Deeside Dragons player-coach Steve Fellows says he couldn’t have asked for more from his players after they almost shocked runaway league leaders Solihull Barons.

Fellows’ side, who suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat at Widnes Wild on Saturday, fought back from 4-1 down against Laidler Conference high-flyers Solihull before they were eventually beaten 6-5.

Goals from Fellows, Michael Jones, Simon Furnival, Paul Davies and Bryn Roberts brought the Dragons close to causing a major upset against the Barons, who boast the largest budget in the league and who are undefeated in over 50 games.

Fellows took heart from the character shown by his side, who have turned a corner in recent weeks after a miserable slump in form at the beginning of 2015.

“We lost the game but I’m so proud of the way the guys played and all the fans went home with smiles on their faces despite the defeat,” said Fellows.

“We started slowly on Sunday but we showed our fighting spirit to get back in the game. I couldn’t have asked for more.

“Solihull have the biggest budget in the league by far and they have some excellent players and some really influential imports. But we matched them for long periods.

“They haven’t lost a period of ice hockey for a long, long time but we won the second and third periods, which is a massive achievement for us and is a big confidence booster ahead of the rest of the season.”

The Dragons suffered a 7-0 reverse to the Midlands side the last time they visited the Deeside Ice Rink and Fellows is hopeful that the performance from his players on Sunday will see more fans come through the door and help them build momentum into the final stages of the season.

“I think the positions are pretty much established in the league now but we want to have a good run between now and the end of the season so that we can build some positive momentum going into next season,” he added.

“The fans really responded to what the guys were doing on Sunday and they gave us all a standing ovation at the end so hopefully the enjoyed what they saw and will keep coming back.

“We lost 7-0 the last time they were here so it shows the progress that we have made. I think that people were expecting a similar scoreline this time around.

“As a coach I’m obviously disappointed to lose any game but I couldn’t fault what the guys gave me out there.”

The Dragons were edged out by rivals Widnes in the battle for fourth place after Dan Bracegirdle’s late strike settled the contest on Friday night.

Youngster Jack Meadows had restored parity in the second period after Filip Supa’s opener but the bragging rights went to Widnes who had too much for a short-handed Dragons side.

Fellows’s team were missing defencemen Mike Roden and Mike Jones while Ross Kennedy was away with the England under 18s.