First leg advantage Streatham

Londoners take four goal lead in to second leg of final

Streatham took home a four goal advantage after a first leg 7-3 win in Kent against long time rivals Invicta Dynamos in the NIHL South Cup final.

Looking to end a 38 year wait for a trophy, Streatham arrived in Kent without star man Vanya Antonov and new signing Luke Brittle, but welcomed back Ryan Watt, Dany Ingoldsby and Damien King to the line-up.

Backed by a packed away end of travelling supporters, the Londoners came out of the blocks hard and took the lead with five minutes on the clock. Former Dynamos player Scott Bailey finishing off a powerplay move involving Ryan Watt and Michael Farn.

Seven minutes later Watt smashed the puck into the top corner of the net to make it 2-0 and then player coach Adam Carr made it 3-0 with a shorthanded effort while Andrew Cook sat an interference penalty.

A devastating opening period display was topped off by a second goal from Carr who picked his spot from inside the circle, from a Conner Smith pass to silence the home crowd three minutes before the break.

2nd period

The hosts had only managed seven shots on Damien King in the first twenty minutes but came out a different team in the second period, with Owen Rider replacing Zach Grandy-Smith between the pipes.

Star forward Tomas Banovsky pulled a goal back four minutes from the restart with a jinking individual effort, but the Mo’s couldn’t break through the Streatham rear-guard again in the next few shifts.

The next goal would be crucial for momentum and to the delight of the visiting fans it was Streatham who got it. Danny Ingoldbsy lighting the lamp from a Rupe Quiney pass for 5-1.

The Dynamos refused to lie down and hit back immediately thanks to a goal from Arran Strawson finishing a Juraj Huska pass.

Celebrations would be short lived however and Watt popped up again to score just 14 seconds from the restart after a face off win by Carr.

At the end of the second period tempers flared as Harrison Lillis and Michael Farn clashed off the puck, only for Bailey to step in and protect the RedHawks Captain and drop the gloves.

3rd period

Leading 6-2 with twenty minutes to go, Streatham continued to hit penalty trouble before Watt completed his hat trick in style. Unfortunately, his elaborate celebration saw him sent to the penalty box on a ten minute misconduct, triggering a spate of penalties that gave the hosts a number of powerplay minutes with a 5 on 3 advantage.

Tom Davis finally capitalised on the powerplay with ten minutes remaining to make it 3-7 and restore a glimmer of hope for the home fans.

Streatham thought they had scored again four minutes from the final buzzer as Miles netted, but the referee pulled the game back and awarded the Mo’s a penalty shot for a stick throwing offence by James Warman.

Owen Dell stepped up to take the penalty shot but was denied by the confident King who celebrated with his team mates afterwards.

The 1st leg ended with a 7-3 scoreline giving the London side a 4 goal advantage going into the second leg in Streatham.

Scorers: Ryan Watt 3+1, Adam Carr 2+1, Scott Bailey 1+1, Danny Ingoldsby 1+0, Michael Farn 0+2, Rupe Quiney 0+2, Conner Smith 0+1

Ticket details and more about the second leg game: http://www.streatham-hockey.co.uk/cup-final-details