Tigers boss Tom Watkins praised his side’s ‘grit and determination’ as they fought back from two goals down to snatch an overtime point from high-flying Manchester Phoenix.

It took a penalty shoot-out for the table toppers to claim the win 5-4 as Tigers bounced back from a hard fought 11-6 EPL home defeat to Peterborough Phantoms on Saturday.

“Sunday against Manchester was brilliant,” said Watkins.

“The guys showed real grit and determination to come back from two goals down and take it to penalties.”

It wasn’t until almost halfway through the game that Manchester opened the scoring.

Andy McKinney quickly struck back for Tigers against his former team, but Phoenix raced ahead to a 4-1 lead before Tom Watkins scored just ahead of the second break.

The third period saw Tigers fight back with goals from Marek Hornak, short-handed at 55 minutes, and Scott McKenzie just a minute from time.

The sides were evenly matched in the sudden-death overtime, but Manchester shaded it in the penalty shootout.

Switched

“They had a lot of shots on us, but we rode our luck and took our chances at the other end of the ice,” said Watkins.

“I think we played with more smarts and our defence was solid. The guys fully deserved to take a point from a top team.”

Watkins opted to put Declan Ryan in goal for this game, and the youngster acquitted himself well – staying in for the full game while Manchester switched netminders for the penalty shoot-out.

“Declan played for Trafford in the ENL last year, so we thought it was right to let him play the first road game at his old rink,” said Watkins.

“He stood on his head for us, making a key save in the last second to keep us in it.

“And the travelling fans were fantastic. It was good to see so many make the trip and they gave us a big cheer when we got back on the bus.

“Spirits are high, but we have to stay focused and go into each game every weekend looking for the points.”

To that end, Tigers are on the road to Slough on Saturday before greeting Swindon as visitors to Telford Ice Rink on Sunday (5.30pm).

By CAROLINE GARBETT