MATCH REPORT: Guilford 5, Phantoms 3: Coach extends contract, but good form comes to an end

Wehebe Darge scored for Phantoms in Guildford.

His side were beaten for just the second time in seven English Premier League games when going down 5-3 at Guildford.

That defeat came only hours after Phantoms revealed Koulikov has agreed a new deal to remain at the helm until the end of the 2018/19 season. His previous agreement was due to expire after next season.

Koulikov said: “We first spoke about an extension in the summer and my only concern was spending so much time away from my family.

Tom Stubley returned to action for Phantoms in Guildford.

“I’m now in a position where I have been able to bring them down from Hull to live in Peterborough and that is really important for me.

“It means I can devote more time to both my daughter and the club, and spend a hell of a lot less time on the road.

“I’m very happy at Phantoms. A lot of work has been put in behind the scenes by a lot of people – not just me – in recent years to make the club better and I still think we can make some more improvement.

“It would have been great to have got a win in Guildford to finish the day, but it wasn’t to be.”

Scott Robson was man-of-the-match for Phantoms in Guildford.

Instead it was the Flames who emerged victorious from a showdown which carried significance on two fronts.

The sides were locked together at the end of the first and second periods, but two Flames strikes in the final session tipped the pendulum their way in a game that also counted towards the EPL Cup competition. Both these teams are battling for a semi-final spot.

A powerplay strike from Darius Pliskauskas made sure Phantoms hit the front little more than three minutes after the puck dropped in Surrey, but they soon found themselves behind after conceding twice in the space of just 39 seconds to Ben Campbell and David Savage.

A short-handed Wehebe Darge effort ensured the opening stanza ended in deadlock and there was no splitting the sides in the middle chunk either.

Phantoms coach Slava Koulikov has signed an extension to his contract.

They traded late goals in that period with Tom Duggan giving Guildford an advantage that lasted for 88 seconds until Marc Levers levelled for a Phantoms side featuring teenage defenceman Tom Stubley for the first time in more than a month following a shoulder injury.

But Phantoms couldn’t respond when the home side edged ahead again in the final instalment through Savage’s second goal of the night and a Marek Maslonka effort clinched an important success on two fronts for the Flames.

Koulikov added: “We went to Guildford with a plan and executed it well for the vast majority of the night.

“The fourth goal was the key moment as it meant we had to go and chase a game in which he had set out to play pretty defensively.

“We started to dominate possession and create a few chances, but Guildford scored again and we couldn’t come back from that.”

Phantoms remain fifth in the league standings ahead of a home date with Hull tonight (November 20, 5.30pm). The Pirates lost their unbeaten home record when being thumped 7-3 by troubled table-toppers Telford last night.

MATCH DETAILS

Goals

GUILDFORD

5:27 Campbell ass: Eriksson

6:06 Savage ass: Santavuori/Lundin

38:14 Duggan ass: Campbell/Santavuori

43:39 Savage ass: Santavuori/Maslonka

50:03 Maslonka ass: Lundin/Duggan

PHANTOMS

3:19 Pliskauskas PP) ass: Norton/Levers

12:12 Darge (SH) unassisted

39:42 Levers ass: J. Ferrara/Pliskauskas

Men-of-the-match

GUILDFORD – David Savage

PHANTOMS – Scott Robson