Rhys Edwards was the Dragons' MVP against Sheffield (Photo by Angel Devlin Sports Photography)
Sunday
25th January 2026 – NIHL Moralee Division: Deeside D1 Dragons 9 – Sheffield Scimitars 5
The Deeside D1 Dragons had a tough game against the
league’s bottom club Sheffield Scimitars but dug deep to notch up a 9-5 victory
at Deeside Leisure Centre on Sunday.
The Dragons had won all three of their matches against
the Scimitars this season by a total of 32 goals to 4 so this game always
seemed likely to be a home banker. However, Sheffield had finally managed to
pick up their first win of the season the night before – at the 26th
attempt – with a 5-2 home win over Widnes Wild, and arrived in North Wales on a
bit of a high.
The game saw a Dragons debut for young forward Theo
Malone – who has joined for the rest of the season on a 2-way agreement with Elite League Manchester
Storm, having also played for Hull Seahawks in the National Division this
season.
Sheffield actually scored first on 5 minutes and, although
Ryan Jones equalised for the Dragons 3 minutes later, the Scimitars scored
again to take a 1-2 lead into the first break.
Deeside actually outshot Sheffield by a whopping 64
to 15 over the course of the game but the Scimitars made the most of what they
had and edged further ahead on 24 minutes.
Two quick-fire goals from the Dragons around the 30
minute mark - from Rhys Edwards and Ross Kennedy – finally drew them level but
another goal from the visitors with just 18 seconds left in the period saw them
leading 3-4 at the second interval.
Deeside’s continued pressure began to pay off in
the third period and they drew level again with a goal from Jake Witkowski just
46 seconds in. Further goals followed - from Matt Wainwright, Dan Fadejevs, a
second for Rhys Edwards and Charles Phillips - to give the Dragons an 8-4 lead
before Sheffield finally struck again on 58 minutes.
Veteran netminder Phil Pearson had come on for the
Dragons in the third period and, such was the Deeside superiority in the final
20 minutes, he only faced one shot on goal – and it went in, leaving him with a
very rare and unlucky 0% save record for the game. He did get an assist on Rhys
Edwards’ second goal so it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the “popular stopper”!
Just 7 seconds from the restart, Jake Witkowksi
scored his second goal of the night and rounded off a 9-5 victory for the
Dragons.
Rhys Edwards was named Most Valuable Player (MVP)
for the Dragons and Theo Malone was handed the “Hardest Worker Belt” by his
fellow players in the dressing room after the game for an impressive
performance on his Dragons debut.
Following the weekend games across the Moralee Division,
the Dragons remain in second place in the league table with 56 points from 25
games.
Telford Tigers have the same number of points but occupy
third place due to overall goal difference
Solihull Barons remain in fourth place but have
lost ground on the chasing pack after weekend defeats at the hands of Blackburn
Hawks and Hull Jets, leaving them on 51 points from 25 games.
Blackburn Hawks still lead the table with 75 points
from 27 games and their 19-point margin over the Dragons and Tigers makes them
odds-on favourites to take their first league title since 2016
The Dragons are back in action this Saturday 31st
January when they travel away to face Solihull Barons hoping to put yet more
daylight between the two teams in the chase for league positions.
The intrigue continues the next day – Sunday 1st
February - when, due to a quirk in the fixture list, they take on cup final
opponents Telford Tigers in a league game at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5.15pm
face off.
