Romford Junior Raiders head coach Mark Saunders insists they must take ‘confidence’ from fantastic weekend which saw them seal three out of a possible four points from rivals Chelmsford Chieftains and Invicta Dynamos.
Raiders sealed a 4-1 win on home ice against fierce rivals Chelmsford on Saturday before then suffering a 4-3 defeat away in Kent the following night.
They now face Invicta at the Sapphire on Saturday before making the trip up the A12 on Sunday – looking to repeat similar fortunes.
“Overall, a fantastic three points out of four,” Saunders said. “Unfortunately gaining the extra point wasn’t to be, but it was a performance our group will take a lot from and give us an enormous amount of confidence as we look to the weekend and playing these same two teams in reverse fixtures.”
The former Bracknell Hornets coach knew It would be a tough weekend but felt his side got their rewards.
“Our second weekend of the season brought us two tough tests as the league schedule picks up speed in games against Chelmsford at home and Invicta away.
“Ultimately we knew this would be a huge weekend for us but one we were prepared for and were looking forward to the challenge.
“Saturday against Chelmsford we came out fast and did well to find out feet early.
“We played with confidence and the game was in our favour for the majority, being 3-1 up and getting a late goal to confirm the win at 4-1.
“A great home performance for us and fantastic result against what is a very strong Chelmsford team.
“It was also great to take charge of my first Chelmsford against Romford derby, an experience I thoroughly enjoyed and I thank both sets of fans for turning out in the numbers they did.”
The young Raiders showed good fight away to Invicta as they clawed back into the game to force it to overtime before falling short.
“Sunday was another local derby, away at Invicta, and it proved to be another great test for our group.
“We started slowly but jumped started into the second period, drawing level at 2-2 and playing our systems very well.
“The third period saw us battle hard with our hosts which ended the third period with us level at 3-3, sending the game into overtime.”
Romford Junior Raiders are allowing Raiders season ticket holders into their home matches for half price for the rest of the season.
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