Beaten Tigers 'got more than they deserved'
Telford Tigers head coach Tom Watkins deemed his side’s performance as “unacceptable” as they fell to a 5-4 overtime defeat against Berkshire Bees.
Goals from Fin Howells, Scott McKenzie, and a brace from David Thomson proved not enough to overcome the Bees in the second of back-to-back games against the league’s bottom side.
Tigers gained a point in the standings and remained in the final play-off place by a point, having played a game more than Solway Sharks, who picked up a point in their loss against Bristol.
“I think we got more than we deserved this evening!” said Watkins, whose side had been on a three-game winning streak. “Our battle and compete was poor, our grit/physical play was not good enough, but the biggest issue was that I thought the players put themselves ahead of the team which is unacceptable, too much me over we and it showed in our performance. We had too many no-shows tonight.”
Telford took control of the opening five minutes and gained the lead deservedly, with Fin Howells turning in the rebound of a Scott McKenzie shot saved by Bees goalkeeper Max Wright.
Hitting back immediately, Berkshire were level just 20 seconds later, with Jacob Ranson being the first to react to a Brad Day save, before sending the loose puck home to level the scoring.
Searching to regain control, Telford took the lead once again in the 10th minute, with David Thompson firing home after being found by a fantastic Eric Henderson pass. The Tigers went into the second period with a deserved lead.
This would not last long, however. Marcel Balaz took advantage of a turnover in the Tigers’ defensive zone to draw the sides level and subsequently give his side the lead for the first time in the encounter eight minutes later.
Throughout the second period, Tigers were far from their fluent best but proved resilient enough to force an equaliser in the final seconds. Scoring from close range, McKenzie took advantage of a goalmouth scramble, while Bees goalscorer Balaz served a hooking penalty.
Following the theme of the match so far, Berkshire retook the lead after being gifted an unnecessary penalty for goalkeeper interference by James Smith. After the original shot went wide of the Tigers goal, a fortunate bounce off the boards landed perfectly for Ralfs Circenis, who tapped in comfortably from close range.
To send the game into a fractious overtime period, Telford fought back once again through Thomson, who fired the ball home convincingly with just 10 minutes to play.
Overtime itself was tight and cagey, then with 30 seconds left, the Bees secured an upset on the road after a two-on-one breakaway following a Telford shot saved by Day.
With two Tigers players taken out by a Bees defender, Will Stead netted a late winner for the visitors, sparking unsavoury scenes following the closure of the game.
Bees man Josh Martin was given an unsporting conduct penalty, with his celebrations being deemed as unnecessary antagonising. Martin was escorted off the ice during the post-match handshakes.
Telford now turn their attention to Saturday’s upcoming clash against Bristol Pitbulls.
