Phantoms dig deep to shoot down Jets - Phantoms 4 Jets 1
PHANTOMS 4 SLOUGH JETS 1
PHANTOMS 4 SLOUGH JETS 1English Premier League
PHANTOMS battled their way to a three-point lead in the English Premier League title race last night.
Pushed hard by reigning EPL play-off champions Slough Jets, Colin Patterson's side had to dig deep at the Peterborough Arena but again they delivered when it really mattered.
Sniper in chief Nathan Rempel will take a lot of the credit for his 51st and 52nd goals of the season which swung the game, but had it not been for a relentless effort from all those in a Phantoms jersey this game would have been lost.
Clearly taking note of the fact that their high-flying hosts had scored 16 goals in the last two games at the Peterborough Arena, Slough arrived in Bretton with a rigid game plan.
Rather than take on Phantoms toe to toe and risk being blown away early, Steve Moria's side came to dig out a result by working their butts off and not giving anyone in blue and white a moment's peace.
And it almost worked too, as Slough's relentless workrate and heavy hitting kept the result in the balance for all but the last 10 minutes.
Luckily over the past few months, however, Patterson has worked hard to add steel to his side and they needed every ounce last night.
Patterson said: "That was a real grind out there and I am very pleased with the way we took them on.
"It was never going to be a free-flowing type of game because they came here to close us down and force us into mistakes so we had to work hard to overcome that and we did.
"Slough had a lot of jump early on and they got ahead but we really fought back to take control in the second and I thought we finished our chances well.
"It may not have been pretty but it was a workmanlike performance which is what it's all about at this stage of the season.
"We need to work as hard now in every game, a three-point lead is nice but it can still slip away if we lose our intensity for a second."
But it was a momentary lapse in concentration if not intensity which allowed Jets to take the lead after starting the game like a team possessed.
With Nicky Chinn and Joe Ciccarello leading the way, Jets physical approach was creating the better openings early on and when Chinn smashed Munroe for six before feeding Ross Bowers at the back post they had the lead they deserved.
The gauntlet was down but, after a tentative start, Phantoms finally began to flex their own muscles and when Rempel bounced Tony Redmond onto his backside it was clear they were up for the fight.
The home side then went on to create a string of chances with Rempel, Brent Gough and Joe Miller all testing the reflexes of Dean Skinns in the Jets goal.
Skinns however was in the kind of form which was later to secure him the man-of-the-match award and despite their efforts, Phantoms trailed going into the second period.
But it was not a position they had to suffer long when Maris Ziedins shot out on the breakaway early in the middle act. The Latvian picked out Lewis Buckman at the back post and he then raced round the back of the goal before zipping the puck back to Ziedins who fired home from the tightest of angles.
Back on terms Phantoms began to exert more control in possession and Ziedins went close again before James Morgan bombed forward and released a meaty drive but saw his effort well saved by Skinns.
At the other end Wall was far from redundant, however, and had to react well when Moria wriggled clear to shoot at his back post before turning Carl Thompson's shot over minutes later.
But with just seconds of the period remaining Phantoms found the goal which ultimately changed the face of the game.
On the powerplay James Hutchinson drove in at Skinns who could only parry the ferocious shot which fell kindly for Rempel to slot home and put his side into a 2-1 lead.
Jets' heads could be seen dropping at such a late blow and when the Canadian pounced seven minutes into the re-start to double the lead the writing was on the wall.
Given a little breathing space for the first time on the night, Phantoms then produced their best hockey in the final 10 minutes with Miller hitting a post before Craig Peacock applied the finishing touches by slotting home for 4-1 with just three seconds to play.
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Weather for Peterborough
Thursday 18 March 2010
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 2 C - 8 C
Wind Speed: 14 Knots
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 2 C - 10 C
Wind Speed: 18 Knots
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