Paisley Pirates News March 1st

DUNDEE COMETS   4 PAISLEY PIRATES   6

Pirates put on a scintillating show in Tayside on Sunday night as they beat the defending league champions in their own backyard, including a stirring two goal fightback when they trailed early in the match.

The visitors were caught on the hop and found themselves facing an uphill task almost from the first whistle as Pokorny scored twice in the 4th minute to give the Comets a lead which they held on to while Pirates found their feet. Skipper Chris Turley led the recovery from the front and beat Michie in the home goal in the 10th minute to pull Pirates back into the match, and a second strike from Marty Guy, assisted by captain, two minutes later, had the game tied at 2-2 with 11 minutes on the clock. The visitors continued to heavily outshoot their hosts but were unable to find the net again in the remaining minutes of the session, leaving the scores tied at the first break.

Pirates came out for the second session with a will and were ahead after 23 minutes as player/coach Adam Walker took a pass from Spiers to put his team ahead for the first time in the match, but John Dolan equalised less than three minutes later to tie the scores once again. It didn’t take the away side long to retaliate, however, as ace sniper Daniel Abercrombie restored the lead inside a minute, and Marty Guy helped himself to a second goal with three minutes of the session remaining to put Pirates ahead by 5-3. Dundee weren’t done, however, and with Thorp sitting out a penalty they took advantage of the extra player to score, again through Dolan, with five seconds of the period remaining, to pull it back to a one goal game in favour of Pirates at 5-4 at the buzzer.

Pirates were continuing to outshoot Michie by two to one, Meechan in the away net having a comparatively quiet evening, but they couldn’t quite find the insurance marker they were looking for until the 54th minute when Thorp linked with Henderson, who gleefully put the puck away to secure the points for the visitors at 6-4 and round off a notable performance by the visitors, who succeeded in blending solid defence with good attacking play throughout the 60 minutes.

Pirates are back in action this coming Sunday (3 March) at Braehead Arena when they go head to head with Kilmarnock in a match which will decide their playoff opponents in a few weeks’ time, in their last regular season fixture, which faces off at 5.00pm.

PAISLEY PIRATES-PREVIEW

Paisley Pirates can clinch the runners up spot in the Scottish National League this Sunday if they can overcome opponents Kilmarnock Thunder in their final league encounter of the 2018-19 season at Braehead Arena (face off 5.00pm). Pirates have already ensured their place in the playoffs, but their opponents will not be known for certain until the completion of the final round of league fixtures which will determine final placings. The first round of playoffs will be played over the next few weeks on a home and away basis over two legs, the winners of each tie proceeding to the playoff finals weekend in Dundee at the end of March/beginning of April.

After recent excellent displays, the most recent being a 6-4 win over the reigning league champions, Dundee Comets last Sunday, their young side, coached by Ian Turley and Adam Walker, will be looking to finish the regular season with a flourish before making their bid to win the playoffs, a feat which has so far eluded them. Their squad has continued to improve throughout the season, and in spite of various challenges arising through injury and other factors which on occasion has left them short handed.

With a run of wins behind them, the club will be hoping to finish the regular season on a high with a convincing victory against their near rivals, one which would continue their momentum as they enter the playoffs.