Forward Karl Lennon notched his first goal for the Invicta Dynamos since returning to the club and his effort alongside further tallies from Richard Harris, Tom Davis and Anthony Leone sealed a hard fought 4-2 road win against the Solent Devils on Sunday.
The Dynamos came into the tie minus Tommy Ralph, Matt Foord, Owen Rider, Ashley Jackson and Taylor Chard but welcomed Joe Allen who was a late addition to the side.
In the opening frame the Mos had to kill off minor penalties to Karl Lennon and Richard Harris before then putting pressure on the Solent net and claiming the opener at 15.35. Harris and Juraj Huska both claimed assists as Lennon fired beyond Christian Cole to make it 1-0. The strike was Lennon’s first since returning this term having previously retired in 2011.
The Devils were down a man for a brief spell as Daniel Lackey sat for holding but the visitors would then finish the frame on the back foot as Anthony Leone was penalised for delay of game and Tomas Banovsky was called for slashing.
In the second frame the Mos largely had their back to the wall with netminder Ben Clements coming under heavy fire. Despite this it was the travelling side that were next on the scoreboard – at 25.06 Karl Lennon teed up Richard Harris who beat Christian Cole for 2-0.
Further penalties to Harris and then Tom Davis saw the Mos invite further pressure but they held firm before tempers really flared at 33.37 in an incident involving multiple players. Mitchell Murray, Alex Murray, Brandon Webster and Mason Webster were all penalised following multiple coming togethers and fights. Mitchell Murray received 5 for fighting, 10 for incitement and a match penalty for unsporting conduct, Alex Murray took a fighting major, Brandon Webster was penalised with a game penalty for checking from behind and a match penalty for unsporting conduct and Mason Webster was also given a fighting major.
When the dust settled and the action restarted, the Devils then dominated the remainder of the frame. At 35.34 they halved their deficit as Mark Pitts teed up Elliot Lewis to beat Ben Clements and make it 2-1. It was then all square at 37.16 – Alexander Cole and Daniel Shier getting amongst the points for assists as Alexander Trendall nabbed an equaliser for 2-2. Soon after the period closed with Ben Clements having faced 26 shots and Christian Cole just 8.
In the final frame the Mos were back at it and they surged in front again at 43.19 – Juraj Huska setting up captain Tom Davis for the go-ahead goal that made it 3-2. The sides then traded chances throughout a much more even period setting up a tense and nervy finished. With time against them the hosts then pulled netminder Christian Cole late on but the gamble failed to pay off with Anthony Leone able to pick out the empty net at 59.59 to seal a 4-2 victory – an assist going to Tomas Banovsky.
So it was an excellent away win at a very tough venue made even more remarkable by some key absences from the line-up. Man of the match awards went to Karl Lennon and Elliot Lewis whilst Ben Clements deserves a mention for finishing the tie with a stop rate of 96.30%.