{"id":41941,"date":"2020-03-06T15:39:03","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T15:39:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=41941"},"modified":"2020-03-06T15:39:03","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T15:39:03","slug":"cardiff-devils-ready-for-title-showdown-in-sheffield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2020\/03\/06\/cardiff-devils-ready-for-title-showdown-in-sheffield\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff Devils ready for cup showdown against Sheffield"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Club ambassador Neil Francis is hopeful of a league and Challenge Cup double<\/h3>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"515\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-1024x515.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-41947\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-1024x515.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-300x151.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-770x388.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-1536x773.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-2048x1031.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-500x252.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-585x293.jpg 585w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-293x148.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-1400x705.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-1024x515.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-41947\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-1024x515.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-300x151.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-770x388.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-1536x773.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-2048x1031.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-500x252.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-585x293.jpg 585w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-293x148.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield-1400x705.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Cardiff Devils take on Sheffield Steelers twice this weekend (Credit: Cardiff Devils)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>CARDIFF Devils are hoping to take the first step towards an impressive league and cup double as they take on Sheffield Steelers in the Challenge Cup final this weekend.<br \/> <br \/>Andrew Lord\u2019s side are three-time champions in the competition, beating the Steelers in the 2014-15 and 2016-17 finals, while they have reached the final on four other occasions.<br \/> <br \/>Both teams are also fighting out at the top of the Elite League, with the Devils trailing the South Yorkshire outfit by a single point, but with three games in hand.<br \/> <br \/>They meet at the Viola Arena tonight for a crucial clash in the Devils\u2019 end-of-season run-in, before competing the final at the same venue on Sunday.<br \/> <br \/>Former Devils player and coach Neil Francis \u2013 who now works as the club\u2019s director of corporate development \u2013 says the final is impossible to call, but remains hopeful of a win for the Welsh side.<br \/> <br \/>\u201cIt\u2019s the league\u2019s top two teams going head to head, and there\u2019s always been a massive rivalry between us and Sheffield,\u201d he said.<br \/> <br \/>\u201cThis has been the most unpredictable season in a long time, so anyone can beat anyone. It\u2019s certainly been one of our more inconsistent years, putting in amazing performances one week before losing a game that we should won the next.<br \/> <br \/>\u201cSo it\u2019s wide open really, and it\u2019s tough to be really optimistic, but if we get a hold on the game, we\u2019ve got a very good chance.\u201d<br \/> <br \/>Despite being fierce rivals, Francis is full of respect for the Steelers, who are chasing their fifth Challenge Cup and sixth Elite League title after a disappointing few seasons.<br \/> <br \/>\u201cSheffield didn\u2019t have the best of years, but it\u2019s really good to see them back,\u201d he said. \u201cI think a strong Steelers side is healthy for the league as a whole.<br \/> <br \/>\u201cTheir new coach Aaron Fox has done tremendously well to spot the weaknesses in the team he inherited and recruit well off the back of that \u2013 they\u2019re a really strong side right now.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"515\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/cup_win-1024x515.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-41951\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-1024x515.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-300x151.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-770x388.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-1536x773.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-2048x1031.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-500x252.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-585x293.jpg 585w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-293x147.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-1400x705.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/cup_win-1024x515.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-41951\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-1024x515.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-300x151.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-770x388.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-1536x773.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-2048x1031.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-500x252.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-585x293.jpg 585w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-293x147.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cup_win-1400x705.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption><strong>The Devils squad after winning the Challenge Cup in 2017<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Sheffield have the best scoring record in the league, netting 208 goals \u2013 35 more than any other team \u2013 and Francis is wary of their attacking prowess.