News Report

Cup Semi-Finals!

What a weekend, what a win!

• admin
• 17 January 2023

The team really had to work hard to get to the Semi-Finals this season. Who remembers the weekend of 19-20th November? The one where we had to beat Streatham (and we did, 5 - 3), that's right, the one where we also had to beat Oxford City Stars (and we did, 5-4). That amazing 4 point weekend secured the Chieftains' place in the Semi-Finals.

Cup Semi Finals weekend was finally here!

The first leg was away to Slough. The first period had not long started when suddenly the Chieftains were in a position where they were awarded a penalty shot. Ross Clarke stepped up to take but unfortunately it was saved. Slough piled on the pressure and they were first to go into the lead. Thankfully, Grant Bartlett was able to equalise, followed shortly after by a goal from Cameron Bartlett, the Chieftains were back in the lead! The first period ended 2-1 to the Chieftains. Slough had 20 shots on goal, Chieftains had managed 8. This showed how much the Chieftains had managed to suppress the Slough onslaught.

Slough were piling on the pressure again in the 2nd period. The traffic was almost one way, Slough managed to equalise, and the 2nd period ended 2-2, but the Chieftains would start the 3rd period with a 2 minute penalty kill.

At the start of the 3rd period, Slough were able to take advantage of the powerplay and scored. It was now 3-2, but shortly after, Keiran Raynor stepped up and scored a great goal to equalise. It was now 3-3, every time Slough scored, the Chieftains made sure they came back with a response. The Chieftains were fighting for the period and were gaining the advantage. Grant Bartlett scored within a minute from Keiran's goal, and then scored another in the 52nd minute, Grant had got himself a hatrick, and had also put the Chieftains in a great position for the following day's game. The first leg ended 5-3 to the Chieftains.

If you wish to see more stats on the first leg, please click here.

Fans only had to wait less than 24 hrs for the second leg of the Semi-Finals, and what a night it was!

Within the first 17 seconds of the first period, both Cameron Bartlett and Ty Cathcart from Slough had dropped their gloves. As if the crowd needed any more hyping up, the noise from the crowd was deafening. Cameron successfully dropped Cathcart, and both players got 5 minutes for fighting. It was obvious from the outset that Slough's tactics were to rile the team, specifically targeting Cameron and Grant, but the Chieftains had the perfect response, to score the 1st goal! This honour was to fall to Keiran Raynor, followed shortly after by a goal from Ross Clarke. The period was becoming even more feisty but the Chieftains were remaining (relatively) calm and rising above the tactics of Slough. Slough managed to get a goal back at the end of the period. Shots on goal for the first period showed that Slough had 14 against 8 from Chelmsford. The Chieftains' defenders were performing extremely well and, as you'd expect from Luca, he was on top form too.

The second period started, and it didn't take long for Grant Bartlett to score. He even managed to follow that up with another goal shortly afterwards too. The crowd was up and cheering, each goal raising the sound level up a notch, it really felt like the Chieftains had got control of the game. However, Slough's tactics seemed to change and it was their turn to go on the offensive. In short succession, they had managed to bring the score back to 4-4. The Chieftains were ahead on aggregate at this point (9-7) but the game still felt like it was on a knife edge, it had the potential to turn. The second period ended 4-4.

There was definitely a certain nervousness felt by the fans as the 3rd period started, and with good reason too, Slough scored, making it 4-5, followed by another. It was suddenly 4-6 (9-9 on aggregate), the game was currently tied. The Chieftains had worked so hard to create a great lead but the Slough onslaught had brought them firmly back into the game. The period started to become a very feisty affair again, and power plays were soon to form an integral part of the final result. Dan Fay had got himself up against the boards, and a scuffle ensued, Bradburn appeared to slip, but kicked out at Fay. Initially it looked like the referee was going to give a 2 minute penalty, but after consultation, Bradburn got a 5 minute penalty + game. This really placed the advantage back in the hands of the Chieftains, and the fans didn't have to wait too long before the highly experienced Matt Turner scored a great goal to take back the lead. The Riverside was rocking, the clock watching started, there were now just under 5 minutes left of the game, things were getting very agitated! As the Chieftains went on the attack again, Matt Turner was able to secure the win for the Chieftains by scoring yet another great goal. What a game it was, a real rollercoaster. The Chieftains had successfully managed to rise above Sloughs tactics, securing the team's place in the Cup Finals. The game finished 6-6, 11-9 on aggregate, a well deserved, hard-fought win for the team!

If you wish to see more stats on the second leg, please click here.

You can view the South Cup tables and Semi-Final results by clicking here.

A huge thank you for all of your support, we hope you enjoyed the weekend as much as we did!

We look forward to seeing you at the Riverside very soon!

#LetsGoChieftains #WellDoneTeam #WhatAWeekend #CupFinalHereWeCome