Lancashire Hawks 8 Murrayfield Royals 11 ; Peterborough Pirates 6 Lancashire Hawks 4

HUNT got a couple and it was Roger over and out for Lancashire Hawks.

Roger Hunt, Murrayfield Royals' namesake of the former Liverpool football legend, scored a brace at the Arena on Saturday and there was a hat-trick from Smith too - Neil, not Tommy.

Last night Hawks put up a spirited effort before losing a British National League fixture at Peterborough - despite a goalscoring treble from Adrian Lomonaco.

All in all a pointless weekend, but the management could at least take a degree of consolation from a battling comeback against the Pirates after Saturday's disjointed display in a surprise Northern League setback.

Murrayfield have proved to be Hawks main route to victory this season - not this time though.

Although Hawks held the advantage a couple of times early on, they had little to offer in terms of resistance when the determined Scots took a hold midway through the second period.

Two early strikes from unlikely marksman Bobby Haig got Hawks off to a flier but, after squaring the first period 3-3, the visitors moved on to score four in nine minutes without reply in period two and the game was over.

By the time Hawks joined in again late on it was too little too late. Colin Downie was back in goal for the first two periods before Barry Hollyhead regained the number one slot for the last 20 minutes. Worth mentioning too that the two Hawks netminders had to deal with fewer shots on goal (47) than their oppo Robert Jack (49).

Period scores: 3-3, 2-5, 3-3.

Scoresheet: Alan Hough 2+0, Bobby Haig 2+0, Mike Pynnonen 0+2, Jeff Daniels 1+5, Simon Mills 0+1, Tom Burridge 1+0, Lee Cowmeadow 1+0, Adrian Lomonaco 1+3.

At Peterborough and with Hollyhead reinstated, Hawks were always trailing, but they did play with desire and, in Lomonaco, possessed a player capable of snapping up the chances.

His hat-trick and the form of Hollyhead were the highlights on a night when the shots tally favoured Peterborough by a staggering 61-21.

Hawks are finding life tough, the standards in both Northern and British Leagues so far proving out of reach. Somehow and from somewhere they've got to come up with a few answers - and quickly.

Period scores 2-1, 3-1, 1-2.

Scoresheet: Mike Pynnonen 0+2, Jeff Daniels 0+2, Tim Dempsey 1+0, Bobby Haig 0+1, Adrian Lomonaco 3+1.

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