Swindon u10s bring the fight to Cardiff

The Cardiff junior Devils under 10s team has grown in recent weeks, and now has a squad of 19 players, most new this season.

For the very first time, all 19 players came together on Saturday 8th November to play the Swindon Cubs under 10s.

The two teams met in early September, when a strong Swindon squad beat the junior Devils 18-3, so a tough match was expected.

The junior Devils team, including Carter Lloyd and Ben Morgan who were playing in their very first match, showed how much they have improved defensively by locking down the Cubs and keeping the score to a very respectable 8-1 defeat.

Cael James, Alex Ljungstrand-Byrne, Ella and Ethan Nesic have all been specialising in defence in recent games, and followed coach Jamie Elson’s instructions, mostly managing to keep the Swindon forwards out wide to disrupt their scoring potential.

Netminder Jake Roberts, who also plays as a forward for the under 12s team, worked hard to save all but 8 of the 50 shots on goal.

The forwards, led by Iwan Davies, Lewis Davies and Eliot Randall, broke through the Swindon defence repeatedly, but only Eliot managed to put a score on the board with a close range chip, assisted by Iwan Davies.

Carter showed his versatility, managing his own breakaway as well as working hard in defence, to win the Spirit of the Game award – a great effort in his first match.

Jake Burt showed skill in anticipating play by repeatedly retreating from a forward position to foil Swindon breakaways, while Iwan Davies’ creative play and teamwork earned him the Man of the Match award.

With all, bar 6 of the team playing in only their second or third competitive match, and two complete newcomers, this was a very creditable performance, and a huge improvement from the start of the season. The whole team should take pride in the good, supportive teamwork they displayed.

The under 10s will take time out from league duties to play a mini match during the first period break of the Devils v Sheffield Steelers match on Sunday 16th November and then visit Swindon for a friendly cross ice tournament in early December, before welcoming Guildford to Cardiff for a league match on 21st December.

Game Stats

Goal Scorers:	Assisted by:
Eliot Randall @11.58	Iwan Davies

Shots on Goal:	Man of the Match:	Spirit of the Game:
Cardiff goal: 17 + 14 + 19 = 50 Swindon goal: 4 + 1 + 5 = 10	Iwan Davies	Carter Lloyd