Tigers back to winning ways
Telford Tigers made a welcome return to winning ways last night with a hard-fought 5-3 win over English Premier League title-holders Manchester Phoenix.
Previous defeats to Basingstoke and Peterborough had left Telford winless in the league in 2015, as they sought to protect their nine-point lead at the top of the standings.
But with second-placed Guildford losing last night, success at the Silverdome in Altrincham saw The Tigers increase advantage to 11 points.
Head coach Tom Watkins believes momentum was crucial to his side's performance last night.
He said: "Manchester at home will always be a very tough side to play and they weren't just going to roll over for us.
"The important thing was that we scored goals at the right times and that swung the momentum in our favour.
"It was hard work, but we have to realise that every game is going to be like that for the rest of the run-in."
On Saturday night, meanwhile, The Tigers completed the group stages of the British Challenge Cup with an impressive 11-1 demolition of Billingham Stars.
The county men have already qualified for a February date with Guildford Flames in the semi-finals, but were still able to secure a 100 per cent record the competition.
Watkins added: "I said to the guys before the game on Saturday to work hard and do the little things well.
"They did that and the rewards came with the 11 goals. It was a bit frustrating early on, and their netminder was very hard to beat.
"Thankfully, we were able to change that round in the second and third periods."
There was also a double success for Tigers' NIHL outfit as they recorded two hard-fought victories. They beat Coventry Blaze 7-4 on Saturday, before last night's 6-4 success at home to Blackburn Eagles.
