Goals from Ryan Ellis, Justin Noble and Callum Best were not enough to prevent the Invicta Dynamos slipping to a slender 4-3 defeat to the Streatham Redskins in Brixton on Saturday afternoon as the squad slumped to their first loss in four in the ENIHL South Division 1.
Despite finding the goal 52 times in their last three outings, the Dynamos were unconvincing in front of net in the first period and ended the frame one behind as Gennadi Yufit teed up Liam Rasmussen to give the hosts the 1-0 lead.
In the second period Canadian Ryan Ellis would pull the visitors level on the powerplay but a strike from Dax Hedges, when the man advantage had switched to Streatham, kept the Redskins out in front. A shorthanded effort from Justin Noble briefly restored parity at 2-2 however, ‘import’ Jerry Pavlus answered for the home side three minutes from the buzzer to re-establish their slender advantage. The Dynamos would reply once more before the break though to return to the changing rooms at 3-3 as Callum Best drilled beyond Will Sanderson with time winding down.
It was all to play for in the final period then and, five minutes from the end of the tie, it was the Redskins who would notch the decisive goal – Gennadi Yufit the man to fire over the line for the match winner with the visitors unable to play catch up for a fourth time.
So it was a disappointing road defeat for the Dynamos who not only lost out to the ENIHL South’s basement side but also became the first team to be overcome by Streatham at their new Brixton home. In need of points to avoid the drop, the Redskins looked the hungrier of the two squads and were solid value for their surprise victory.
Meanwhile the Dynamos had to quickly clean their wounds, injuries to Corey Watkins and Tim Smith another mark on an already disappointing night, ahead of a home tie against the Wightlink Raiders on Sunday. Man of the match awards on the evening went to goalie Will Sanderson of Streatham whilst Justin Noble was the pick of the struggling visitors.
Picture by David Trevallion