25/26 Season: Week 3 Report
BILLINGHAM STARS made a winning start to their defence of both the Moralee Division and Moralee Cup titles with a long-awaited 3-8 road victory at Leeds Knights 2 on Sunday evening.
With the rest of the League up and running in terms of games played, the Champions were the last team to get underway and already playing catchup with some sides having completed five matches. The Stars came up against a different-looking Leeds side, the Yorkshiremen bringing through yet more young talent as they continue to provide a pathway through to the National League Knights. Leeds – with two games and one win under their belts – could have realistically expected to start the sharper, but it was the visitors who came flying out of the blocks and found themselves two goals to the good inside four minutes as first Michael Elder fed Chris Sykes for the low shot beyond Knights netminder Oliver Booth, then the returning Alex Preston beat Booth blocker side to give the Stars a perfect start. Not to be outshone, Leeds battled back and looked increasingly threatening on the counterattack, a quick pass in the tenth minute finding former Hawk Daragh Spawforth at the near post to shoot across Jacob Hammond between the Billingham pipes. Less than two minutes later, the home side had levelled things up when a defensive lapse allowed Owen Dell into the danger area to slot under Hammond. That was as good as it got for the hosts however, the Stars back in front by the first buzzer with two quick goals around the 17-minute marker through Callum Wilkinson and Iain Brown.
Billingham appeared content to keep possession of the puck in the early stages of the middle session, but with Leeds looking more confident, the Stars felt it was time to move up a gear. Just past the halfway marker, Rolands Gritāns teed up Preston for his second of the game, then Sykes and Brown traded goals and assists just eight seconds apart in the 36th minute to take the match well away from Leeds.
A quieter third session ensued, Sykes securing his hat trick in the 45th minute before a 51st minute consolation marker from Kurts Baumanis on his Knights 2 debut. All in all a pleasing opener for the defending Champions against a hardworking and offensively talented Leeds side who will want to tighten up defensively before the reverse fixture at the Forum this coming Sunday.
Man-of-the-Match for Billingham was Alex Preston.
Knights 2 Stats:
Kurts Baumanis 1+0; Owen Dell 1+0; Daragh Spawforth 1+0; Noah Deacey-Coulton 0+1; Oliver Wagg 0+1; Jake Wigginton 0+1; Fritz Heinzle 0+1; Frankie O’Sullivan 0+1
SOG: Oliver Booth 35 (16 / 15 / 4); Orson Groot 7
Stars Stats:
Chris Sykes 3+2; Iain Brown 2+2; Alex Preston 2+0; Callum Wilkinson 1+0; Michael Elder 0+3; James Moss 0+1; Rolands Gritāns 0+1; Tom Wakefield 0+1; Lucas Dowdle 0+1
SOG: Jacob Hammond 33 (7 / 3 / 11)
Weekend Results:
NIHL Moralee Saturday:
🦁 Nottingham Lions 1️⃣ - 4️⃣ Widnes Wild 🐾
🐯 Telford Tigers 2 3️⃣ - 4️⃣ Blackburn Hawks 🦅
NIHL Moralee Sunday:
🗡️ Sheffield Scimitars 1️⃣ - 6️⃣ Solihull Barons ⚜️
🐾 Widnes Wild 2️⃣ - 6️⃣ Blackburn Hawks 🦅
⚔️ Leeds Knights 2 3️⃣ - 8️⃣ Billingham Stars 💫
🦁 Nottingham Lions 4️⃣ - 8️⃣ Telford Tigers 2 🐯