Tigers NIHL chief Jason Parry has questioned the “heart and desire” of his young players, following Saturday’s 7-5 defeat to Sheffield Spartans.
Defeat at Ice Sheffield was the first half of a tough double-header for Parry’s men, who face Moralee Conference title challengers Whitley Bay on Sunday.
And after watching Sheffield take a 4-0 lead in the first period, the Tigers NIHL coach issued a dressing down to his players, ahead of that trip to the north-east.
He said: “We just started very badly and to go 4-0 down so early on really wasn’t good enough. Denis Bell is injured, so we had Sam Ellis in goal and he was hung out to dry at the start.
“Sam actually played really well against Sheffield, but we weren’t responsible enough defensively and didn’t look after our own like we should.
“We scored two goals to get ourselves back into the game, but then came out and started the second period flat as well. The guys didn’t show enough heart and desire.”
Callum Bowley was on target with a brace in the first period, as the county men launched a mini fightback after those early Sheffield goals.
But further Spartans strikes in the middle session put paid to hopes of an unlikely win, although James Smith chipped in with a hat-trick in the final period.
Parry added: “Any team can go short and still do well, but it is down to heart and desire. We’ll definitely need more of that against Whitley.
“I told the young guys that they can have all the skill in the world, but if they’re not prepared to be accountable or show passion, then they won’t go very far.
“You only need to look at the top players in the EPL team, like Jason Silverthorn and Jonathan Weaver. They do that in every training session and every game.”
Sunday night’s game in Whitley Bay faces off at 5.30pm.
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