2010-02-08 10:35:45
Following last night’s 3-3 draw away to Telford Titans, Whitley Warriors still have their English National League title hopes in their own hands; but know they must win all six remaining games to be certain the trophy will come to Hillheads.After league leaders Nottingham went down to a surprise 3-1 defeat away to relegation threatened Trafford Metros on Saturday, Whitley knew a victory against Telford - with double points at stake following the postponement of the game prior to Christmas because of bad weather - would make them favourites.However, after goals from Shaun Kippin and Adam Reynolds had given the Warriors an early lead, the home side hit back to net three times; including two in just seven seconds midway through the middle session.Reynolds did grab his second of the night to tie the game up at 37.20, but with just four Whitley defenders – including coach Simon Leach – it was the Titans who came closest to scoring in the final period.“James Flavell was our man of the match, especially in the closing stages when he made some fantastic saves,” said assistant coach Kevin Dean, himself a former Whitley goalie, afterwards.“Considering how short we were on defence tonight, it was a good point and keeps us in the title hunt,” he added, “but obviously we would have preferred the win.“However, it was very solid team performance with everyone doing their bit to get what we did out of the game.”But the night was not without it’s casualties, as Dean – who ran the bench while Leach concentrated on playing – confirmed afterwards.“Simon has hurt his back,” he said, “while Nathan Taylor has sustained a shoulder injury and Bryan Dunn picked up a groin injury; and neither of them could finish the game.“But we will look at both injuries during the week to see if they can play any part in our two games next weekend.”Whitley were away to bottom of the table Kingston Jets on Saturday night and recorded an 11-2 win.“To be honest we did what we needed to against them,” said Dean, “the only moment of concern came midway through the second period when they scored twice to bring the score to 5-2, but we called a time-out immediately and reminded everyone to stay focused.“We were able to give everyone a run-out,” he added, “and the most pleasing thing was that we were able to share the goals around, with eight players finding the back of the net.”Dan Harris, Callum Watson and Martin Crammond all scored twice, while there were also markers from Dale Howey, Karl Culley, Shaun Kippin, Daniel Murdy and Adam Reynolds.You can discuss this as well as anything Warriors related on our message boards.
2010-02-05 11:03:30
Whitley Warriors find themselves on the road twice again this weekend and will be looking to boost their English National League title bid by collecting all available points.They begin with a match against bottom-of-the-table Kingston Jets on Saturday and follow that up with a visit to Telford Titans 24 hours later; and that Sunday encounter is being played for double points as the Shropshire outfit have no spare dates to replay the game that was cancelled because of bad weather just before Christmas.“We need to concentrate on the Kingston game first,” said Whitley coach Simon Leach, “and just because they are sitting at the bottom, doesn’t mean we can take the game lightly.“They’ve actually played a little better recently and it would be so easy to come unstuck if we go into the game with the wrong attitude, so we will treat them the same as we would any other side; because it is a must win game if we are to harbour hopes of winning the league.”Telford will provide a different challenge, especially on their own ice, where Leach feels they are a much more physical side.“We’ve had much the better of the two games at Hillheads and probably should have won both by more than we did,” he said.“But in Telford they are a lot more aggressive and seem to be more confident in themselves.“So it’s up to us to make sure they we go out with the right attitude, stay disciplined, play hockey the way we know we can and stick to the game plan; do that and I’m confident we can get the points we need.“It is a massive game for us - because of the four points at stake - and a quick look at the league table will show how quickly we can close the gap on Nottingham to just four points this weekend, if we win both nights,” Leach added.The Warriors are looking to put out the same side that beat Telford 5-1 at Hillheads last Sunday for the game in Shropshire tomorrow, but will be without Garry Dowd and Jordan Barnes for this evenings trip to Kingston.You can comment on this story and discuss all things Whitley Warriors on our message boards. Click here to go there now.
