MIDLANDS HURRICANES chairman Mike Lomas claimed the bragging rights over Rochdale Hornets counterpart Andy Mazey after their joshing in build-up to Saturday’s showdown.
The Birmingham side came out 22-10 on top at the Crown Oil Arena in a game between two sides firmly in the reckoning to finish in the top four and so make the ‘eights’.
It was a first-ever win at Rochdale for Midlands, whose coach Mark Dunning hailed the match a great advert for the competition.
Dunning told Canes TV: “I’m absolutely delighted. What a performance from our boys, to a man outstanding. It was a high-quality game and a great advert for League One.”
Hornets started the week with a sarcastic post about breezes rather than hurricanes coming from the Midlands, with the visitors retorting with a comment about loud and irritating buzzing coming from the Greater Manchester area.
Mazey tweeted a poll asking who the biggest-spending League One club are, with just Midlands Hurricanes as the two options, in a nod to recent comments from another team’s coach which caused a stir.
Lomas responded with a poll of his own asking who the most annoying chairman in League One is, offering only Mazey as an option.
The pair exchanged pleasantries pre-game following their efforts to promote the match, with Lomas providing his opposite number with a bottle of wine.
Afterwards, Mazey posted on X (formerly Twitter): “We’ve had some banter this week but in sport there is always a winner and a loser.
“Important to take your medicine, be humble and respectful always in both victory and defeat.”
When asked about the pre-match jibbing, albeit all in good faith, Dunning laughed off the impact it may have had on his team.
He said: “That’s two people with too much time on their hands I think! There are allegations of this, that and the other aimed at us all the time.
“I think (managing director) Eorl Crabtree hit the nail on the head a few weeks ago. People talk about you when you’re doing things right and people want to throw mud at you when you’re doing things right, so long may that continue.”
