DEESIDE DRAGONS know they will be in for a tough showdown when silverware is on the line later this month.

The Dragons are battling with Cardiff Fire to claim this season’s Welsh Cup and it’s finely balanced heading into the next match-up following a 5-5 draw in the first leg.

Fire grabbed a leveller with just 22 seconds remaining and this has handed them a boost heading into the second leg, which will be played in Cardiff on September 28.

“Obviously, we didn’t know what to expect from Cardiff,” said Dragons’ assistant head coach Matt Compton.

“We knew they were a decent test and we had new guys coming in. The first 20 minutes we were really happy with.

“We got away from the game plan in the other two periods.

“They scored in the last 20 seconds after us just going up. The guys have got to take responsibility and take that as a big learning curve to see games out.

Ross Kennedy (3), Jared Dickinson and MVP Jakub Hajek were on the scoresheet for Deeside, while the Dragons followed this up with a tense 4-3 success at home to Nottingham Lions to open their league campaign.

James Parsons (pictured), Hajek, Dickinson and Jayson Burgess scored for the Dragons.