<br \/> <br \/>\u201cThey\u2019re a big offensive machine \u2013 their scoring numbers are miles above anyone else,\u201d he said.<br \/> <br \/>\u201cWhat we need to do is keep possession, and put the game in our hands. If they have lots of possession, they\u2019re sure to punish us.<br \/> <br \/>\u201cAs always, we need to put in a complete performance \u2013 we can\u2019t rest on a lead, we need to always be prepared for whatever they throw at us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p>It hasn\u2019t been an easy route to the final for the Devils, who lost twice to both Coventry Blaze and Guildford Flames in the group stage.<br \/><br \/>An impressive 5-0 aggregate win over holders Belfast Giants in the quarter-finals got their campaign back on track, before a hectic 9-8 victory over two legs against the Nottingham Panthers in the semis set up Sunday\u2019s final.<br \/><br \/>\u201cIn the group stages, we threw games away, but luckily we got through it,\u201d said Francis.<br \/><br \/>\u201cFrom there, we faced some really good teams and showed our strength of character \u2013 we really stepped up to the plate and made amends for our earlier losses with some clinical performances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Another chapter will be written in the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/officialEIHL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@officialEIHL<\/a> history books this Sunday \ud83d\udcd6<br><br>\ud83c\udfc6 Will it be EIHL Challenge Cup title number 4 for <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cardiffdevils?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@cardiffdevils<\/a> or a first for <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/steelershockey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@steelershockey<\/a>? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/aA6TdupxYx\">pic.twitter.com\/aA6TdupxYx<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Premier Sports \ud83d\udcfa (@PremierSportsTV) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PremierSportsTV\/status\/1235890216835207169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 6, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Devils fans will be hoping that Challenge Cup glory will gear Lord\u2019s side up for a successful run-in, with nine games of the league season remaining.<br \/><br \/>With three games in hand, Cardiff are breathing down the Steelers\u2019 necks, but must negotiate some potentially sticky fixtures if they are to get their hands on the trophy again.<br \/><br \/>The Devils travel to third-placed Nottingham in a fortnight, before facing a formidable final weekend in which they take on the Giants and the Steelers once again.<br \/><br \/>While Francis admits that the team could have done better earlier in the season, he is happy with where they currently stand.<br \/><br \/>\u201cWe\u2019ve performed well enough to put our fate in our own hands, and you can\u2019t ask for more than that,\u201d he said. \u201cAny team would love to be in our position.<br \/><br \/>\u201cEvery other result we\u2019ve had so far is not important \u2013 it\u2019s all about the next nine. <br \/><br \/>\u201cThe final weekend is going to be tough, though I hope we\u2019ll have wrapped the title by then.<br \/><br \/>\u201cBut every single one of them is important \u2013 regardless of the team, it\u2019s all about taking two points at a time and winning back the title that we came so close to retaining last year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Club ambassador Neil Francis is hopeful of a league and Challenge Cup double CARDIFF Devils are hoping to take the first step towards an impressive league and cup double as they take on Sheffield Steelers in the Challenge Cup final this weekend. Andrew Lord\u2019s side are three-time champions in the competition, beating the Steelers in the 2014-15 and 2016-17 finals, while they have reached the final on four other occasions. Both teams are also fighting out at the top of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41948,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63,4],"tags":[59,1081,1082,1083,65,66],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-41941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ice-hockey-sport","category-sport","tag-cardiff-devils","tag-challenge-cup","tag-elite-league","tag-neil-francis","tag-sheffield-steelers","tag-viola-arena"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cardiff Devils ready for cup showdown against Sheffield - The Cardiffian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Club ambassador Neil Francis is hopeful of a league and cup double as Cardiff play Sheffield twice in three days.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2020\/03\/06\/cardiff-devils-ready-for-title-showdown-in-sheffield\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cardiff Devils ready for cup showdown against Sheffield - The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Club ambassador Neil Francis is hopeful of a league and cup double as Cardiff play Sheffield twice in three days.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2020\/03\/06\/cardiff-devils-ready-for-title-showdown-in-sheffield\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-06T15:39:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/03\/cardiff-devils-sheffield2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1574\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1181\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Taylor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jwjtaylor88\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Taylor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2020\/03\/06\/cardiff-devils-ready-for-title-showdown-in-sheffield\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2020\/03\/06\/cardiff-devils-ready-for-title-showdown-in-sheffield\/\",\"name\":\"Cardiff Devils ready for cup showdown against Sheffield - 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