Tom Watkins praises patched up Telford Tigers

The English Premier League leaders were missing a string of players through injury, including GB international Jonathan Weaver and forward Doug Clarkson.

And even though they welcomed Matty Davies back into the fold, Telford were still six players down from their normal roster.

Head coach Tom Watkins, who guided his side to a 5-2 win over Manchester in Blackpool on Saturday, said: "It was pretty scrappy at first and I don't think we really got our legs under us until the third period.

"We were late back from Blackpool and had some bad food on the way. I don't know if that affected us, but later in the game we really got going."

The first period of Sunday's game was a largely even affair with neither side troubling the scorers.

Telford had to wait until the halfway point of the game to open their account, thanks to captain Jason Silverthorn.

Danny Rose added a second for the Tigers at the start of the third period, before Milan Kolena scored on 43 minutes.

Michal Satek struck for the Tigers moments later, while Dan Scott made it 5-0 with five minutes remaining.

And Kolena rounded off the Telford scoring in the last minute.

Celebrations were muted, however, when netminder Ondrej Raszka announced his departure from the club in the immediate aftermath of the game. The 26-year-old has accepted an offer to play in his native Poland

Watkins added: "Ondrej has taken an offer to play back home. He's a great guy and has been a big part of the team.

"I can't fault his decision, as everyone has got their own situation to take care of. I applaud him for his efforts, and signing off with a shut-out was great for him."

Watkins was happy to see his men clinch victory in Blackpool with Adam Taylor and Danny Rose out and both Weaver and Joe Miller suffering injuries during the game.

He said: "We had some good chances and we also missed some, but overall I'm pleased with the performance from the guys. When you lose that many players, it does affect how you set up for things like powerplays but the others stepped up really well.

"Corey Goodison had a great game and Joe Aston didn't look out of place at all. They both had good, regular shifts.

"It was a good performance at what is a tough place to play."

The first period saw Telford once again take an early lead, this time through Phil Hill after just two minutes.

The Tigers made most of the running during that opening session, but they had to wait until 27 minutes to double their advantage through Kolena.

Kolena was on target once again just two minutes later, as Telford made their superior possession count. Satek added a fourth for the visitors almost straight away, but Manchester hit back just before the end of the period.

The closing session saw the Phoenix reduce Telford's advantage on 54 minutes, but Warren Tait sealed victory just two minutes later.

Watkins added: "I said during the week about how Milan plays with a lot of grit and he had a good game, even when we switched things around a bit.

"With Sam Gospel in goal, we could ice a third import forward, but there was a good solid spread of scoring throughout the game."

Telford travel to face Basingstoke Bison on Saturday before hosting Sheffield Steeldogs the next day.