SWINDON FLAMES MATCH REPORTS - 19/10/08

 

SWINDON FLAMES JUNIOR REDS 0 v READING RHINOS 6

Sunday saw the Flames junior development side The Reds, face off in their final match of the season against Reading Rhinos. Up against one the top three teams in the league, the Reds never say die attitude ensured that they trailed by only 1-0 at the break and could easily of been at least level following well crafted efforts by Jamie Baker and Jamie Townsend. The second period saw the Rhinos numerical advantage tell finishing 6-0 winners on the day. Despite the result this was a fine performance and a measure of how well the team has improved over the seasons. All credit must go to the players, goal minder Adam Rose, defenders Mike Weymouth, Bernadette Wagerfield, Ryan Martin, forwards Jamie Baker, Jamie Townsend, Chris Weymouth, who, through thick and thin, have stuck together and fought for every match point to achieve a very creditable 5^th place finish.

SWINDON FLAMES YOUTH 4 V ASH AVALANCHE 2

Swindon Flames youth team met their Ash counterparts in their final league game of the season. Having already secured runners up spot in the league the Flames side were looking to bounce back from defeats in their last two games. With a full squad available coach Derek Thompson was looking to utilise all his players with short stints and quick line changes the order of the day. The game was close and competitive throughout and although the Flames always looked in control they were unable to press home their advantage. The first half was over 10 minutes old before Jack Townsend opened the scoring. Three minutes later defender Connor McKenzie ventured forward and extended the lead with a rasping drive. Ash however were proving stubborn opponents and with less than 2 minutes of the half remaining a shot found the corner of the goal. This spurred the Flames into action and McKenzie scored his second goal with under 30 seconds left to give the Flames a 3-1 lead at the break. The second half was equally competitive and hard fought and Liam McGuire who replaced Adam Rose in the Flames net at half-time pulled off some outstanding saves before Adam returned to close out the game. Over 12 minutes elapsed before any further scoring with Ally Baker extending the Flames lead. With just over two and a half minutes remaining Ash scored again with a fierce close range shot but the Flames saw the rest of the game out comfortably to secure the win. 

SWINDON FLAMES PEEWEES 5 v BANBURY BULLDOGS 2

Swindon Flames Pee-wee team faced opposition from Banbury in their final league game of the season looking to consolidate their third place position in the league. Banbury needed a win by a big score to overhaul the Flames, a result which never looked likely, but with the Flames side handicapped by player shortages any possible nerves were eased when Zack Simmons put the Flames in front after 5 minutes play. The lead was doubled 2 minutes later when Will Harding put them further ahead. Banbury scrambled a goal on a breakaway a minute later but the remainder of the half saw the Flames camped around the Bulldogs goal creating numerous chances, which they were unable to take with the Banbury net-minder putting in a fine performance. This failure to take their opportunities briefly looked costly as Banbury started the second-half in a spirited manner and levelled the scores within 15 seconds. The Flames composed themselves however and Sam Nobbs re-established the lead after 5 minutes of the second-half had elapsed. With Zack Simmons netting his second a minute later and Jamie Kilby scoring a fifth with just under 8 minutes of the game remaining they comfortably saw out the end of the game, easily seeing off a 2 minute minor penalty to ensure a comfortable third place finish. 

SWINDON FLAMES JUNIORS 3 v READING RHINOS 4

In their penultimate game of the season the Junior Flames faced off against the Reading Rhinos, who, as a result of their earlier result against the Reds, found themselves level on points with the Flames. With both teams looking to secure the league’s runners-up spot the game was destined to be a hard fought affair from the off and, despite an early breakthrough from team captain Tom Ireland neither side were able to stamp their authority on a period which was both fast paced and highly competitive. With the safety of the half-time break in sight a momentary lapse in concentration from the Rhinos saw Flames seizing the initiative as James Townsend found the back of the net to take the Flames to the break 2-0 in the lead but far from comfortable.

The second period began much as the first, with no quarter asked or given, and despite numerous attacks and counters from both sides the score remained static until midway through the period when the Rhinos were at last rewarded for their efforts with a goal. Encouraged by their breakthrough the Rhinos threw everything at the Flames defence and for a full five minutes the Flames fended off a furious barrage from the Rhinos attack. As the sustained pressure began to tell gaps in the Flames defence inevitably began to show and Reading capitalised to draw the sides level. Buoyed by their comeback and with the Flames beginning to tire the Rhinos pressed home their advantage and with 94 seconds on the clock snatched another goal to give them the lead for the first time in the game. Not to be denied and determined to at least rescue a point, which would see them retain second place, the Flames launched into a desperate all out attack from the restart which saw Tom Ireland score his second of the match to tie the score at 3 all with 56 seconds of game time left to play. With neither side prepared to settle for the draw the last minute of the game was a frenetic affair with both teams looking for the knockout blow and with less than 30 seconds left it was the Rhinos who managed find the back of the net to snatch a hard fought 4-3 victory and take the league’s runners up spot but with a game in hand the Flames have the chance to wrestle back the position next week when they face off against Ash Avalanche on the last day of the season.