Tigers chief Tom Watkins branded his side’s defeat to Sheffield Steeldogs as “the story of our season”, after they missed out on a chance to close the gap to fourth-placed Guildford.
Sunday’s 4-2 loss at home to Sheffield means Telford are now four points adrift of the Flames, with a hefty ten-point gap having opened to leaders Basingstoke.
The Tigers did, in fact appear to be in contention after drawing level during the second period on Sunday, but struggled to make the most of a dominant closing session.
Watkins, who must now prepare his side for home games against Bracknell and Basingstoke next weekend, was disappointed with his side’s efforts after those equalising goals.
He said: “We had a lot of confidence going into the third period. I thought we dominated the game after the break, but just missed too many chances.
“That’s kind of the story of our season so far. We created a lot of offence, but haven’t capitalised on that at times.”
The Tigers found themselves 2-0 down at the end of the first period last night, as Sheffield took advantage of a slow start from the hosts.
The second session saw Telford draw level, thanks to goals from Phil Hill at the halfway point of the game, and Joe Miller on 37 minutes.
But the Steeldogs snatched the initiative in the closing session, with a strike on 50 minutes and a further empty net goal with 60 seconds remaining.
Watkins added: “We had a bad start and we worked hard, but I don’t think we worked smart enough.
“Whether that’s fatigue, with six games in ten days and we’re making some bad decisions on the puck, but we got ourselves back into it.”
The Tigers are back in action with two home games next weekend. On Saturday they host Bracknell (6pm), while on Sunday, Basingstoke are the visitors to Telford Ice Rink (6pm).
Both games will be cash only, or booked online, as the rink will have no tills or card machines operational.
With Telford game report
Images by Steve Brodie
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