The mark of Zoran as Slough Jets blow away Isle of Wight opponents

The Jets blew away their opponents from the Isle of Wight with Zoran Kozic revelling in the role of Top Gun at the Hangar on Saturday night, writes Dick Bellamy.

As in the previous week’s cup victory at Haringey, the Jets secured victory in the middle period of the match.

The lethal combination of Kozic, Alan Green and Ben Ealey-Newman completely overwhelmed the Islanders once they had got the measure of their opponents.

With a total of only eight minutes in penalties throughout, the home side scored on each of their three powerplay opportunities, while the first line of defence, Graham Bellamy and Andy Cox, limited the Tigers to just three shots on Danny Milton’s goal in the first period.

The Tigers, whose squad included ex-Slough player Nathan Webb and veteran Islander Tony Blaize, kept plugging away and improved their shot rate later on, but nothing to trouble either Milton of Toby Curtis who got the last nine minutes of the game between the pipes.

Otherwise it was all action as a rampant Jets side rained in a total of 49 shots on the Tigers’ goal.

Kozic orchestrated the onslaught with a hat-trick plus six assists while Ben Ealey-Newton helped himself to four goals and Green, who claimed the man of the match award, hit a further two with six assists.

The final scoreline may be flattering and reminiscent of earlier eras of the game – and rival teams will be taking note after feeling the afterburn rippling through the league following the Jets’ opening attacks.

But coach Tony Milton’s side are also still getting to know each other and different line combinations will be tried out as the Jets get into the nitty-gritty of the league itself.

The Jets open their league campaign at Gillingham tomorrow (Saturday), where they will face Invicta Mustangs, very much an unknown quantity.

The club, formerly known as Medway, has a reputation for strong teams and has the whole of Kent and East London to draw potential from.

Milton is optimistic. “We have worked hard to put a competitive team together,” he said.

“Zoran was leading scorer for Slough last year, in Alan Green we have Oxford City Stars’ leading scorer and Lewis Tribble was top scorer at Wightlink. Those teams will be a little bit weaker this season and we are that much stronger.”