London Raiders forward Jacob Ranson is writing a blog during the 2014/15 season

Romford Recorder: Jacob Ranson in action for London Raiders against MK Thunder (pic: John Scott)Jacob Ranson in action for London Raiders against MK Thunder (pic: John Scott) (Image: Archant)

We were a bit flat and slow to start out against MK last weekend, but we got things going, then unfortunately we lost Liam which made us a bit weaker just after we had started taking the game to them.

But it was a massive boost to have Dave Oliver back in the team as he brings a lot of character and leadership into the room, which we were missing.

I think the game on Saturday could have gone either way considering the shot count was so close.

We played really well in stages and took the game to them and in others we struggled to even move the puck out of our own end.

At Invicta on Sunday, unfortunately we travelled with a smaller side than the night before which made a game against one of the top sides an even tougher one.

It was a shame to suffer such a big loss as I feel we’ve been improving over the last weeks, but I really enjoyed man-marking Andy Smith at the end of the game, even though it got me a lot of stick.

I love to be given a job and go out to do exactly that is wanted of me, so it was great fun and reminded of juniors when I always seemed to be asked to man-mark players!

On the bright side I went home after the Invicta match and pretty much headed straight on to the Cape Verde islands in the early hours of Monday morning to meet the rest of my family who began their trip on Thursday.

I had made a change to my own flight arrangements, as I didn’t want to miss the games on the weekend just gone, but Cape Verde for a few days was still a nice break to relax and make it back just in time for the next two games against Bracknell and Oxford.

So I’ll be heading from the sun to Bracknell which means I can leave my flip flops on in their warm rink!

This weekend is a massive one. I know I’ve said this a few times, but we could definitely come out of it with four points and start to climb up that table.

We know Bracknell will be tough on their big ice pad, but I think we could cause an upset if we bring our A game and out skate them across the ice.

Sunday’s game in Oxford is a ‘must win’ as it could make or break our season. It’s our biggest fixture we’ve encountered so far.

Unfortunately I missed training this week being away, but I’m hearing some good news with maybe another new face coming through the door.

From hearing this news I think we will have a good enough team to start climbing that table and causing some serious upsets for the rest of the season.