Solihull Barons – Whitley Warriors

Recap

While the ultimate result on Sunday may have been a little disappointing, the Direct Taxis Solihull Barons showed tenacity and determination in a massively entertaining and closely fought game between two committed and skilled sides in the form of the Barons and the Warriors.

The first 15 minutes of the tie saw the Warriors taking the game to Solihull while the Barons d and a strong Sam Hewitt absorbed the pressure, to leave the home offence to play on the counter. With 5 minutes of the first period to go the Warriors however converted the pressure, as Robert Farmer found the gap from close in to put the visitors ahead. The final couple of minutes of the initial period saw the Barons with some powerplay time but this remained unexploited and the sides would head to the dressing room with the scoreline 1-0 in favour of Whitley.

The start of the second would be marked by a series of penalties, as often as not overlapping, giving truncated powerplays none of which resulted in scoring. Back at even strength, it would this time be the Barons who would find the net, Ash Calvert from square in front of goal earning the equaliser just after the midpoint of the game. With just over a minute left in the period the Warriors would once again restore their lead as Harry Harley accelerated up the left wing before cutting in and deeking the puck past Hewitt. Twenty seconds later and Whitley extended their lead, Shaun Kippin picking up a stray rebound, to slot the puck home for the Warriors third.

The Barons clawed one back early in the third as Daniel Mulcahy cut in and slotted home on the backhand to trim the Warriors lead to a single goal. The remainder of the period delivered quality hockey but no further goals until, with only a minute left of regulation time, Baron Bailey Challans defied the extremely dependable Dean Bowater in the Whitley net for the equaliser.

Five minutes of extra time failed to divide the sides and it took a tense seven rounds of penalties before Phil Mulcahy, having scored on each of his previous attempts was finally parried and Robert Farmer in return got the Warriors winner.

The Barons have a weekend off coming up, before travelling to Sheffield on the 9th of October to take on the Scimitars in a cup tie. A day later and they host the Solway Sharks, the Dumfries side consistently being among the most skillful and well-drilled hockey sides in the Moralee, so another game not to be missed.