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Phantoms 3, Slough 7 - Jets fly to an easy away win
(English Premier League): ACCURATE judgement of speed and distance is a skill rarely observed among the many virtues possessed by the fairer sex.
(English Premier League): ACCURATE judgement of speed and distance is a skill rarely observed among the many virtues possessed by the fairer sex.Anyone who has ever entered the words 'women' and 'parking' into the Google Video could tell you that.
So when Peterborough Phantoms discovered the English Premier League's only lady referee, Joy Tottman, was handling last night's game with Slough Jets they had ever right to be nervous.
As if playing the red hot Jets was not hard enough for Doug Irwin's injury ravaged side, a raft of bad decisions from the flighty stripey did nothing to make a tough task any easier.
Time after time Tottman's well manicured hand was raised against Phantoms, depriving the defending EPL champions of both men and momentum in a match they did not deserve to lose so badly.
Injuries to Doug MacIver, Julian Smith, James Ferrara, Tom Carlon and Callum Fowler also played their part, leaving Irwin in desperate need of some fit bodies soon.
He said: "I cannot fault the effort and commitment of the players out there but with the injuries we have it was always an uphill task.
"But two big decisions really hurt us out there. First losing James Morgan for 10 minutes in the first period then Warren Tait for the whole for things which from where I was standing didn't look much at all.
"Against that it was always going to be tough and although we fought hard, we just ran out of steam.
"Hopefully we can get a few guys back out there soon because I only have half a team at the moment.
"This is a tough defeat to swallow but we will fight back. We have been in great form over the past few weeks and we will not allow this defeat to undo all the good work we have done."
To be fair to Slough Jets, amid all the moans about dodgy referees and growing injury lists, one fact should not be ignored.
Coach Peter Russell has forged the high-flying Berkshire side into serious title contenders and they needed no extra help getting their noses in front at the Peterborough Arena.
After soaking up some early Phantoms pressure, a rapid Jets breakway saw Dan Davies break clear before pulling his pass back to skipper Blaz Emersic who made no mistake with a routine finish at the back post.
The goal was followed by a sustained spell of attacking possession for Jets and had it not been for Phantoms netminder Stephen Wall the visitors would have added to their lead.
Phantoms then found themselves a man down when Dwayne Newman was called for high sticks but it was the 10 minute call on Morgan which followed that drew howls of derision from the Bretton fans.
The big defenceman seemed barely to have raised a glove in sending Peter Poljacek to the deck but was handed a harsh 10 minute penalty nonetheless.
And while man-of-the-match Joe Miller did superbly to send James Knight through for a short-handed goal which said everything about the battling qualities of the former Telford duo, Slough wasted no time restoring their advantage.
Still on the powerplay, Peter Jasik made the breakthrough and when Tait was kicked out the game for high sticks on former Phantom Andy Munroe, the home side were suddenly right up against it.
And sure enough Jets' well-polished attack made sure to make the most of yet another powerplay opportunity with Paddy Ward making it 3-1 at the buzzer.
Five minutes into the middle act Miller briefly put Phantoms back in touch after good work from Maris Ziedins but Ciaran Long's marker seconds later ensured his side maintained control.
Heading into the third period things got worse when Poljacek lit the lamp for 5-2 before yet another mind-bendingly bad decision effectively killed off any chance of a comeback.
James Knight's challenge on Carl Thompson was nothing if not fair but Tottman pointed to the penalty box regardless, seemingly oblivious of the deafening chorus of boos which met the decision.
With so much going against them by this stage Phantoms were spent and Slava Koulikov had all the time in the world to make it 6-2 at the back post before Bowman added to the visitors' haul.
And while Miller's act of defiance in scoring his second of the night gave something to cheer, it could not prevent Phantoms slipping to their worst home defeat of the season.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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