Smith: Solent game is huge

London Raiders captain AJ Smith knows how important his side’s National League clash with Solent is this weekend.

Danny Marshall’s men have lost their last six matches, following defeats against Isle of Wight and Milton Keynes last weekend, and seen David Oliver and Frankie Harvey leave the club.

Smith wants to stop the rot at Lee Valley on Saturday (5.30pm) and said: “This coming weekend against Solent is huge for us, we need a win to build the team’s confidence during this rough patch and to get us back on track and also we need the points to stay competitive in the league.

“Results-wise last weekend was poor for us and more bad news followed as Frankie handed in his release and yesterday signed for Invicta.

“I know Dan is hoping to bring in some experienced faces to replace the loss of Frankie and Dave, but players don’t grow on trees and at this stage of the season it’s hard to find players.”

Raiders fell to a 6-2 home loss against their namesakes from the Isle of Wight last Saturday, when defenceman Phil Manny netted both of their goals on the powerplay.

And they went down 11-5 against MK Thunder the following night, when teenagers Jacob Ranson and TJ Fillery claimed their first goals for the club.

Smith has been pleased with the progress of some of their new faces this term, adding: “We have a lot of talented youngsters in the team this year who are doing a good job so far and in a few cases are really starting to shine, so that’s a big positive for us.

“I feel a win this weekend will be a turning point for us and a nice reward for all the fans that have stuck by us and shown their unwavering support through this run of bad form.”