalie Charlie Kaylor, and for a time it looked like the Bison would overrun the Raiders. However Dallas Costanzo brought Romford level after great work from Darius Pliskauskas just after the first intermission. Chinn put Basingstoke ahead with another breakaway goal, but Romford levelled again with a finish in tight from Pliskauskas himself. The evergreen Steve Moria grabbed the overtime winner for Basingstoke, but Romford will have been very happy with a point from the tricky tie. Kaylor stood on his head for them, making 70 saves, and earning his man-of-the-match award.
On Sunday the Raiders faced 9th placed Swindon at home, hoping to put a dent in their playoff hopes. The Wildcats started the better of the two teams though, and were ahead after 1.36, when youngster Sam Bullas slotted home. Despite this the Raiders clawed their way back into the game with two goals in 13 seconds. The first was scored by captain Danny Marshall, while the second was a Darius Pliskauskas special. The import forward used the covering defenceman as a screen before ripping a rocket of a wrist-shot over the glove of Swindon netminder Chris Douglas.
In the second period the Raiders shot into a 4-1 lead with rebound goals from Marshall and Tonks, but let the Wildcats back into the game. Aaron Nell sent a close range wrist-shot over Romford goalie Euan King’s shoulder when unchallenged after a face-off, before the speedy Swindon captain Lee Richardson scored on a well taken shorthanded breakaway.
The third period saw Swindon equalise through ex-Romford defenceman Jan Krajicek, before Pliskauskas put the home side ahead again. Marshall made the goal, as he deked Douglas out of his pads before sliding the puck to the far post where Pliskauskas was waiting. Swindon though showed great spirit to level the scores yet again through a Danilics rebound, taking the game to overtime. In the end the extra period did not last long, as youngster Matt Turner caught the puck in mid-air before dropping it onto his stick, turning and firing past Douglas to give Romford the extra point.
While many players gave great performances for Romford, special mention should be made of Jozef Sladok. The 6ft 5 defenceman ran the game for Romford, solid at the back and able to jump into the play regularly to support the forwards. Euan King also had a great game after recently returning from a long term injury.
The result and the performance left the Raiders faithful ecstatic after what has been a miserable season. If this form had arrived a little sooner they may even have been competing with Swindon and Bracknell for that last playoff spot. As it is, barring a miracle, they will finish last in the EPL, but with exciting games like this and the closer scorelines, the fans will be leaving the rink a lot happier on match-nights.
Contact the author dave.lambert@prohockeynews.com
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