EPL: Double blow for Sheffield Steeldogs but Greg Wood finds plenty of positives

SHEFFIELD STEELDOGS may have drawn another blank in the English Premier League at the weekend but they drew nothing but praise from player-coach Greg Wood.
Sheffield Steeldogs' player-coach, Greg Wood.Sheffield Steeldogs' player-coach, Greg Wood.
Sheffield Steeldogs' player-coach, Greg Wood.

Twice the eighth-placed side went ahead against Swindon Wildcats on Sunday night, only to be pegged back both times and then subsequently beaten 4-2 by the team immediately above them in the standings.

The Ice Sheffield setback came 24 hours after a 5-3 defeat on the road at fourth-placed Basingstoke Bison - the fifth straight defeat the Steeldogs have suffered at the hands of the Hampshire club.

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But Wood was quick to praise his players after another difficult weekend which saw them playing short-benched to leave them with just one win in their last nine games.

“The effort level from the boys was fantastic,” said Wood after defeat on home ice to Swindon, the player-coach himself missing both games through injury.

“For the first two periods we were very, very good although we tired a little in the third. The game should have been out of reach after the first period where I think we had three or four really good chances that we didn’t take.

“But as we have seen, if you don’t take them, you get punished. We did fall off in the third but we have played with six guys on the road on Saturday night and had a long trip back.

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“When you create the chances that we did, it’s hard to be mad at guys. The interlinking play was good, the play in the defensive zone was good but it doesn’t make it easier when you don’t get the result.”

Donatas Kumeliauskas put Steeldogs ahead inside two minutes against Swindon and, despite Jan Kostal levelling soon after on the powerplay, the hosts were ahead again when Tim Smith struck at 21.16.

But two goals in three minutes swung momentum the visitors’ way, Tomasz Malasinski levelling at 32.10 before former Sheffield Steelers forward Phil Hill got what proved to be the game-winner. As the hosts pushed for way back, Jonas Hoog sealed both points for the Wildcats at 47.55.

On Saturday, the Steeldogs found themselves 2-0 down at the end of the first thanks to a double from Vanya Antonov.

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Arnoldas Bosas made it a one-goal game at 35.57 but - just 21 seconds later - the hosts doubled their lead again, this time firing past James Hadfield.

That is how it stayed until early in the third when Tomas Karpov struck, with Joe Rand adding another on the powerplay at 56.58.

Steeldogs rallied late on, with Liam Kirk on the powerplay and Macauley Heywood both finding the net, but it was too little too late.