Play Off Blog - Josh Batch

Hello everybody.

Geraint has asked me to blog this week and being that we are just 2 days away from the Playoff Finals Weekend and I can't help but think how quickly this season has gone by. It seems not so long ago that I was packing up my car in Essex and heading down the M4 back to Cardiff. Time flies when you're having fun I guess!

The season has been filled with ups and downs, but I think we can all agree that we are finishing on a high. The way that the guys battled this past weekend with our injury problems, worsened by Kenton's back problem on Saturday, is absolutely remarkable, and nothing short of heroic.

We were down to 3 defencemen at one point in Braehead but the guys fought on without complaint, and Richie even had enough juice left in the tank to score a crucial late goal. I guess the 3-a-days in Kazakhstan really paid off! That said, it’s unfair to single out one guy as everybody played out of their skin over the weekend. The game on Sunday was possibly one of the most complete games we played all year long, and I cannot put into words how proud I felt to be a part of the team that evening.

Moving on to this weekend coming, and you can really sense the excitement around the team. Playing Nottingham in the first game is perfect for us. Nobody expects anything from us so we will be heading into the game as underdogs, which suits us to a tee. Sure, Nottingham have a great team this year, but there have been far bigger upsets in sports before.

A recent one that comes to mind is Bradford City in this year’s Capital One Cup, a 4th division team who beat 3 Premier League sides en route to the final. Three teams that were three leagues higher than them. It goes to show that anything can happen.

Lastly I would like to thank a few people –

- The fans for your support over the past season, you are what makes playing in Cardiff so special.

- Chris Fletcher who has been a great sponsor and helped out in many more ways than he needed to.

- Mike Parsons for his support over at FFC.

- Our medical staff, including those at the Vale, who have supported me on my rehab process thus far.

- Our equipment managers Macky and Mark for their help.

- Team staff, rink staff, and everyone else that helps with the team.

- My teammates, can't say enough about the group we have this year.

- Finally, G and Franny for helping me with my development and giving me a chance to play.

I hope to see you all in Nottingham!

Cheers,
Josh