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Invicta Dynamos fought back from a slow start to complete a 6-1 win over Swindon Wildcats 2 on Sunday.
Despite the final scoreline, there was frustration from head coach Karl Lennon, having seen his men make harder work of their victory than they needed to.
In a match delayed by traffic problems, the Mos trailed 1-0 at the end of the first period.
Coach Lennon said: “They arrived much later than expected and it wasn’t an ideal scenario, for either side.
“Obviously, they were panicking and rushing to get there but if I’m honest I think they started like the team that was hanging around waiting for the opportunity and we started like the team that had been sitting on the motorway
“It was a very poor start on our part. We were not happy at all with how we played. We didn't have the right sort of focus or attitude in that first period and we came unstuck and conceded that goal.”
Aaron Connolly converted to equalise early in the second period and further strikes from Callum Burnett and Oliver Bronnimann made it 3-1.
Tom Soar scored the opener in the third period, as he passed the 100-point mark for the Mos, before Louis Colvin and Vilius Krakauskas added to the goal tally.
Lennon said: “They were deservingly the victor in that first period and a lot of it was born out of the fact that we were just a little selfish in how we played at certain times of the game, and a little silly with decisions we took during attacks in particular.
“We had the lion's share of the possession throughout the whole game. “It wasn't like we felt like we were under pressure for sustained periods, but we just were not effective with how we used the puck and ultimately, you can't force situations. You have to really work it well and we didn't.
“They caught us and scored and had a great confidence as a result. They're a young, energetic side and credit to them for taking that lead but we should have managed that period much better.
“I was unhappy but it wasn’t just me. The players were unhappy, and the greatest example of that was then Aaron (Connolly) came out directly after the period break and put in a goal on the first shift. That set us up right for the rest of the game.
“Whilst we did take that lead in the second period, and then carried it through to the end of the game with the win, there were still spells of poor decision-making.
“Their netminder was fantastic. He had an outstanding game and fair play to him but what we didn't do was play to our strengths. We played to his by way of not moving the puck quick enough in their zone.
“We were taking shots from impossible angles. We were taking low-percentage shots rather than high-percentage shots. That for me was just silly.
“It's symptomatic of playing a team that you're expected to beat, where you think you take more liberties than perhaps we would normally do against more experienced sides. You get in the habit of making bad decisions and that's what we did for most of the game.
“It's a shame because we actually haven't done that this year. Whilst we've come up short on a couple of occasions with difficult opposition, we have made good decisions, generally speaking, and we've had good performances.
“We've had spells in games where we've not played so well but they've been limited. There's always been a good feeling afterwards of hard work and intensity and right decision-making.
“The biggest frustration for me was the fact that, yes, we had a win and, yes, we got a few goals, but it was harder than it needed to be from our part.”