Invicta Dynamos looking to beat champions Streatham for the first time this season after securing top-four finish
05:00, 17 March 2023
Invicta Dynamos are aiming to conclude the regular season in style after clinching a top-four finish.
Mos’ thrilling 8-5 victory at Oxford City Stars on Sunday, a day after losing 3-2 at home to Solent Devils, leaves them third in the NIHL Division 1 South standings.
They could yet be overtaken by Slough Jets but even fourth place would represent excellent progress for coach Karl Lennon and his side before the play-offs.
The Dynamos host league winners Streatham on Sunday (5.15pm), a team they’ve yet to beat this season. Lennon is hoping to change all that.
“We can still finish third but even if we end up fourth that’s two positions higher than last season,” said Lennon.
“We’d like to finish third if we could, so it’s a big game. Streatham are an excellent side.
“First off, we have to be solid, defensively, because they carry a lot of attacking threat.
“We do, too, and we have scored a number of goals against them this year, but we haven’t managed to beat them.
“We have to be 100% committed, 100% focused and out-work them as much as we can.
“We can take heart from Chelmsford beating them last week, given Chelmsford are a team we’ve beaten ourselves, and we play them in the Cup Final the week after next.
"Streatham will be unhappy about that, so we might bear the brunt, as they aren’t used to losing games.
“We’ll have to see but they don’t have anything to play for.
“Their position at the top of the league is secure so, you never know, they might rest players.
“What we do know, though, is whatever side they put out will be competitive.
“The closest we got to them this season was a 2-0 defeat and we’ve had a 9-6 and an 8-5 against them, so we perhaps owe ourselves a performance.
“Being the last game of the regular season, we’d like to send the fans off on a high before the Cup Final.
“Attendances have been good, so hopefully we can get another big crowd in.”
Tom Davis and Stanislav Lascek scored in Dynamos’ 3-2 defeat by second-placed Solent.
Lennon’s men took the lead but that possibly lulled them into a false sense of security.
“We started really well and got an early goal,” he said.
“Maybe we felt we were going to breeze through the game and have it all our way but it didn’t play out like that.
“It was a missed opportunity. I was disappointed not to get anything out of it.
“Even a point would have been nice but such is life.
“They’re a strong team who are good at congesting their defensive area.
“They make life difficult for you and their keeper was outstanding but I couldn’t fault the boys’ effort.”
Mos bounced back with their high-scoring win at Oxford.
There were two goals apiece for Owen Dell, Lascek and Tom Soar, with Joe Stephenson and Juraj Huska also on target.
“We played Oxford three weeks ago and were terrible,” said Lennon. “We lost 7-2 that night and didn’t show up, so we owed ourselves a performance, and the travelling fans.
“It was a matter of staying in the game as long as we could and going from there.
“We were 3-3 after the first period, 6-3 up after the second and then it was about game management.”
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