Solway Sharks in action

Nov 20 2009 Dumfries Standard Friday

LAST WEEKEND proved a frustrating ordeal for the Magnox North-sponsored Solway Sharks and their supporters.

The scheduled home Celtic League fixture against the Dundee Stars had to be cancelled at short notice when the Dundee bus received a puncture which left the visitors stranded on the outskirts of Glasgow.

The Sharks might have wished that the same fate had befallen them the following night when they travelled to Dundee, without incident, for the reverse fixture and came home with a disappointing 4-2 defeat.

The Stars came out of the blocks fast on Sunday evening, and for the opening minutes of the contest they penned their visitors deep inside their own defensive zone.

A mixture of dogged defence and excellent netminding from Gary Russell somehow managed to keep the home side at bay and only two shots in close succession from Callum Wallace seriously threatened the Solway goal.

As the first wave of Dundee pressure abated, the Sharks had an excellent chance to hit their hosts on the break as the clock passed the four-minute mark.

A good move up the right wing saw Mark Gallagher pick out Chris Wilson at the back post, unfortunately instead of shooting he tried to set up Pavol Melichercik for a simple tap-in but the two forwards were on different wavelengths and the chance was lost.

This seemed to act as a wake up call for the Stars and for the next five minutes they had the Sharks mostly on the back foot but when the chances came their way they found Russell in top form between the pipes.

A double penalty on the 11 minute mark saw the sides reduced to four skaters apiece with Gary Wishart and Pavol Melichercik heading to the sin bin for two minutes for roughing.

The extra space on the large ice pad seemed to suit the Taysiders better as they zipped the puck around the rink and it was hardly a surprise when the Stars broke the deadlock.

Player/coach Iain Robertson picked up possession on the right and came around behind the Solway net before trying a wrap-around shot at the far post.

Gary Russell had read his intentions and was perfectly placed to block the shot low against the post but could do nothing to prevent John Haig lifting the rebound into the vacant goal.

The Sharks did have an extended spell of pressure on the powerplay shortly after this but they in turn found the Stars defence well organised and for the most part could only shoot from distance as Jeff Marshall proved an insurmountable obstacle in the low slot position.

The only clear cut chance came when a Mark Gallagher wrist shot ricocheted to safety from Mark McGill’s left hand post.

When Dundee returned to full strength the game settled into a fairly even battle with the home side having just the better of possession and territory but with neither side really looking like troubling the goaltenders.

Then, with 30 seconds remaining in the period, the Taysiders were awarded another powerplay when Bari McKenzie was called for interference but Robertson, strangely, went unpunished for throwing a stick down the rink in anger.

The home side upped the tempo immediately driving the Solway defence back before John Dolan and Gary Wishart combined to set up Iain Robertson for the Stars’ second counter with just 0.4 seconds remaining on the clock.

Solway came out for the second session with a mountain to climb but Juraj Senko gave them some hope with a slapshot from right point that was well gathered by McGill. Craig McCallum was the next to test the Dundee netminder with a low raking slapshot which could have slipped home through the crowded D but for the watchful eye of the Stars’ netminder.

Dundee soon had an extended spell of pressure of their own on the powerplay and John Haig was unlucky not to add to his tally when his goal-bound effort was blocked by a combination of Gary Russell and Scott Plews.

For most of the second period neither side could claim total control of the game and in truth it looked like neither side were prepared to put in the effort needed to win the decisive battles.

Dundee had a greater share of possession, they seemed to win every face-off and consistently came off the boards with possession, while Solway were unable to raise their game to the level that was required to seriously trouble their hosts.

Indeed it was the visitors who dodged a bullet when Roby Brown was guilty of hooking a Dundee forward as he prepared to shoot with just the netminder to beat.

Oddly the referee, Mr Wilson, only awarded a minor penalty to the Sharks man when a penalty shot seemed a more likely outcome and the period concluded with little further notable action.

The consensus among many of the supporters at the second interval was that the third goal would be crucial.

If it went the way of the home side the gap would surely be insurmountable while if the Sharks could nick one then all was still there to play for.

Solway started brightly but simply couldn’t find a way to unlock the Stars’ defence and the crucial strike came after three and a half minutes when Gary Wishart latched onto a fine Jeff Marshall pass and lifted his shot into the roof of the net from eight yards out.

The Sharks supporters finally got something to cheer about five minutes from the end when Chris Wilson and Pavol Melichercik worked hard to win possession behind the home goal before setting up Mark Gallagher to score from close range.

With their tails up, Solway finally looked like they possessed a threat to Dundee but as they strove to close the gap further disaster came their way. A loose pass was picked off by Callum Wallace deep in his own D and he immediately sent Iain Roberson free through the centre.

With the visitors displaced defence trailing in his wake, Robbo coolly picked his spot and fired past the helpless goalie.

With 30 seconds remaining the Sharks scored a second goal when Mark Gallagher latched onto the rebound from a Bari McKenzie slapshot, controlled the puck deftly with his skate and placed his shot behind the prostrate netminder.

From the restart, Solway pulled their netminder in favour of an extra skater but despite intense pressure the Dundee defence remained intact and the final hooter sounded with the home side victors by four goals to two.

Scoring statistics for the Sharks were as follows: Mark Gallagher two goals and no assists, Chris Wilson, Pavol Melichercik and Bari McKenzie all 0+1. Gary Russell in the Solway goal saved 41 of the 45 shots that he faced (save percentage 91.11) and was named man of the match for the visitors while Iain Robertson claimed the award for the home side.