KINGDOM Homes Carnegie Hockey Club lost 5-3 in a thriller at home to promotion contenders Dundee Wanderers at Woodmill on Saturday.

Having already lost to them this season in Dundee, Carnegie were looking for revenge but playing without a couple of regulars meant it was going to be a greater challenge.

Wanderers made a fast start and raced into a 3-0 lead. It wasn’t looking good for the Reds until veteran Calum Woods’ delightful pass was lobbed over the goalkeeper by Martin Daw to make it 3-1.

Skipper Andy Doyle then received a pass on the halfway line and drove towards the D, where his other two forwards managed to drag the defenders away for him and he beat the remaining defender and then the keeper to make it 3-2 and bring Carnegie right back into the game. However, Wanderers struck from a short corner just before the break to make it 4-2.

Player-coach Jarrod Bass had some stern words with his players at the break and there was an immediate reaction.

Youngster Ben Pearson won a short corner where Doyle slipped the ball to Davyn Keuter, who scored to make it 4-3.

The game was on a knife edge but when Wanderers attacked down the right, Keuter went to make a tackle. A Wanderers player ran in front of him and created a third man obstruction but the umpire deemed that it was a foul against Keuter and that he deliberately attempted to hurt the Wanderers player and sent the Dunfermline man off for 10 minutes.

This put Carnegie up against it and it was Wanderers who got the final goal of the game to run out 5-3 winners.

Skipper Doyle told Press Sport: “It was a really good game but we made an awful start and were always chasing things.

“However, at 4-3 we were right in it but the the situation with Davyn Keuter was one of these that had the decision gone for us it could have made all the difference.

“It’s allowed Inverleith and Wanderers to get away from us but we will keep battling hard to get as many wins as we can in our closing nine games, starting with this weekend’s visit to Dundee to meet Harris.”