Bradford Bulldogs v Sutton Sting: NIHL North Two play-off quarter-final - report and reaction

NO WAY THROUGH: Dean Boothroyd battles in front of the Bulldogs net during the first leg of the NIHL North Two play-off quarter-final against Sutton Sting. Picture: Andy Bourke/Podium Prints.

ANDY BROWN was left disappointed with the overall aggregate NIHL North Two play-off quarter-final loss to a dominant Sutton Sting team - but knew it was always going to be an uphill battle. 

The Sting have enjoyed an impressive 2023-24 campaign, second only to Telford Tigers 2 in both league and cup and will head into this week’s Play-off Finals Weekend at Ice Sheffield rightly confident of making it to the final. 

The Bulldogs had certainly found it hard going against the Sting during the regular season, finding themselves shut out three times before they finally broke their duck in a regular season-closing 6-3 defeat in South Yorkshire.

CLOSE CALL: Declan Kime and Josh Stockton put pressure on the Sutton goal. Picture: Andy Bourke/Podium Prints.

It gave them faint hopes of causing an upset in the play-offs and, when they pulled it back to 9-5 with just over six minutes to go in the first leg of the tie in Bradford, there was still everything to play for.

But Sutton managed to head back home with an 11-5 advantage and, despite a goalless first period in the first period in Sheffield between the two, the Nottinghamshire outfit confirmed their superiority in the last 40, running out 10-0 winners on the day, to secure a 21-5 aggregate triumph. 

It wasn’t the way experienced trio Dean Boothroyd, Josh Stockton and Connor Medley would have wanted to head into retirement, but they have all enjoyed a fantastic final season with the club and were rightly honoured in a small, post-match ceremony after the first leg in Bradford.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed with the scores from our play-off games,” said Brown. “We knew we were the underdogs going into them but that’s not a position we’re unfamiliar with. 

“We still hoped that we could push Sutton close but that wasn’t to be and we wish them all the best at Sheffield.”

On Saturday, it was Bradford who broke the deadlock in front of a healthy crowd at ‘The Pound’ when Declan Kime fired home at 3.49. 

PLAY-OFF BATTLE: Bulldogs’ Michael Speare battles with Sting’s Lawson Glasby at The Pound last Saturday. Picture: Andy Bourke/Podium Prints.

But momentum had swung the other way by the time the first intermission arrived, Sutton forging 3-1 ahead through goals from Morgan Glasby, Cameron Glasby and James Spencer.

The second period belonged to the visitors, too, their lead being increased by three unanswered strikes from Lawson Glasby.

It got worse for the Bulldogs in the 43rd minute when Callum Russell made it 7-1, the hosts replying 33 seconds later through Ben Fox only for Ben Marples to make it 8-2 at 44.17. 

A delayed penalty strike from Dave Williams at 47.39 reduced the deficit again, but the six-goal cushion was restored just over two minutes later. 

A quickfire double in the 54th minute, however, gave the Bulldogs hope of staying in the tie when Josh Stockton’s effort at 53.04 was followed by a second for Kime 23 seconds later to make it 9-5. 

END OF AN ERA: Dean Boothroyd, Josh Stockton and Connor Medley pose with the rest of the team on what was their last weekend of action for the Bulldogs. Picture: Andy Bourke/Podium Prints.

That would have been a fair reflection of the evening, but the Sting had other ideas, blasting two more goals inside the final two minutes - Spencer completing his hat-trick and Lawson Glasby his fourth - to give them an 11-5 lead going into the second leg the following day. 

Already up against it, the Bulldogs held firm through a goalless first period.

But the Sting cut loose in the second and were 3-0 up by the halfway point thanks to Lawson Glasby and Cameron Glasby, Bailey Templar adding a fourth before the period was out. 

Lawson Glasby completed his hat-trick early in the third before Nathan Bennett, Oliver Watson, Jacob Truswell, Josh Humphreys and Adam Brooke-Smith completed the scoring.