Kirkcaldy Kestrels 5 Paisley Pirates 5
A never say die performance from Pirates enabled them to snatch a point in a match which saw them several goals down at different junctures in the game, with Martyn Guy scoring a final equaliser with only three minutes left.
The visitors were stunned as Kestrels came out firing on all cylinders and were two ahead with less than eighty seconds on the clock as first Garry Simpson, then Smith, beat Meechan to put their side 2-0 ahead with the game barely underway. Back came Pirates, however, and Walker put the visitors on the board before the halfway point in the period to put them back in the game. The visitors were unable to get a game tying goal and the period finished with the hosts 2-1 ahead.
Kestrels restored their two goal advantage after 28 minutes when they caught Pirates on the break with a short handed goal, converted by Martin Simpson, but just after the half way point in the period Ryan Sarginson hauled the visitors back into the game again. However, with just under a minute of the period remaining, Meechan was beaten for a fourth time by Duncan, enabling the hosts to go into the second break nursing a handy 4-2 advantage.
The visitors came out looking for an early goal, and in fact they got two within the first three minutes as first Sarginson completed his double with only a minute gone, then two minutes later the scores were level for the first time since the opening exchanges in the match as Connor Spiers tied the match at 4-4. Kestrels responded within a minute through Smith to restore their narrow advantage, but Pirates weren’t done yet and with three minutes left Martyn Guy beat Jackson for the final goal of the night, and end an entertaining game at 5-5.
Match Preview
Pirates were a much improved side following their dismal showing against Dundee Comets the previous weekend, and now look forward to two road trips this weekend, making the short trip to Ardrossan on Saturday to take on North Ayrshire Wild, having fought out two 4-4 draws with them already this year, while on Sunday they take the road and miles to Dundee to face up against the Dundee Tigers.
Paisley Pirates go into a busy weekend energised by an encouraging 5-5 draw in Kirkcaldy last weekend, in a match which saw the side come back on a number of occasions to grab a vital league point with only three minutes remaining.
“The players responded as we hoped they would to the disappointment of being well beaten the previous weekend and showed a lot of spirit in keeping going against a Kestrels side which had a number of their Elite League players on the bench,” said Off Ice Operations Manager Jackie Turley. “We’ll be hoping to see more of that determination and spirit this weekend as they won’t be easy games for us.”
On Saturday, Pirates make the short trip to Ardrossan to take on North Ayrshire Wild, a side against which Pirates have already fought out two 4-4 draws at home and away, while on Sunday they hit the road again as they travel to Dundee to go head to head against the local Tigers.
“Turley continued, “As we’ve already seen this season, the Wild are no mugs so we’ll need to be on top of our game if we are to overcome them. They won their first match in a wee while at the weekend so their confidence will have been boosted in scoring a few goals and getting the win. On Sunday, we are in against the Tigers and they showed a lot of spirit against us a few weeks ago when we won 5-2. Again, their performance against us then will make them believe they can make a game of it against us, so it will take a professional performance over 60 minutes if we are hoping to take the two league points at stake.”