Raiders defenceman Billy Phillips has been hit with a four-match ban

Cahill: We tried to get penalty looked at

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Romford Raiders manager Mick Cahill has backed young defenceman Billy Phillips, after he earned a match penalty in the Essex Cup win over Chelmsford, which has led to a four-game suspension.

Phillips was ejected by referee Will Hewitt for clipping Chieftains player-coach Gary Clarke, who was left bleeding on the ice from a nasty cut which saw the penalty upgraded to a match.

Raiders player-coach Danny Marshall remonstrated with Hewitt at length, claiming it was a case of mistaken identity, but Phillips was automatically ruled out of Saturday’s trip to the Isle of Wight and his penalty point total for the season has led to an additional three-game ban.

Cahill said: “We’re very disappointed that Billy’s match penalty remained unchanged, but we certainly tried everything we could to have it looked at.

“Ollie (Oliver) and I both spoke to Ken Taggart in the USA on Saturday and, to be fair to the EIHA, they rapidly conducted the review we requested.

“At the end of the day, Thursday’s match referee stood by his original decision and that’s pretty much it.

“It means that Bill has a four game suspension due to accumulated penalty points and therefore missed both fixtures at the weekend, and will also have to sit out the upcoming games at Cardiff and Streatham.”

Raiders slipped to a 7-4 defeat against the Isle of Wight in the second leg of their Challenge Cup, losing 11-8 on aggregate.

But they bounced back to beat Invicta 5-2 at Rom Valley Way last night to maintain their two-point lead at the top of the table.

Captain Anthony Leone opened the scoring and Matt Turner restored Romford’s lead after Andy Smith had levelled.

Callum Best got Dynamos back on terms for a second time, but Marshall put his men 3-2 up and late goals from Shaun Wallis and JJ McGrath sealed the points.

Raiders now go on the road to Cardiff and Streatham before hosting Slough on March 11, which will see Phillisps back on the team bench.

Cahill added: “The victory over Invicta was a true team performance and I thought David Oliver and Shaun Wallis, two of the guys who don’t often grab the headlines, had outstanding games. Marsh also rolled back the years with a goal that was pure class.

“We’re now focused on the trip to Cardiff on Saturday. It’s a massive game for us and we know the Devils are a force to be reckoned with in their own building.

“We have quite a few injuries in the camp, some more serious than others, and Danny probably won’t know who is fit to play until the morning of the game.”