Spring Cup Week 6 Match Previews
By Lauryn Fuller
Fri Mar-19 Swindon v Telford
Swindon and Telford get this weekend’s hockey fixtures started this evening, with the Tigers traveling to Swindon for their third meeting of the series.
Last time round the Wildcats fell to two heavy defeats in the hands of the Tigers. A 7-2 victory for the tigers, followed by 9-2 win.
The Wildcats bounced back from these bad performances with a four-point weekend last weekend. They won back-to-back games against the raiders, with players like Brandon Ayliffe and Balint Pakozdi having superb performances in both games.
Telford found themselves in back-to-back games against league leaders, the Sheffield Steeldogs. In a match up that was considered the clash of the series. Telford fell twice at the hands of the dogs and will be hoping to pick up some more points from there next fixtures to keep the pressure on the Steeldogs, who currently hold the top spot of the table in the Spring Cup.
At this point of the series points are very crucial for the teams at the top of the table. Therefore, dropped points in the next few games could result in a very different table come the end of the series.
Swindon will be back in action on Saturday, they will travel to Romford to play the Raiders. The Tigers will be back at home on Sunday when they host the Bees.
Sat Mar-20 Raiders v Swindon
The Raiders welcome the Swindon Wildcats on Saturday afternoon. These two teams are meeting for the third and last time this series.
They played each other last weekend, with the Wildcats finishing the weekend with four-points. They handed the Raiders a 6-1 and a 7-3 defeat.
The Raiders currently sit bottom of the series table, after only picking up one win in their eight fixtures so far. A win this weekend would see them go above the Bees, if the Bees fail to take any points from the Steeldogs.
Wins this weekend for both teams would be beneficial to the series table. Swindon will be looking to carry on their winning ways. The Raiders on the other hand, are will need to put in a better performance then they have in previous games, if they want to make an impact in the series.
Sat Mar-20 Bees v Sheffield
The Bees and the Steeldogs played each other back in game week three of the Spring Cup. The Steeldogs have been a force to be reckoned with this series. They defeated the Bees 7-2 and then completed a shutout against them the next day.
Young forward Liam Kirk has scored 12 goals and recorded eight assists in six games. He has certainly been the star for Sheffield in this series and has impressed so much that the Sheffield Steelers have drafted him up to play in the Elite Series.
With Sheffield at the top of the table and yet to drop points, they are well on their way to winning the Spring Cup. The Bees have collected three points in in the series so far and are only just above the Raiders who sit dead last. More points for the Bees would see them close in on the Swindon Wildcats.
Depending on results from other fixtures around the weekend, there could be a new leader, if Sheffield fail to register any points.