Darren Bellerby has hailed the spirit and tenacity of his Barons side after clinching a valiant 3-3 draw with the unbeaten Billingham Stars.

Sam Hewitt & Luke Thomas against Billingham

Bottom of the table Barons held the table-topping Stars thanks to goals from Adam Andrews, Rich Slater and Erik Bakalar – a result that Darren believes could spark a turning point in the season.

“It’s great result.” Said Darren.

“Bottom of the league playing top of the league, you think they’re going to come here and put a cricket score against you. But to be fair to my boys, they’ve dug in – and they’ve had to.

“We had a good chat before the game and I said that changes will have to be made and that people will have to leave if they’re not going to turn up and play, so everybody went out there and left it all out on the ice.

“We had a big bench. I told my players before the game that nobody’s going to get tired, so we’ll go out there and roll three, four lines and if everybody does what they’re supposed to, they’ll be no problems.

“We’re always going to concede goals like the first two – we’re that sort of team. We go to sleep for the first five minutes and we don’t start playing till we’re a goal or two down, but we showed great character to get back into it and I’ll sleep easy now.

“When they’re on their game, my boys never know when they’re beat. They’ll always give it their all. Sometimes we just suffer from inconsistency and penalties, that’s all.”

Speaking after the Nottingham game on October 30, Darren conceded that he felt his side didn’t stand much of a chance against the formidable Stars, but now he has gladly eaten his words.

“You’re right, I said that I didn’t think we stood much of a chance, but I’m glad I was wrong and I’m proud of my lads. We had two extra guys who iced for the first time as well. Stuart Clayton and Tom Parker are big characters on the ice and a boost to the dressing room and they’ve done what we want them to do in there.

“We’re getting a bit more belief now. We’re still inconsistent and we may well be throughout this whole season, but all we’re looking to do is stay up and every point is a valuable one as far as I’m concerned.”

Looking ahead to the Coventry game, Darren believes his squad’s new found confidence will stand them in good stead and he is now relishing part two of what is sure to be a heated A45 derby.

He added: “Coventry is always going to be a massive game. They’re a good side and they’ve got some massive players and they’re dangerous.

“They mauled us 9-2 away and I’ve got no complaints about that but I think it will be a different game now with those who we’ve brought in the squad and a bit of belief and confidence that we’ve got from the Billingham result.

“We’ve got a nice weekend off again at the weekend, so we’ll have a bit of a breather and get back out there for training and work hard and we’ll be ready for it.”