Leeds Knights v Hull Seahawks - Matty Davies fully aware of Knights' potential to bounce back

Head coach Matty Davies knows they need something similar again if they are to complete the job at Elland Road tonight.

The Seahawks carry a slender one-goal lead over to West Yorkshire as they look to make it two wins out of two on the Knights’ home ice this season.

While taking confidence from the 4-2 win in Leeds in the league on December 22, they will be fully aware of their hosts’ ability to hit back from adverse situations.

Last season Leeds were trailing 6-0 from the first leg in the final of this competition against Peterborough Phantoms and came close to pulling off one of the most sensational comebacks ever seen when winning the second leg 6-2.

They are also firm favourites to retain their regular season title, holding all the aces with 20 games remaining.

But, for now, both teams’ attention is focussed on the Cup, Hull looking to reach their first-ever final, Leeds looking to atone for last season’s runners-up finish.

“We know what they are about, they are still coming, they are still going to make it difficult for us,” said Davies. “They were 6-0 down after the first leg of the final last year and nearly pulled that off - so we know what they are capable of and that’ll be in their minds, too, giving them the confidence that they can turn things around.

“We’re only talking about one goal here. You just can’t afford to switch off because they are so dangerous and we have to go into the game seeing it as a 0-0 game.

“They are the best team in the league but I do think we can beat them, too. And I believe we’ve got the right make-up in our team to cause them problems.

“It doesn’t make the game any easier and we still have to get the job done, but we don’t fear going there. We’ve gone there before and won and there aren’t many teams who have done that and there aren’t many teams who can beat Leeds - but I believe we’re one of them.”

After Wednesday’s 4-3 reverse Leeds head coach Ryan Aldridge reported sickness had worked its way through his team prior to the first leg, while he also had to make do without defenceman Dylan hehir and American playmaker Jake Witkowski through suspension.

“We have to be pleased with Wednesday, especially bringing it back to within one at the end,” said Aldridge, whose team led twice in the first period. “I thought we played with a bit of cup nerves on Wednesday, weren’t really ourselves.

“We’ve got a few sicknesses going around the team and obviously we were missing Dylan and Wit’.

“But it is what it is, we've just got to chip away and find a way. It will be important to get a good start on Friday at ours, get the crowd behind us and see what we can achieve.”