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| Callum Preston receives the MVP award from Violet Foster-Noble (Photo by Maxine Roscoe) |
Saturday 21st December – NIHL Laidler Division: Deeside Ducks 1 – Altrincham Aces 6
The
Deeside Ducks put in another spirited performance but ultimately lost out 1-6
to near neighbours Altrincham Aces at Deeside Leisure on Saturday.
The
game saw two new faces in Ducks shirts with debuts for former Deeside junior
Corey Swift and ex-Telford forward Rhys Howells, who played for the Dragons in
the Moralee Division last season.
The
Ducks had been trounced 16-4 in the away game in Altrincham a few weeks ago so
this was a much better performance all round and it remained very close until
the latter stages.
The
first period ended 0-1 to the Aces and they only managed to score their second
goal with just 7 seconds left to play in the second period.
The
score was 0-3 to the visitors by the time Deeside managed to find the net
themselves with a strike from Rhys Howells – scoring on his Ducks debut - on 53
minutes.
This
breakthrough did not spark a late Deeside rally, unfortunately, and 3 late
goals for the Aces gave the final score a slightly more one-sided look than the
Ducks’ performance necessarily deserved.
As
well as taking the 3 league points back up the M56, the 5-goal margin means
that Altrincham leapfrog Coventry in the group table for the parallel Laidler
Cup competition and qualify for the semi finals in second place behind Telford.
Deeside
finish bottom of the cup group with just 1 win from their 8 qualifying games.
Following
on from the festive break, the Ducks will be away to unbeaten league leaders
Sutton Sting on Saturday 4th January and are then at home again to
Altrincham Aces on Sunday 5th at Deeside Leisure Centre – 5pm face
off.
