Coach Alley aims for more wins after playing return

Lee Valley Lions coach George Alley is looking to build on last weekend’s win over Slough when they face Swindon on Sunday.

Alley returned in goal to backstop his side to a 5-2 win over the Jets, with Chris Fox and James Hepburn netting two goals apiece.

And he is hoping it builds confidence, with some tough tests coming up, saying: “I don’t want us to blur confidence with arrogance. I feel that was our undoing against Invicta two weeks ago.

“We’ve got three straight games with Peterborough coming up where if we’re not at our sharpest for every minute we’re on the ice, we’ll suffer for it.

“That being said, we do want to build momentum and need to carry on where we left off this Sunday in Swindon.

“I’m always pleased to win, we haven’t had many this year and I know we can get more going forward.

“We’re still lacking a bit of consistency where we switch off for patches of our games, we are slowly ironing that out though.”

Alley admitted it was difficult being back in the firing line, but he made 30 saves as opposite number Chris Douglas faced 63 shots to help Lions take the points, adding: “For me it was horrible. I always put a lot of pressure on myself when I was playing, so I was pretty nervous getting to the rink.

“I only really started to settle down the halfway through the game, by the end I was enjoying myself. The team did a great job of making me comfortable, keeping their goalie much busier than me.”

Having not played many competitive matches in recent times, Alley revealed his return to action was a physical challenge, but he was glad to have coaching support on the bench.

He said: “It was hard on my knees and lungs. I’ve only been playing the odd bit of recreational hockey since I left London Raiders and nothing can prepare you for the mental stress a competitive game will bring you after a spell away from playing.

“I delegated responsibilities to Nick (Alley), James (Hepburn) and Eddie Joseph for the game. It would’ve been stupid to consider trying to run everything from the crease.”