Streatham Redskins put in a battling performance despite going down 4-0 at Invicta Dynamos at Gillingham Ice Bowl on Sunday, writes David Carr.

Coach Barry Spours handed new signing Kent Johnson a debut at the English National League leaders as part of a new-look second line featuring Perry Richardson and Liam Rasmussen.

Having weathered some early pressure, Streatham got a powerplay after 11 minutes and Louis Lockwood got their first shot on target.

However, Invicta took the lead with five minutes remaining in the period.

Pete Vaisenan created the opening and Nick Lewis withstood some pressure to shoot hard through Will Sanderson’s legs.

Then Andy Smith skated down the right and his accurate found Nolan Boike, but he could not beat Sanderson.

Streatham went close to an equaliser when, having combined with Lockwood, Slovakian Peter Molnar’s deft poke at the puck diverted it just past the post.

With four minutes gone of the second period, Richard Hardy passed to Lockwood who skipped past a static defence, but could not get enough power on his shot.

But Invicta doubled their lead when Boike capitalised on some poor defensive cover and fired past Sanderson from close range.

When Redkins got another powerplay when Anthony Lennon received an interference penalty, they exerted some pressure and Ed Koral went close with a point shot. The puck fell to Johnson but, although he was inexplicably taken out from behind by Ryan Giles, no penalty was called.

From the resulting clearance, AJ Smith skated through on goal only to be taken down by Hardy.

The referee correctly awarded a penalty shot, but Smith missed the target to the delight of the travelling Streatham fans sat at that end of the rink.

Then Andy Smith’s quick shot produced a spectacular glove save from Anderson that drew applause from fans of both teams.

However, Invicta scored a textbook third when Giles’ slapshot was tipped in by Elliott Andrews.

To their credit, Streatham came out for the third period looking hungry and, on a powerplay, Hardy skated one-on-one with Invicta netminder Joe White, but couldn’t get his shot on target.

A mix up in the Dynamos zone saw the puck bounce nicely to Johnson but he couldn’t get his shot through the flying bodies.

Nolan Boike then broke free down the right wing and found Andy Smith on the far post but Sanderson produced another excellent save to deny him.

The home side added a fourth with six minutes left, when a point shot from David Oliver rebounded to Karl Lennon whose shot then rebounded to Andrews who finally scored past Sanderson.

Both sides had chances as the clock ticked down however the score remained at 4-0 to Invicta.

Despite the defeat, the Redskins put in a battling performance that they will be hoping to build on when they take on Bracknell Hornets in Streatham on Sunday (6.45pm).