Leeds Knights were left with nothing to show for their efforts against Peterborough Phantoms

That’s right. Zilch. Nothing. Zero.

As we come out of the second week of January, when the majority of teams in the league have around 20 games remaining, it is a remarkable feat that the Knights have taken this long to have nothing to show for their efforts over the course of a regular season two-game weekend.

Should that trigger a cause for concern? It will do among some Leeds fans, no doubt, but, in reality, should the Knights’ players provide the kind of response they have to the other minor setbacks they’ve had previously in the season - the first regulation loss against Swindon prompted an eight-game winning streak, for example - this should probably prove no more than the proverbial ‘bump in the road’.

The Knights are a proud group and won’t take kindly to losing back-to-back games as they did against title rivals Peterborough Phantoms at the weekend.

Last night’s 3-2 loss on the road would have been particularly hard to take considering they were 2-1 to the good after the first 20 minutes.

Kieran Brown’s power play strike got them on the board at 4.56 and despite Tom Norton replying with a goal on the man advantage for the hosts just under five minutes later, Grant Cooper - in what is expected to be his last appearance for the Knights - put the visitors ahead again at 16.00

It wasn’t until just after the halfway mark that the Phantoms restored parity for a second time, Martins Susters firing past Sam Gospel and that was how it remained as the game entered the final 10 minutes.

Gospel parried Glenn Billings’ initial effort but the puck fell kindly for Ralfs Circenis, quickest to react and force the puck home at 50.17. It proved enough for a four-point weekend for the Phantoms, enough to move them up on to 56 points with Leeds, who still have three games in hand.

Leeds also have three games to make up on Milton Keynes Lightning who, after sealing a four-point weekend with a 4-2 win at Telford Tigers, moved one point clear at the top.

On Saturday, the Knights staged a stirring third period comeback having gone 5-1 down, but goals from Zach Brooks, Mac Howlett and Kieran Brown couldn’t prevent defeat.