2010-02-02 10:21:35
For those of you who missed the article in sunday's matchday programme here is the article in full.And now for something completely different…This might be about as welcome as a wasp at a picnic – a Bombers supporter writing in your programme about how he views Whitley Warriors. I’m not as daft as I look (not many people are as daft as I look) so I’ll start with what I like about Warriors.It’s often breathtaking watching Warriors break out of defence with two players flying down the wings, a couple of quick cross ice passes and then the puck buried in the back of the net. I’ve watched that and been bewildered about how easy you make the game look. In the last couple of games I’ve seen this seems to be coming back with Karl Culley back in form and linking well with Ryan Sample.Hockey’s a tough sport and I think we all like seeing big mid-ice hits and D men splattering a forward into the plexi glass. Traditionally Warriors have given a clear message that they’re not to be messed with lightly. That’s a good thing - intimidation’s part of hockey in my book. I’ve seen teams come here where the players focus more on preserving their bits and pieces than winning.Bryan Dunn epitomises Warriors for me. He’s certainly not the biggest player in the game but I can’t think of any with a bigger heart than him. He never gives less than 100%, looks willing to skate through brick walls and never gives the opposition an easy time. He’s the kind of player that opposition fans love to hate, but probably commands the respect of most people.I believe that every player at this level of hockey deserves enormous respect. They give up their weekends during the season plus late night training sessions for little or no financial gain. Travelling to places like Dundee on a Saturday, working your socks off in a tough physical game of hockey, arriving home with cuts and bruises at silly o’clock in the morning to then repeat the experience the following night takes a lot of dedication or a complete fool – they’re not fools! They make the game look easy but it’s anything but that.I’ve never been a particularly brave man (I have told Chris Conaboy he punches like a girl – from a very safe distance) but I’ll say what I don’t like about Warriors. Gulp!I said I like Warriors’ aggression – but only to a certain extent. In years gone by that aggression has sometimes seemed to take over the whole Warriors game and led to ridiculous amounts of penalty minutes.It gets my back up as an opposition supporter but would really annoy me if my side were playing with four men for most of the game because of silly penalties.When Simon Leach became coach he got that in control, got the balance right and Warriors were almost certainly the best team in the league to watch. I think at the moment you could do with a little more of the ‘good’ aggression. There are still 2 or 3 players who I think would be much better if they concentrated on using their talent instead of trying to be ‘hard’. Players you’ll have heard me shouting at I actually think have loads of talent but would prefer to see them using it.There seems to be a little of the old Warriors spirit missing this season. I don’t understand why. There’s a good mix of talented experienced players and younger lads. Discipline seems to be way better but that daunting Warriors trademark doesn’t always seem to be there. I still think you’re good enough to win the league.Any criticisms I could level against Warriors supporters could probably be levelled at supporters of any club – including Bombers. At this point I’d like to say thanks for how welcome I’ve been made to feel here and how much I’ve enjoyed chatting to so many Warriors fans. (Who’re you calling a crawler?!?)My main criticism is the people who aren’t here. I can’t understand why Hillheads doesn’t have more people in on game nights. I’m more than happy to drive up the A19 for the fantastic entertainment provided for £7. I know I’m not the only Bombers fan who would be lost without hockey at Hillheads while the Forum’s shut. I don’t understand why people have stopped coming.Something I don’t like (and I say the same at Billingham) is when the crowd are quiet when things aren’t going well. It’s easy to make a noise when your team have just scored 3 goals in 5 minutes but the players don’t need you then – they’re flying anyway. When they need good, positive, loud, upbeat vocal support is when they’re under the cosh. Confidence can work wonders and a bit of backing and belief fromthe crowd can help lift confidence and turn a game around. I sometimes bully Bombers supporters to make a noise so I think it’s only reasonable to say the same thing here.We probably have more in common than we realise. I love hockey, I love my team, I love it when we beat you and I hate it when we lose to you. Sound familiar?Enjoy tonight’s game and good luck for the rest of the season.Cheers, Mick Fern (aka Silverfox, aka Bomber Block B)
2010-02-02 10:16:55
