A45 Despair for bashful Barons

By Matt Johnson, Barons Press Officer

Solihull Barons slumped to their eighth straight defeat after suffering derby day heartache at the hands of fierce rivals Coventry ENL Blaze.

The losing streak is the worst this season and after a timid outing in a 3-1 rout, affairs at Hobs Moat Road look to be getting worse before they get any better.

The Barons went into the game full of confidence, backed by a 550+ strong crowd and took a fifth minute lead when Neil Adams stabbed home to nab his first goal since re-signing after a two year lay-off. Mike Rodger zipped down the left wing and played a neat interchange with Rob Eley before drilling low across the face of goal for Adams to poke home.

But just a minute later, Coventry restored parity through Connor Hubbuck’s powerplay effort after Erik Bakalar was pulled up for a high-sticking offence.

Both sides pressed for the all important second goal late in the first and it came, controversially, for the Blaze. It looked to all the world that they should’ve been pulled up for too many men on the ice, but referee Blaine Evans waved play-on and allowed the goal to stand – much to the dismay of the Barons bench and the Hobs Moat faithful.

Solihull had chances galore to level in the second. None more so than when they were handed a five minute powerplay after Gareth Owen was dismissed for a boarding offence on Luke Thomas that left the hard-hitting defenceman flat out on the ice. On top of that, a slashing penalty for Josh Nicklin gave the Barons a two minute 5-on-3 opportunity which agonizingly and harmlessly passed by.

As if the lacklustre display in front of goal wasn’t enough, the Blaze soured Darren Bellerby’s mood further heading into the second interval when they struck a sucker punch on the counter in the 39th minute to make it 3-1.

The third passed by without any further notes on the score sheet, but both sides could, and should, have hit more goals in what turned out to be a fairly uneventful final chapter of the A45 derby.

A three-week break should help to soften the mood in the Barons camp before a double header with Telford Titans and Whitley Warriors concludes the season on the final weekend of March.

Telford Titans V Barons, Sat Mar 24 5:30pm face-off. No coach travel available.
Barons v Whitley Warriors, Sun Mar 25 face-off 6pm. HMR, tickets £6 adults/£3 concessions.

Goals: - Adams
Assists: - Rodger, Eley
Man of the match: - Mike Rodger

TODD DUTIAUME The Solihull Barons would like to thank all those who made a donation to the "Dutiaume Fund" and helped raise £200.