Steeldogs’ play-off hopes ended by rivals Phoenix
SHEFFIELD Steeldogs’ hopes of causing an upset at the English Premier League play-off finals weekend in Coventry were ended by a nail-biting 6-5 defeat after a shoot-out to arch-rivals Manchester Phoenix.
Andre Payette’s side looked down and out at 5-2 down with seven minutes remaining at Coventry’s SkyDome Arena. But two quickfire goals from Payette and Ben Morgan ensured a thrilling end to regulation, with Morgan lighting up the lamp again with just 50 seconds to go.
Overtime yielded no further breakthrough and it was left to Manchester’s Stephen Wallace – a former Sheffield player – to score the winning goal in the shoot-out.
In the final, Manchester went down 4-1 to Slough Jets, who defeated Guildford Flames 3-2 in Saturday’s other semi-final.