Match Report & Game Record Sheet

Solway Sharks 8-2 Paisley Pirates

Competition - St. Andrew's Cup

Game Date - 03/12/11

Face Off Time 19:00

Last weekend the Solway Sharks, sponsored by Magnox Ltd, faced old friends and rivals the Paisley Pirates at the Shark Tank in the annual St Andrew’s Cup challenge match and after a stern test eventually emerged victorious by eight goals to two.

After the initial jousting for possession the Pirates were the first to threaten goal when a minute into the game Gareth Stephen did well to control a bobbling puck and fire in a low wrist shot from the slot that Gary Russell in the Solway goal had to be alert to smother low at his post. As Paisley controlled much of the early possession their confidence grew and Russell had to be just as alert two minutes later to save a long range effort from the impressive Jack Burns. When Sharks did start to threaten a loose clearance over the plexi by Martin Guy on the five minute mark gave Solway their first powerplay of the game and their first opportunity to really test the Pirates rearguard. However, despite constant pressure the only serious threat at goal came from a Mark Gallagher shot from a narrow angle, but the man advantage had broken Paisley’s rhythm and put the Sharks on the front foot. On the eight minute mark a display of sheer determination by young Conor McCallum saw him win and then retain possession under pressure on the left-hand boards at the half way line. As he emerged with the puck and crossed the opponents blueline he spotted Nathan Salem in support and a perfectly waited pass allowed the latter to score with a rising wrist shot from the slot which found the net via the inside of the left hand post.

Against ENL2 opposition this breakthrough may have lead to a run of goals but the Pirates are made of sterner stuff and Russell had to be alert to save from ex-Sharks Graham McCamley and then John Churchill as the visitors fought to get back on terms. Perhaps they fought a little too vigorously for the liking of the referee as just before the eleven minute mark an interference call on James Clark allowed the Solway powerplay unit to go to work for the second time. After patiently moving the puck around the visitors “D” Adam Reynolds played a simple pass along the blueline to a centrally placed Struan Tonnar whose powerful slapshot flew into the net through a crowd of players. Four minutes later the Sharks were on another powerplay when Struan Tonnar became provider for Frazer Goldie to score the home sides third goal, a carbon copy of the second, although some credit must go to Mark Gallagher in front of the net for blocking the netminders view. A raging Pirates coach immediately called a time out and for a while the visitors returned to a more offensive game but as the clock was ticking down towards the first interval Solway delivered a hammer blow. Bob Chalmers won a face-off to the left of the Paisley goal and Terry Robertson immediately passed back inside to Frazer Goldie who blistered a slapshot into the Pirates goal from the edge of the face-off circle.

From the opening face-off in the second period the Sharks went onto the offensive and took the game to their opponents and three minutes into the session they got their reward. A break up the left saw Nathan Salem and Stevie Adams exchange passes before the puck found its way to Struan Tonnar in the high slot and his wrist shot into the roof of the Pirates goal gave McHatton no chance. The Pirates quickly regrouped and the strong skating of McCamley allied with the old head of Churchill certainly gave the Sharks defence something to think about but any hopes the visitors held of a revival were dashed with two goals in a minute at the mid-way point of the game. First Calum Henderson found himself behind the Pirates goal and showed a poise beyond his tender years to hold the puck and then pass beyond the initial Sharks forward to the unmarked Nathan Salem who duly converted from the slot. Within a minute an Adam Reynolds pass found Bob Chalmers in the right-hand face-off circle and he produced a piece of magic to bamboozle his marker and score with a spinning back-handed shot. The visitors did get a merited reward for their efforts two minutes before the second interval when Graham McCamley was on hand to knock a bouncing puck into the Sharks goal after Gary Russell had done well to block from Gareth Stephen. This season the Sharks have shown great mental discipline to bounce back quickly after an opponent has scored and they did so again here. Thirty seconds from the break Goldie latched onto a loose puck after McHatton had saved from Chalmers and dispatched a rising wrist-shot that deflected into the net from the bottom of the crossbar to make the score eight-one.

With the game over as a contest both teams produced a third period that was more reminiscent of a pre-season training match. Not that there wasn’t incident and entertainment for the crowd. Chris Rae replaced Russell in goals for the Sharks and once again proved an able deputy with several good saves most noticeably from McCamley and Thorp. For their part the Sharks showed some good movement and nice passing moves but the cutting edge was missing. In its last three minutes the game came to life with the Pirates putting in some of the hits that we have come to expect (and love, or love to hate) from them but sensible refereeing from Mr Craig and his team saw that nothing went too far. With just six seconds remaining on the clock, time seemed to go back twelve years, as a pass along the Sharks blueline found John Churchill free in the centre and his perfectly hit slapshot cannoned into the net from the crossbar. The shot was just as it was remembered from all those years ago when a young Churchill played in Vikings colours and was a fitting conclusion to an entertaining challenge match.

Scoring statistics for Solway were as follows: Frazer Goldie three goals and no assists, Struan Tonnar and Nathan Salem both 2+1, Robert Chalmers 1+2, Adam Reynolds 0+2, Conor McCallum, Stephen Adams, Terry Robertson and Calum Henderson all 0+1. Gary Russell started off in the Sharks goal and saved twenty of the twenty-one shots that he faced (save percentage 95.24%) before being replaced at the second interval by Chris Rae who saved thirteen of the fourteen shots that he faced (save percentage 92.86%). Match sponsors Dumfries and Galloway Council awarded the Man of the Match Awards to Frazer Goldie for the Sharks and to John Churchill for the Pirates.

The views and statistics in this report are individual and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Solway Sharks.