Raiders defenceman David Oliver tries to make a point against Invicta

Defenceman reflects on weekend’s action

Romford Raiders defenceman David Oliver is still coming to terms with his team’s mixed fortunes at the weekend.

Raiders, who overcame bogey team Bracknell Hornets 4-2 away from home on Saturday, went on to lose 7-5 back at Rom Valley Way against the Invicta Dynamos the following evening.

And Oliver was surprised by the nature of Romford’s performances, saying: “They were two entirely different games. Saturday was a huge win. Bracknell are a bit of a bogey team for us, they’re well organised and they’ve got kids that skate really hard against you all game.

“Sunday was hard to take. We started really sharp and got an early goal. As the game went on I couldn’t really see where we were going wrong. We let in some sloppy goals and it was really hard to come back from that.”

Defending league champions Romford now find themselves in third place, two points adrift of bitter rivals Chelsmford Chieftains, who also have a game in hand.

Raiders travel to play the second-placed Isle of Wight Raiders on Saturday (February 23) in another important match for Danny Marshall’s men.

The ‘other’ Raiders are currently one point ahead of Romford, with a game in hand, and claimed a last-minute winner when the two sides met at Ryde last month.

Romford will then host fourth-placed Cardiff Devils in another must-win game on Sunday, looking to keep the pressure on their title rivals as the regular season draws to an exciting close.