An under strength Invicta Dynamos side were beaten 9-1 by the Guildford Flames in the English Challenge Cup on Sunday night.

Without the services of Mark Lee, Andy Smith, Juraj Huska, Grant Baxter, Charlie Phillips and Steve Osman, it was always going to be an uphill task against the EPL side and that’s how it proved to be.

However, the Dynamos fans took heart from the fact that the side never gave in against their superior opponents and managed to keep the scoreline to some sense of respectability.

With a good support following the Flames, it came as no real surprise that the home side conceded early on and it took just 38 seconds for veteran David Longstaff to tuck the puck home past Chris Douglas.

The Dynamos then mounted a response, but it proved to be fruitless and they conceded again in the 5th minute with Jozef Kohut doing the damage.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Guildford made it 3-0 in the 12th minute as an unsighted Douglas was beaten through traffic with Danny Meyers getting himself on the scoresheet.

Then followed a major turning point in the game with the placid Adam McNicoll given a ten minute misconduct penalty by referee Stefan Hogarth with the two exchanging words at the face off. Questioning the decision, the Dynamos found themselves a man down as they picked up a minor penalty to boot.

Making full use of the numerical advantage, the Flames made it 4-0 in the 13th minute as Owen Fussey grabbed his first of the night from the blue line and the misery was compounded for the Dynamos in the 17th minute as the visitors added their fifth with Andrew Hemmings adding his name to the goalscorers.

With a sense of injustice in the air, Elliott Dewey picked up a slashing penalty right on the twenty minute mark and again disputing the decision, the Dynamos were made to start the second period with three players as they were given another minor penalty.

Trying to kill the 5 on 3 proved to be fruitless for the Dynamos and again they conceded early in the period with Sam Godfrey doing the honours just 46 seconds in.

It took until the 35th minute for the Flames to add to their tally as the Dynamos battled hard without reward finding James Hadfield almost impossible to beat, but at the other end Douglas was beaten by a slick move that saw Stuart Potts fire home.

Going into the last period 7-0 down, some fans began to fear the worst for the home side, but the Dynamos mustered a response and were duly rewarded for their efforts in the 48th minute as Billy Phillips slammed the puck home from the deep to make the most of a powerplay.

Then followed a great song from the home support as they suggested their side were going to win 8-7!

As romantic as that would have been, it wasn’t to happen and the Flames added two more goals before the buzzer, Kohut adding his second of the night in the 51st minute and Douglas was beaten for the last time in the 55th as Matt Towe got in amongst the scoring action.

That was to end Douglas’ suffering for the night as he was replaced in goal by Steve Nightingale with Kevin Parrish electing to give his other netminder some time on the ice.

In the end, there were no more scores as the Dynamos kept it down to single figures and they rightly got a raptuous reception from both sets of supporters for their valiant efforts and they’ll be hoping for more bodies available next weekend.

That sees the Dynamos head to London Raiders in the league on Saturday night before returning to Gillingham to face the Swindon Wildcats in the English Challenge Cup with a sniff of an upset on the cards.

To listen to interviews with Kevin Parrish and Arran Strawson from after the game, click here: