Tom Watkins will demand a better start from his “frustrated” Tigers side against Swindon on Sunday, following tonight’s 3-2 loss to Peterborough Phantoms.
Three goals in the first 11 minutes at Bretton Road gave Telford a mountain to climb, with a total of 12 minutes in penalties during the first session alone.
That deficit remained until the final six minutes of the game, as The Tigers staged an unlikely comeback against a determined Phantoms line-up.
Watkins believes Peterborough’s organised approach was a key element of their win over the current English Premier League leaders.
He said: “Our shots count against Peterborough was about two to one, but you need quality. I can’t take anything away from our opponents. They worked hard, blocked shots and Slava should be very proud of his team.
“We’ve just got to start better tomorrow night. We can’t get frustrated about things that aren’t under our control and we need to take games to other teams.”
That three-goal burst looked to have won the game for Peterborough, as they blocked Telford’s efforts to gain a foothold during the second period.
It wasn’t until the 54th minute that Rick Plant gave his side hope of staging a comeback, with Scott McKenzie adding a second in the closing stages.
A dramatic end to the game saw Watkins pull netminder Tom Murdy, but it wasn’t enough to stop The Tigers from falling to their fifth defeat of the season.
“Peterborough is always a tough place to go and it was like playing on a ploughed field,” he added.
“We were on the ropes in the first period and killed a lot of penalties. That made it very difficult to come back.”
The Tigers return to action on Sunday evening, when they host Swindon Wildcats at Telford Ice Rink (5.30pm).
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