Lee Valley come back from behind to salvage tie

Lee Valley Lions’ unbeaten run continued last Saturday as they came from behind to secure a 4-4 draw against Cardiff ENIHL Devils in what was an adrenalin-filled encounter.

It took the Lions only a minute to stamp their mark on the game, as Joe Berry opened the scoring with an assist from Calum Heath.

The Devils took no time to reply, however, and equalised in the second minute.

Cardiff nipped into the lead just a minute later when Alex Williams took a pass from Matthew Downward, before putting the puck past Steve Grout in the Lions’ net.

However, Lee Valley weren’t deterred and Scott Beeson fired in the equaliser after 13 minutes, with the assists coming from Man of the Match James Scott-Joseph and Richard Hodge.

Cardiff stepped up a gear in the second period, the enviable size of their squad helping to avoid tired legs.

And just 50 seconds in, the Lions found themselves two men down, which allowed the Devils to pounce and score.

Ellis Price put the visitors two goals ahead of their hosts on the half-hour mark, and it looked as if the Lions’ hope of another win was slipping away.

Lee Valley collected their thoughts during the interval and came out with renewed determination in the final period.

They demonstrated this with a short-handed goal, Blair Dubyk shooting from the angle with assists going to Scott Beeson and James Hatfull.

Lions’ speedy forward, Joe Berry, found himself sidelined with a 10-minute penalty, the result of complaining to the referee about receiving a heavy check to the head.

Further controversy then followed when defenceman Romanas Fedotovas stepped in to protect netminder Steve Grout.

This ignited a fight between Fedotovas and Cardiff’s Alex Williams which resulted in the Lithuanian being ejected from the game and banned from the Lions’ next match.

Despite the setbacks, Lee Valley refocused. Scott Beeson and Blair Dubyk combined efforts and the equaliser hit the back of the net on 55 minutes, much to the elation of the home fans.

With another point under their belts, Lee Valley Lions now travel to Peterborough for their next encounter before returning home to face Swindon ENIHL Wildcats on October 8.