Darren Pomfrett In Action: Pic: Haganova Photos
Manchester Mayhem 0-16 Sheffield Steel Kings
Manchester Mayhem’s search for their first league win of the season continues on, as two shutout defeats to both Sheffield clubs saw their imperfect record moving on to 0-6 with the Steel City sides heaping more misery upon the short-benched Mayhem side. While the losing streak has grown for Manchester, the same can’t be said however of the Mayhem Bench, as that side has saw it shrinking. However, it did see a welcome return to the line-up for defender Amy Griffiths, as she has absent most of this season with an injury that has caused her to miss the first four games.
Saturday’s game against the Steel Kings was always going to be the tougher task of the two, and that is exactly how it turned out. Manchester came into the contest with just seven players at their disposal, as they would for the whole weekend – as they were without the services of Dean Lahan, Anthony Booth and Megan McEvoy. In the case of their opponents in the Steel Kings, they boasted the luxury of two-lines and a spare due to their much larger roster and used it to their full advantage, as It didn’t take too long for the Kings’ to open the scoring. The Kings’ Daniel Clarke scored his fourth of the season to give the visitors the early lead with 2.59 gone in the game, before Rachel Paget doubled the advantage for Sheffield at 5.03 to go 2-0 ahead, and put the Mayhem behind the 8-ball early doors.
Barry Grayson scored his first of the year to make it 3-0, with further strikes coming from Paul Brown and a brace from Matt Franklin kept the scoreboard ticking along for 6-0 after the opening period. Player/Coach Jake Oakley scored their seventh goal coming just fifty seconds into the second period, while Gary Farmer added an eighth for the visiting side, that until both Daniel Clarke and Barry Grayson doubled their respective goal tallies to see the away hitting double figures. Oakley and Paget both netted just before the end of the second period for a 12-0, as the home side struggled badly to contend with the speed and longer bench of the Steel Kings. The onslaught carried on through in the third period, as Sheffield put four more past the Mayhem, as two from Farmer saw him completing his own hat trick, along with two more from Jake Oakley to record four goals in the game and see the South Yorkshire side 16-0 winners.
Royal Sandwich – Mayhem’s Tom Kimm (L) and Anton Tomlinson (R) and Steel Kings Gary Farmer in the middle Pic: Haganova Photos
Sheffield Steel Stings 6-0 Manchester Mayhem
Sunday, saw Manchester travelling over the hills to face the Steel Stings at Ice Sheffield, with hopes of trying to help their playoff cause against a side that on paper at least, they had a chance against. But unfortunately, games aren’t played on paper, as a 3-0 first period lead for the home side wasn’t a fair reflection of the first 15 minutes of play. Sheffield’s Jack Grocock netted a hat trick inside the first nine minutes of the contest, while Manchester carved out a couple of good chances their way too, with Tom Kimm going clear on goal but seeing his effort gloved by Sean Grocock, while Felicity Gregory hit the outside of the post.
From the second onwards, it was all one-way traffic – with attacks coming from Manchester being really far and few between. Sheffield would use their bigger bench to good effect, as Connor Grocock came straight off the bench to fire home a fourth past Darren Pomfrett in the Manchester goal and it saw the Mayhem hoping to avoid a repeat of the day before. Manchester had no real luck in the game, with a dreadful call going against Anton Tomlinson for a bodycheck despite there hardly touching the Sheffield man, but Manchester did a great job to kill it off. Play in the third saw the home side searching for more goals, with Jack Grocock scoring his fourth of the game to make it 5-0 and have the hosts cock-a-hoop.
Soon after, Mayhem’s Felicity Gregory was shaken up badly from a nasty hit into the boards from a Sheffield bib player midway through the period. Where the two match officials deemed it to be nothing more than a minor penalty, much to the bemusement of all of the Manchester players and coach. But just to add more salt to those wounds, the player who made the hit then went on set up the hosts final goal of the game, where Connor Grocock was in the right place at the right time to put home a loose rebound near the front of the net for 6-0 and severely dent Manchester’s playoff hopes. The two sides’ meet again in a couple weeks time at Widnes, as the Mayhem will no doubt want to try gain a measure of revenge for that defeat.