Jets Fly Past Phoenix

Manchester Phoenix 1-6 Slough Jets

Manchester Phoenix went down woefully 6-1 to the Slough Jets in Altrincham on Sunday night after a second period collapse by the home side that saw the Jets score four times without reply.

Player coach Tony Hand conceded that the better team took the points home “It’s always disappointing when you lose and particularly when you lose at home, but I give all the credit to Slough tonight. There were quicker to the puck, won most of the 50-50 battles and they took their chances.”

Second period goals from Joe Greener, Peter Poljacek and a double from Blaz Emersic were enough to give the hosts a commanding lead at the second interval that came after a goalless opening stanza. The damage could have been worse but a sprawling save by Steve Fone in the Manchester net as he clawed the puck back off the goal-line.

The third period saw the Phoenix try to fight their way back into the match to no avail, the tie had gone from the home-side before Ed Courtenay netted in the 47th minute. The Jets scored either side of the Phoenix marker through Ciaran Long and Dan Davies, completing a miserable night for Tony Hand’s team who lacked creativity when trying to move the puck forward.

Hand commented after the game, “We’ll analyse the video of tonight and break it down so that we all learn collectively and individually where things went wrong. Now is not the time for over-reaction or histrionics, we need to address the breakdowns and work harder at making sure they don’t become bad habits.”