Caly Robertson opens up Leeds Chiefs account to help bring timely boost to self-belief

Caly Robertson had proved to be one of the Chiefs’ main threats all night against their Yorkshire rivals at Elland Road, creating several scoring chances for others and himself only to be denied by a combination of goalie Dimitri Zimozdra and solid Steeldogs’ defence.

But, in the 55th minute, the 19-year-old Scottish winger was the recipient of a pin-point pass out from the back by player-coach Sam Zajac, which allowed him to skate free of his marker and lift the puck over Zimozdra and into the roof of the net.

He was – at the seventh time of asking – up and running with his first goal for the Chiefs.

It was just rewards for the GB Under-20 international who has added another dimension to the Chiefs’ attacking play since making the switch from NIHL National rivals Bracknell Bees in the week leading up to the trade deadline at the end of January.

Doug Sheppard’s willingness to let Robertson make the move further north and closer to his Scottish roots may yet come back to haunt him if the Chiefs somehow manage to gatecrash the playoffs at the Bees’ expense.

And while it was a proud moment for Robertson, who had impressed during his brief stint in Berkshire when he scored eight goals and five assists in his 13 appearances, it was one also tinged with relief at having finally got off the mark.

If he can go on to repeat his Bees points-per-game ratio for the Chiefs in the 10 remaining matches of the regular season, it could be one of the key factors in them overcoming the current 12-point deficit and making it over the line – regardless of how much the odds remain stacked against them.

“It felt good to get off the mark,” said Robertson. “It’s been a long time coming for me to put one in the back of the net and to do it in a game where we needed two points so badly to stay in the playoff push made it feel even better.

“I’d had a few chances but it was just a case of keep on trying and keep on getting pucks to the net and eventually one of them will go in and I ended up on a bit of a break there, picked my spot and it went in the back of the net.

“It does get frustrating the longer it goes on, the more games go by you’re trying to get that monkey off your back and it seems to get harder, but you’ve just got to keep going, hoping it will eventually go for you.”

Having gone into Sunday’s derby on the back of a three-game losing streak, Robertson said the dramatic 5-4 win over the Steeldogs had reignited belief in the Chiefs’ locker room,

Now they need to produce the kind of winning run that has so far proved elusive this season in order to achieve their ultimate goal of making the post-season.

“After this win, everybody is very positive in terms of going for the playoffs again,” added Robertson. “After a couple of losses you lose that positivity a little bit and you realise it’s going to be a lot tougher than you thought.

“But after a win like that, our spirits are so high again.

“This building helps and that is definitely going to be a big factor for us because we’ve got a lot of home games coming up in the run-in. That should play in our favour in terms of trying to get into that final spot.”

Zajac confident ‘magician’ can add to his goals tally

LEEDS CHIEFS’ player-coach Sam Zajac believes Caly Robertson can become a regular source of goals now he has opened his account for the team.

Zajac had been an admirer of the 19-year-old winger’s for some time before landing him at the end of January and, having seen him up close in training since, knew it would only be a matter of time before he got on the scoresheet.

“He got his just rewards on Sunday, I was so pleased for him,” said Zajac. “He never stops working, he’s one of the most skilled guys on our whole roster. It’s ridiculous what he does in training with us, sometimes – he’s a magician with the puck on his stick.

“But he’s up and running now and I fully expect him to go and find the net a few more times for us in the remaining weeks.”