Telford Tigers coach Tom Watkins dished out a tongue-lashing to his players following Saturday night’s 2-1 defeat to Swindon Wildcats.
Photos courtesy of Matt Bowyer
The county men tumbled to their first league reverse in dramatic circumstances, as Swindon snatched victory after overtime and penalties.
That disappointing ending followed a scrappy encounter at the Link Centre, with neither side able to take control during regular time.
And after his side failed to take advantage of a string of powerplay opportunities, Watkins hit out at their workrate.
He said: “Our effort just wasn’t good enough tonight against a team that wanted it more than us. We have to learn to put more effort into our hockey games.
“We need to grind down teams by outworking them and we didn’t do that. Our powerplay was stinking and our best play was came from the three on three at the end when we managed the puck.
“Other than that, we didn’t manage the puck well all night. The guys have got to take a good look at themselves in the mirror, because it just wasn’t good enough tonight.”
Those scrappy opening exchanges resulted in a goalless first period, although Telford gained a slight upper hand before the first interval.
Matt Bowyer
Skipper Jason Silverthorn handed his side the lead just after the restart, as both sides began to force more scoring opportunities.
But it was the hosts who struck at the end of the second session, thanks to loanee Ben Davies.
The final period was another scrappy affair, although the Tigers were denied by Swindon netminder Stevie Lyle during an improved performance in overtime.
And despite a strong display from Telford custodian Ondrej Raszka, the visitors lost the resulting penalty shoot-out 2-1.
Watkins added: “I have to say that our travelling support was excellent tonight. They made lots of noise, and it was much appreciated.
“That made it even more disappointing that we couldn’t put in the kind of performance that the travelling fans deserved.
“Ondrej made some good saves, but we have got to win the game and that’s all that matters.
“It’s not good enough saying we were okay, but we weren’t okay. We weren’t good enough tonight.”
The Tigers return to action on Sunday night, when they host Basingstoke Bison at Telford Ice Rink.
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