SWINDON Wildcats secured their fifth straight home win at the Link Centre on Saturday night with a comprehensive 5-1 victory over the Sheffield Steeldogs.
Ryan Aldridge’s side are finding form at just the right time with the English Premier League play-offs only a month away, and forward Aaron Nell is convinced they will make an impact in the end of season shoot-out.
“Our home form is looking superb at the moment and we feel very confident every time we play at the Link Centre, and that could prove vital.
“We do not know who we will face in the play-offs, but whoever it is will have a hard game when they come here, and our home form could be the key to helping us progress.
“We have to keep it going though, and hopefully we haven’t peaked quite yet.”
Nell was pleased to find the net twice during the victory, but insisted the success was down to an impressive team performance.
“Our line is looking great at the moment and Jonas Hoog is on fire,” he said. “He is in top form and that has really helped the team, while Lee Richardson has been superb.
“He has allowed us to express ourselves, and I think that is a lot to do with us scoring more goals.”
Head coach Aldridge also scored during the win, and Nell was pleased to see his boss find the target.
“Ryan doesn’t score too often but this was a great goal,” he said.
“You cannot find a better team man than him, and I think he would be happy never to score if it meant we kept winning.”
Wildcats got their night off to a superb start as Nell broke the deadlock with a neat close-range finish.
Moments later it was 2-0, as Swede Hoog capitalised on a misplaced pass to score a breakaway goal, and put his side firmly in control of the contest at the end of the first period.
It took just five minutes for the Cats to pick up where they left off during the second session, and despite being shorthanded, Nell fired in a superb effort to make it 3-0.
Sheffield finally started to come out of their shells, but the momentum stayed with the home side in the final period, and with 10 minutes left Aldridge found the net himself with a rare goal, after firing a quick release shot off the crossbar.
A fifth and final goal for Swindon then followed minutes later, this time with forward Richardson teaming up with Hoog to shoot home, before Sheffield’s Ashley Calvert grabbed a late consolation.
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