Whitley Warriors were 5-1 victor’s at home to Telford last night and remain on course for an English National League title showdown with Nottingham Lions - who were 2-1 home winners against Blackburn last night - at Hillheads early next month.However, before then the Warriors have a number of important games to negotiate and coach Simon Leach is looking for his side to put together a series of displays similar to the one that saw off the Titans.“We put Telford under a lot of pressure tonight and had them pinned in their own end for much of the time, creating a lot of good chances and maybe we should have scored a few more than we did,” he said.“We did drop the tempo a little in the middle period and that allowed them to get back into the game with a powerplay goal,” he added, “but once we got back in the groove, I thought it turned out to be a comfortable victory.”After picking up just a point on the road last weekend, Leach knew the win was crucial for his sides chances of chasing down Nottingham.“Like we said then, the performance last weekend was good,” the coach continued, “we just didn’t get what we maybe deserved from the two games, but tonight we got the job done and probably had another gear we could have used if it had been necessary.“But we got good performances all over the ice, we were solid in our play throughout the team and everyone played their part in the win; and that’s what we have to do every week now if we are to be successful at the end of the season.”The Warriors were in Northern League action on Saturday night when they travelled to Dundee and lost 7-3, but Leach was pleased with the performance of what was a relatively young side.“We gave Under 18’s players Ben Davison and Josh Maddock a debut and both performed really well for their first Warriors appearance, while we were without most of the players that would normally feature on our first two lines,” said the coach, who also played.“We also picked up a couple injuries with David Barrett breaking his arm and Nathan Ryder suffering ligament damage, so once again the value of having a big squad has enabled us to compensate for missing players.“I thought we did quite well for a couple of periods against Dundee and were in the game at 3-2 going into the latter stages of the middle session,” he added, “but the penalty shot award turned the momentum back their way and their experience told in the final 20 minutes; but it was a very creditable effort from the lads.”Goals from Bryan Dunn and Shaun Kippin put Whitley 2-0 ahead by the first interval against Telford last night, before Luke Brittle scored the visitors lone reply on the powerplay at 29.06.Nathan Taylor had restored the Warriors two goal lead by the end of the middle session when he too netted with the extra man and final period markers from Adam Reynolds and Karl Culley (short-handed) sealed the win.Reynolds had also been on target in Dundee - scoring Whitley’s third goal - after Andrew Tindale had netted the first two.
2010-01-29 18:24:23
Whitley Warriors coach Simon Leach turns to youth for saturday’s Northern League clash away to Dundee Stars, but expects to have all his senior players available for the important English National league fixture with Telford Titans at Hillheads on Sunday evening; face-off 6.30pm.“I will be giving debuts to Under 18 defenders Ben Davison and Josh Maddock, while Nathan Ryder and Jordan Barnes come back into the squad and Liam McAllister will start in goal,” he said.“We have already qualified for the Northern League Play-Off weekend,” Leach added, “so this is a great opportunity for the younger lads to gain some good senior experience and even thought we will be missing some senior players, there is still a good squad around them to help the lads through the night.”The Warriors will be without Karl Culley, DJ Good, Dale Howey, Ritchie Thornton and Rob Wilson for the trip to Scotland, but Garry Dowd and David Barrett are both set to return.“However, all those players will be back in the side for Sunday,” confirmed Leach, “for what is a very important ENL game for us.“Having lost points last weekend, we know winning all nine remaining fixtures in that league is imperative for us to be successful; and we certainly have a squad that is capable of doing that.“But we are concentrating on just one game at a time,” he added, “and that means taking care of business at home to Telford before we look at any other game.”Title rivals Nottingham Lions are at home to Blackburn Hawks tomorrow and Leach will be looking for the Lancashire outfit to upset the league leaders in the same way they upset the Warriors last weekend.“Blackburn are a good side and can probably beat any side on their day,” he said, “so we will be looking for maybe a little favour and you never know the Lions might be feeling a little pressure themselves.“We have had big leads in the past and sometimes that can work against you, so if Blackburn show the same work-rate and effort they might just get something form this game as well; we’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for the result,” he concluded.What do you think about this? Click here to have your say on our message boards.
Sat
13/02 -
6:00pm
