Telford Tigers’ defence of the league cup came to an early end with a 2-1 loss to Manchester Phoenix on Sunday evening.
Defeat in Deeside means Telford can’t now qualify for the semi-finals of a trophy they won just seven months ago.
The loss came as a bitter blow for the reigning EPL champions, following Saturday night’s overtime win over Peterborough.
Head coach Tom Watkins will demand a dramatic increase in workrate from his players, as he plots a swift return to form.
He said: “It was disappointing for us, as they played harder than us, wanted it more and deserved the points
“We played well in patches, but Manchester showed more desire, which is very disappointing, considering what we were playing for.
“Our players should have the passion to defend the trophy, but it wasn’t just about tonight, it was early in the season.
“Other teams want to beat us and perhaps they do work harder. We need to look forward and start knuckling down, as these are games where we should be finding a way to win.”
Jonathan Weaver was on target after 18 minutes on Sunday night, as Telford again out-shot their opponents.
But two goals in two minutes, at the halfway point of the game, handed Manchester the momentum to collect both points.
Watkins pulled netminder Sam Gospel in the dying moments, but The Tigers were unable to find an equaliser.
He added: “Sam played a solid game, but he got caught with rebounds. The forwards need to give more support in front of goal.
“Manchester took over the game in the second period and we just weren’t relieving the pressure, or chipping out pucks.
“The size of one of their import forwards caused us problems and we weren’t getting into the shooting lanes.”
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