MURRAYFIIELD RACERS 5 PAISLEY PIRATES 3

Pirates put in a spirited performance against their hosts in Edinburgh on Sunday night, but it wasn’t enough to stop them from going down 5-3 in a match where they were far from disgraced.

The visitors were actually ahead as early as the 9th minute as skipper Chris Turley linked with Conor Duncan to put Pirates in front, and the chance of an upset grew when goal maker Duncan turned scorer seconds before the first break, assisted by Sarginson, to send them in with a two goal advantage after 20 minutes.

Pirates continued to hold that advantage until the latter stages of the second period when a three goals in three minutes burst by the hosts turned the tables, a double by Martyn Simpson and then a late marker by Joel Gautschi with under two minutes of the session remaining giving Racers a narrow 3-2 lead going into the final twenty minutes,  Pirates still very much in the game.

The home side came out the quicker in the last session and were two ahead inside thirty seconds as Gautschi nabbed his second with a powerplay goal to give his side a little breathing space. A second powerplay effort by Gary Simpson five minutes later took the lead to three, and while Pirates kept fighting in a spirited performance it wasn’t until seven seconds from the end that Dan Abercrombie netted a consolation goal to give them a deserved third, Murrayfield running out winners by 5-3.

Pirates return to Braehead on Sunday as they take on North Ayrshire Wild in a local de. With the match facing off at 4.30pm.