Lee Valley Lions left empty-handed at Chelmsford

Lee Valley Lions came away empty-handed from their National League Division Two East clash at Chelmsford last night.

They fell behind in the eighth minute as Brandon Webster beat James Andrew for an unassisted goal, but Lee Hounslow levelled before the ned of the first period, assisted by Ross Sin-Hidge and captain Nick Alley.

And Lions were quick out of the blocks in the middle session as Chris Fox fired them in front from Matt Hepburn’s pass just 49 seconds after the restart.

A cross-checking penalty against Oskar Horter gave the home side a powerplay chance just past the midway mark and they made it count as Thomas Wilson found the net to square matters.

And the scoreline remained deadlocked at 2-2 until the 51st minute, when Chelmsford’s Gary Brown was given a holding penalty by referee Nick Stephenson.

Lions were caught out while on the powerplay, though, as Chelmsford captain Ross Brears put his side 3-2 up while shorthanded and Lions lost Henry Aiken to a roughing minor soon after.

The visitors killed off the penalty, but George Gell added a fourth goal for Warriors soon after Aiken’s return to the action and Brears completed his side’s nap hand with 97 seconds left on the clock.

Goalie Andrew was named man of the match for Lions, who make the short trip to Alexandra Palace to take on London rivals Haringey Racers next Saturday (March 25), before ending their season with a trip to Slough on April 8.

Scorers, Chelmsford: Brears 2+1 Wilson 1 Webster 1 Gell 1 Campbell 0+1 Dervish 0+1 Brown 0+1.

Lions: Fox 1 Hounslow 1 Sin-Hidge 0+1 M Hepburn 0+1 Alley 0+1.

Penalty minutes: Chelmsford 10 Lions 20.

Shots faced: Billy Cook (C) 13-15-14=42-2 James Andrew (LV) 16-15-17=48-5.