DEESIDE DRAGONS continued their fire-breathing success during another stunning weekend.
The Dragons faced a double-header with the Whitley Warriors and they came out on top in both of them to maintain their winning run in Division One North.
First up was a trek to the North East, where Deeside bolstered their second-placed position in the standings with a thrilling 6-4 success.
Dragons wasted little time in setting the tone, with recent acquisition Gary Simpson opening the scoring, while Jared Dickinson and Jakub Hajek added to the tally.
Although Callum Queenan got Whitley on the board, the Dragons ended the period 3-1 ahead.
There was a real back-and-to in the second period, which ended up 2-2.
Charles Phillips and Hajek made sure Deeside remained clear, but Warriors’ interest was maintained by efforts from Dean Holland and Kyle Hindmarsh-Ross.
The final period saw both teams battle for control.
Hindmarsh-Ross grabbed his second goal for the Warriors to cut the gap to just one, but Deeside put the game to bed when MVP Hajek completed his hat-trick with less than a minute left.
Dragons’ assistant head coach Matt Compton said: “We did win at Whitley last year, but this year was so much more controlled.
“We didn’t back down from anything. We got away from our game plan when they got physical, but we got on with it.”
The sides met once more 24 hours later and home advantage was Deeside’s on this occasion.
Making it a perfect couple of days, the Dragons roared to a 7-2 outcome for their eighth consecutive triumph.
Following a goalless first period, goals from Ross Kennedy and Jared Dickinson (2) made sure Dragons were 3-0 to the good by the next break.
Further efforts from Hajek (2), Jake Witkowski and MJ Clancy would seal the deal.
“Saturday was a long day and everyone did so well to recover and go again on Sunday,” added Compton.
Other results: Hull 1 Billingham 4; Sheffield 2 Blackburn 12; Billingham 9 Nottingham 2; Blackburn 4 Leeds 0; Solihull 7 Sheffield 2; Widnes 1 Hull 3.
Deeside Ducks played their part in a 28-goal thriller, but most of the goals went in at the wrong end from their point of view as they lost 24-4 at Telford Tigers.
The Ducks actually took the lead with a goal from Cody Ogden after just 57 seconds, but Telford went on to hit 12 goals in the first period.
A second Ogden strike just before the break narrowed the score to 12-2 but Telford were well in control by that stage.
The second period continued in similar vein and the score was 19-3 at the second interval, with the only real plus point for the Ducks being a first ever league goal for Jack Davies in the 35th minute.
Early in the third period, Ogden scored his hat-trick goal to bring the score to 19-4 but five more unanswered goals sealed an emphatic win for the Tigers.
After the game, Ducks’ head coach Gary Shaw said: “The boys played with heart and earned the chances they took.
“We were happy with the players’ attitude. They didn’t give up and never let their heads drop.
“We have big things that went right and a lot of things we can improve - and it is all baby steps towards our goal.”
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