Invicta Dynamos had a night to forget against the Oxford City Stars on Sunday.

The manner of Mos’ 7-2 loss in Oxford surprised coach Karl Lennon after his side were out-worked by the opposition.

Coach Lennon hasn’t had much to complain about during a fine start to the year - this was only their third defeat in 12 games since the beginning of January - but a loss to second from bottom Oxford also meant losing third spot in NIHL South Division 1 led to the Slough Jets.

Lennon said: “It was terribly disappointing and one of those days where we didn’t show up really from start to finish, they had a very good start (Stars led 4-0 after the first period) and that put us in an incredibly difficult place to then get back into the game.

“As we took more chances on ourselves, because we were in a difficult position, they picked us off and scored on the counters and always at the worst time, we would kill a penalty and then they would score straight after or we would get a powerplay and not score ourselves and they would score straight after that.

“Everything seemingly went wrong from our side. I don’t think there was a player on our side who could hold their hand up and say they had a good game, pretty poor from everyone.

“Oxford were the better team on the night, they deserved it more than we did and they were good for the result, they played exceptionally well and we played exceptionally badly, and they deserved everything they got. A lot of it for me came down to hard work, they worked harder than we did and they got the result. It was quite simple.”

It’s not often Lennon has seen his men out-worked and said: “What is disappointing is that generally the team is always up for a battle, and I don’t know if there was a level of complacency in the game, we have had three wins on the spin against that team, all at home, but away from home they are a different proposition.

“They are good in their rink, it is not a bad rink to play in but it is different from our own, we had the bus trip up there which is something you have to get out of the system, we have come from two hours away and started very poorly, we were better in the third period but it was too little, too late really, the damage was done, if you put yourself in a vulnerable position it is going to be a challenge to get anything from a game.

“After the first period I said to the lads, ‘this can be the most devastating loss of the season or the greatest comeback you’ve ever been part of.’ I hoped and expected they would react because I have seen them do it before, I think ultimately there is a level of disappointment for me that we didn’t put anything together as the game went on.

“They played brilliantly, they offered a lot of threat offensively and they also played very well defensively, their goalie was good as well, we didn’t compete, if you don’t compete you can’t expect.”

Lennon admitted he felt for the fans who travelled, saying: “I know the players will be hurting off the back of it but for them and myself, we only have ourselves to look at, we can’t blame anyone but ourselves.

“I felt incredibly disappointed for the fans, we had 50 or more fans that came up from Kent on a Sunday at 6pm to get home probably close to midnight and that is not fair on them. They gave us their time and put a lot of support behind the team week on week and the least we can do is put in a good shift, I don’t think anyone could say we did that on Sunday and that’s ultimately the biggest disappointment and frustration for me. We do this for them, and ourselves of course, we let not just them but ourselves down.”