LOUGHBOROUGH WIN MIDLANDS LEAGUE TITLE IN SEASON CLOSER

08/03/08

Warwick Men's 5 @ 8 Loughborough

Once again the story was the same as the previous two games. Warwick jumped out to an early lead but were unable to push through to a win, as Loughborough slowed the game tempo and removed the transition game from Warwick.

In the regular season closing game Warwick will be disappointed to be left with no win and a likely 4th place finish, especially since 10 days ago they were at the front of the pack looking for a title. It just shows how tight it is at the top with Loughborough, Birmingham, Nottingham and Warwick all scrapping it out. This time Warwick just missed out at the close.

Loughborough once again played smart, being selective on their offensive possessions, and holding the ball well to deny many transition attempts from Warwick. Seb Croft was back to his best on the face-offs winning 9 of 12 (0.750) giving Warwick plenty of attacking opportunities, although in the slowed down game the Loughborough defense looked strong and were quick to shut down any inside opportunities.

Warwick had 5 different goal scorers on the day, with Duncan Trenholme (1,2) leading the on the day, scoring on a man-up opportuntity with a shot that bounced in off the keepers thigh. James Aris scored off a text book fast break, with Duncan Trenholme feeding up high and the captain shooting low changing the angle on Andrew "Sweet" Hunt.

Early on Warwick were to rue a few opportunities, with Duncan Trenholme dodging past two but seeing a shot bounce of Andrew Hunts face-mask. He then went close again being fed on the crease but seeing his shot cruise over as he was taken down by two defensemen. Seb Croft (1,0) was able to score on a nice dodge from up top, as did Neal Roadley (1,0) on a nice play from behind goal where he inside rolled and scored shooting bottom left. Nick Scullion (1,0) back from Italy also contributed.

The defence were again superb, keeping a potent Loughborough offense to only 8 goals, with Billy Halani stepping up on defense, and Dave Salmon and Ben Stothard again playing smart, hard hitting defense. If Warwick had capitalised on their offensive opportunities this may have been a very different game!

Warwick now look forward to their final game of the season in the West Midlands Cup final on 29th March v Birmingham Bulls.

Loughborough 8 v 5 Warwick

Goals:
Trenholme (1,2)
Aris (1,0)
Croft (1,0)
Roadley (1,0)
Scullion (1,0)

Saves:
Riddlestone 10 (0.556)

Current Record: (9-5-1)