Here
is a match report from
The Paisley Daily Express for Edinburgh Capitals v Paisley Pirates |
| CAPITALS PIP
THE PIRATES EDINBURGH CAPITALS 3 PAISLEY PIRATES 2 A LAST-gasp goal denied Paisley Pirates a point against SNL champions Edinburgh Capitals at Murrayfield. After the previous week's 6-2 thumping of their east coast rivals the Edinburgh side's biggest defeat of the season Paul Heavey's men were confident of taking something from this match. But after fighting back from 2-0 down, their hearts were broken when the Capitals netted a winner with only THREE seconds left. Pirates couldn't have got off to a worse start. Myles Watson was in the penalty box after barely one minute and Edinburgh took only 30 seconds to convert the powerplay, Neil Hay finding space in front of goal from a Stevie Francey set up. Pirates were quickly short-handed again with Capitals unlucky not to punish them once more when Mark McRae shot off the post. It was then Pirates' turn to enjoy a powerplay, but they couldn't convert, with Hay almost netting on a short-handed breakaway. With the period reaching its mid-point, the match settled down to even strength action with Pirates looking the more likely to score. But the closest they came was on 14 minutes, when Murray Johnston had Ally Flockhart down in his crease, but couldn't get enough height on his shot to beat him. Pirates still looked the more likely to score at the start of the second period, but continued to pass up chances, notably Colin McMillan misfiring from the slot in the 23rd minute. The Paisley men then started taking penalties again, with Francey left shaking his head when he passed up an open goal on a powerplay in the 24th minute. It took until Pirates had two men in the box, including a 12-minute spell for Stuart Miller for a check to the head, before Capitals doubled their lead, Sean Lamb firing home from the left circle in the 29th minute. It could have been worse for Paisley when McMillan hauled down Hay in the clear in the 35th minute, but Damien Orr in the Pirates net got just enough on the resulting penalty shot to knock it on to the crossbar. This lifted Paisley and three minutes later they got on the scoreboard, Richie Thorp breaking clear and when he centred John Churchill didn't waste the opportunity. Another penalty meant Pirates would start the third period short-handed again. They successfully played this off and when they were given a powerplay of their own Johnston pounced on a loose puck in front to level up in the 44th minute. Both sides continued to beat a steady path to the sin bin, including Pirates enjoying a two-man advantage for a full two minutes. But the winner wouldn't come for them, with a Colin Nelson shot that was deflected agonisingly wide being as close as they came. Pirates looked like they themselves would finish the game short-handed, but it wasn't to be. Although they were a man short, Paisley still hunted the winner, but that was to be their undoing as Ross Hay caught them up ice and he broke clear for that late winner. Pirates Man of The Match was John Churchill. |