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| Mike Filek was the Cobras MVP against Blackburn |
Sunday 21st April 2024 – Challenge Match: Connah’s Quay Cobras 9 – Blackburn Buccaneers 5
The Connah’s Quay Cobras extended their impressive winning run to 11 games with a 9-5 challenge match win over Blackburn Buccaneers at Deeside Leisure Centre on Sunday.
This was a highly entertaining game with lots of end to end action, plenty of goals and was played in good spirit throughout with very few penalties being handed out.
The game also saw Cobras debuts for three new players - Tom Wlodarczyk, Phil Hand and Artur Podracki.
After a tense opening phase, with plenty of chances for both sides, the Buccaneers eventually opened the scoring on 13 minutes. The Cobras equalised with a goal from Mike Filek 2 minutes later but Blackburn edged in front again before being pegged back again with a Luke Wainwright strike to level the period at 2-2.
The second period was just as closely contested and Connah’s Quay took the lead for the first time in the game with Filek’s second goal of the night on 23 minutes.
A goal from Slavomir Sykora on 28 minutes gave the Cobras a 2-goal lead at the mid-point of the game but this was reined in by 2 Blackburn strikes to leave the score at a finely balanced 4-4. A goal from Louie Bailey with just 53 seconds on the clock fired the Cobras back in front, handing them a slender 5-4 lead with one period left to play.
Connah’s Quay pulled away in the third period and goals from Sykora, again, Artur Podracki and Sam Plant put daylight between the two teams for the first time.
A goal for Blackburn with 5 minutes left to play narrowed the score to 8-5 but a hat trick strike from Sykora straight from the restart rounded off the scoring for the game.
The Cobras are next in action Sunday 5th May when they take on the Newcastle Predators in a top of table clash in the Summer Classic Cup at Deeside Leisure Centre. Face off is at 8.30pm and admission is free for all spectators.
