Ice-hockey: Streatham see off Gillingham to collect second piece of silverware this season

BY DAVID CARR

Streatham lifted their second trophy of the season after a hard-fought 6-5 win in Gillingham last weekend against Invicta Dynamos.

Michael Farn’s men added the London Cup to the Streatham Arena trophy cabinet after the two points gained gave them an unassailable lead in the round-robin competition also featuring Chelmsford and Romford.

Leading scorer Vanya Antonov continued his stunning form by claiming a hat trick, much to the delight of the travelling support from South London, adding to goals from Josh Ealey-Newman, Sam Waller and Danny Ingoldsby.

Invicta’s goals came via a brace from Billy Phillips and lone efforts from Richard Harris, Juraj Huska and Anthony Leone.

“They came out hard in front of their own fans which we expected,” said Streatham captain Ben Paynter.

“All the boys were focused and excited before the game. We also came ready to play and both sets of fans seemed to enjoy the contest. It was a lot closer than recent games.

“We built up a nice lead, but they came back into it with a couple of goals and we had to put in a solid defensive road display in the third to stay ahead.”

The London Cup was the second available trophy of five this season, with the Britton Cup already lifted in front of a sell-out SW16 crowd earlier this month. It’s a good time to be a Streatham fan and crowds are building both home and away.

“We had noisy travelling support again on the night,” said Paynter, who dropped the gloves with Arran Strawson midway through the game.

“They made the effort to get across to Kent on a Sunday night so it was a great feeling to celebrate with them at the end and see all the smiling faces.

“Next up is the league and we have put ourselves in a strong position but we won’t take anything for granted.”

Streatham go to Oxford City Stars on Sunday and do not have another home game until February 19 against Romford.