Telford Tigers coach Tom Watkins slams 'disgusting' Baskingstoke facilities
Head coach Tom Watkins slammed the ‘disgusting’ facilities at Basingstoke ice rink after Telford Tigers saw their eight-match winning run come to an end.
Watkins felt the poor conditions at the venue contributed to a below-par performance in Saturday’s 5-2 defeat, after revealing his players had to ‘walk through mud’ to get to the ice.
The Tigers paid the price for a slow start as they lost top spot in the National League and Watkins said: “The Basingstoke rink is horrendous, the dressing rooms are disgusting and we had to walk through mud to get to the ice from outside.
“It is seriously cold and tough to get your game going, which contributed to the slow start. I think we found it hard on the big rink and probably fatigue caught up with us today.”
The Tigers, missing several key players including new signing Bayley Harewood, found themselves two goals down inside the opening period as Aidan Doughty and Alex Roberts struck for the hosts.
Vladimir Luka got the visitors back into it when he struck just before the first intermission but despite an improved second period showing, the Tigers soon found themselves with a mountain to climb as goals from Roberts and Adam Jones saw the hosts establish a 4-1 lead.
Though Jack Hopkins reduced the deficit with a power play goal, Doughty sealed the win for Basingstoke when he scored into an empty net late on.
“If we played the whole game like we did the third period we would have won,” said Watkins. “I didn’t think we were intense enough.”
