Raiders on cloud nine

Lee Power Monday, February 11, 2013
12.00 PM

Romford Raiders 9 MK Thunder 0

Romford Raiders eased to a convincing win at Rom Valley Way to close the gap on table-topping Isle of Wight last night.

Buoyed by their 4-2 win in Cardiff the night before, Raiders were kept out until the 16th minute by Thunder goalie Jordan Hedley.

Frankie Harvey broke the deadlock, on his way to a hat-trick, with Juraj Huska adding a shorthanded second before the first break as Raiders dominated the shot count 21-4.

Harvey made it 3-0 early in the middle session, with Shaun Yardley adding a fourth just before the game’s midway point.

AJ Smith struck either side of the second interval as the gap grew to six, before a late flurry took the tally to nine.

Huska netted on a powerplay, after Dwayne Newman had been binned on a 2+10 penalty for a check to the head.

And Shaun Wallis grabbed a rare goal to make it 8-0 before Harvey, who passed the 150-point mark in league play, completed his treble in the final minute of the match.

Shane Kemp turned aside all 16 shots which came his way to record his first shutout for the club –the 33rd in their 25-year history – as Raiders pulled to within three points of their namesakes from the Isle of Wight, who were held to a 3-3 draw by Cardiff at Ryde.

Andrius Kaminskas, meanwhile, equalled Rob Stewart’s record of most league appearances by an import, with his 195th outing.

Scorers, Romford: Frankie Harvey 3+1 AJ Smith 2+2 Juraj Huska 2 Shaun Yardley 1+1 Shaun Wallis 1 Matt Turner 0+3 Danny Marshall 0+2 Billy Phillips 0+2 Grant Taylor 0+1 Jason Buckman 0+1 Julian Smith 0+1 Andrius Kaminskas 0+1.