MATT KEITH reckons proving they are top Scots will keep Braehead Clan in with a shout of being the best of British. The skipper netted as Clan ended 2014 with an impressive 5-2 home win over Elite League champs Belfast Giants in front of a sellout 3,562 crowd on Sunday night. Ryan Finnertys men will start 2015 in second place in the overall table, just a point behind leaders Sheffield Steelers, in what has become a five-team scrap for the title. Clan behind the new year with a tough triple header against their fellow Scots Fife Flyers in Kirkcaldy on Friday, at home to Dundee Stars on Saturday and away to Edinburgh Capitals on Sunday. Former NHL ace Keith is eyeing a hat-trick of wins to stretch their five-point lead at the top of the Gardiner Conference as well as letting Steelers, Giants, Nottingham Panthers and Cardiff Devils know that they are planning to be in the title scrap for the rest of the campaign. Keith said: Its going to be hectic, these three-in-three weekends always are, and we know it will be a tough test with three derby games on top of one another. We are aiming to take six points, that has to be the target but we know it wont be easy. Fife is always a tough building to go into, while Dundee and Edinburgh have both won at Braehead in the past few weeks, so we are well aware of just what they can do. But if we can do well over this weekend I think it will show that we are serious about staying involved in this title battle. You get into January and its the stage of the campaign where every game matters, its so tight at the top that you cant afford to ease off on any night. Sundays win saw Clan bounce back from a 6-1 loss in Belfast 24 hours earlier. Shipping three goals in barely five minutes left them up against it then, and netting three in just over two minutes was key to the revenge victory the following night. Keith added: This league is so tight, all the teams are strong and if you take five or ten minutes off in any game it will cost you - those games at the weekend proved that. We played well for 50 minutes in Belfast but by that time wed left ourselves in a huge hole. It was great to bounce back on Sunday. Saturday was tough - we all knew that we hadnt played up to the standard that we need to be at. We got off to a slow start and maybe werent quite mentally where we should have been and that cost us. It made for a long trip back but we came to our rink on Sunday knowing we had to be a lot better. I think everyone stepped it up a bit, there were contributions from all over and it was a good team win. It was a great atmosphere in front of another sellout crowd, it was important that we bounced back to repay them for their backing and they really pushed us on to win. It was a huge two points for us. Well be busy practising this week, I dont think well be going too crazy for New Year with it being such a busy spell. A few of the guys have some family over so well maybe meet up for something to eat at some point.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 12:02:25 +0000
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