De Decker ghosts in late to stun Phantoms
● WIDNES WILD ........................................... 3 SLOUGH PHANTOMS ............................... 3
THE Widnes Wild women’s team picked up their first point of the new season in dramatic fashion as a last second equaliser salvaged a 3-3 tie against Slough Phantoms at Silver Blades Widnes on Sunday.
The result saw the Wild women end the visiting Phantoms’ flawless start to the season and also get their own Women’s Premier League campaign well and truly under way.
The Wild team was slightly understrength with a few players missing – including captain Charlene Chapman who was replaced as skipper by Emma Pearson.
The hosts also employed their third netminder in three games with Emma Bevan being called in as cover from the North One Sheffield team.
The opening period was very even with chances going to both sides but first blood eventually went to the visitors from Berkshire who scored the opening goal after 10 minutes, a lead that they held until the first break.
The second stanza was one of end to end action and excitement with the Wild women laying siege to the Slough goal for long periods at a time.
They outshot the Phantoms by more than two to one (29 to 14) in the middle third and the incessant pressure finally began to pay off.
With the clock at 24.28, two Slough players picked up penalties at the same time – one for cross checking and one for hooking – which gave the Wild a significant advantage.
They made the most of this opportunity and within 90 seconds were back on level terms as former Belgium international player Leen de Decker fired in a pass from Sophie Sinclair-Reeks for a superbly-worked powerplay goal.
Less than two minutes later at 27.39, Widnes took the lead as Sinclair-Reeks – fresh back from international duty with the Team GB U18 team in Hungary – scored her first senior goal to leave the game there for the taking with more than 30 minutes still to play.
Further Widnes pressure led to more Slough penalties and the Phantoms called a timeout at 31.03 when faced with another five on three powerplay.
The tactic worked and the Widnes momentum was lost.
Slough then netted an equalising goal with four minutes left on the clock leaving the score at 2-2 after 40 minutes.
The third period saw more of the same with Widnes once again battering the Slough goal, outshooting their visitors 22-8.
However Slough shut up shop and neither side was able to make much of a breakthrough.
The Wild conceded their only penalty of the game as Megan Bowen-Fell was called for hooking at 53.26 but they weathered the storm and killed off the Slough powerplay.
A subsequent timeout called by the Wild at 55.50 had the undesired effect of breaking up their pattern of play and Slough subsequently raced down the ice and scored at the other end within seconds of the restart, somewhat against the run of the play.
The remaining four minutes once again saw Widnes laying seige to the Slough goal in search of an equaliser.
They did not give up but, just as it seemed as time was going to run away from them and with only a single second remaining in the game, de Decker slotted the puck away for her second goal of the game to give the Wild a thoroughly merited point.
Post-game, coach Owen Tennant said: “The final goal was a long time coming and well deserved. The effort put in by the girls was deserving of a win but we will take away the positives and work on the negatives in training to make sure we get the win next time.”
The result means that Widnes are now off the mark with one point from their three games to date and are in fifth place in the Women’s Premier League table, ahead of both Kingston Diamonds and Nottingham Vipers.
The other WPL game last weekend saw Streatham Storm move to the top of the table after recording a 4-1 home win over Kingston.
The Widnes Wild women’s team are at home again this Sunday when they entertain Nottingham Vipers at Silver Blades Widnes in what should be another thrilling encounter. Face-off is at 5.30pm and admission is free of charge. ● News from Widnes Wild’s men’s team on page 61.