Well-deserved points

Whitley Warriors gave coach Garry Dowd the performances he asked for over the weekend as they put behind them the disappointment of the previous weeks defeats against Billingham and Sheffield to grab four well-deserved points with two wins over Blackburn Hawks.

They were the stronger in the final period of the Saturday game in Lancashire when four unanswered goals gave them a 5-2 victory, while they were well worth the 4-2 winning margin at Hillheads last night.

"We worked hard in training last week, changes a few things around and the lads have responded with two very good performances," said Dowd.  

"Even though we trailed 2-1 at the end of the second period on Saturday, I always felt we were in control of the game and it would just be a matter of time before we made the most of the scoring opportunities that were coming our way.

"In the end we were comfortable winners," he added, "and after the disappointment of last week, it was good to see us get back to our best."

And Dowd felt it was a similar story last night as his side consolidated second place in the English National League table with a victory he felt was more convincing than the 4-2 score line.

"As usual the Hawks made life difficult for the opposition, but even when they briefly took the lead in the middle period, we always had their measure and I was always confident that we would come through in the end."

In Blackburn the Hawks had led on a couple of powerplay goals with only a DJ Good strike as reply by Whitley, but a pair of Dean Holland markers along with efforts from Callum Watson and Mark Good saw the visitors win.

Last night it was two from DJ Good and strikes from Watson and Holland that clinched the points, with Dowd particularly pleased with the Warriors second goal of the night.

"Young Harry Harley (16) played the perfect pass into the path of Dean Holland that left him with an empty net in which to score and it was the kind of skill you don't often find in someone so young," he said.

"But both Harry and Christian Johnson have come into the side and made a big contribution in recent weeks; and they should only get better."