Telford Titans narrowly missed out on snatching a victory from ENL 1 pacesetters Trafford Metros when a late goal condemned them to a 3-2 defeat.

Saturday night’s match in Altrincham had been heading for a 2-2 draw, following goals from Ed Eaton and Paul Rigby.

A third period strike for Telford was disallowed after the goal was moved off its moorings, with Trafford – who have won both their games so far – scoring the winner just moments later.

That late goal resulted in a ten-minute penalty for youngster Adam Taylor as tempers boiled over at the final buzzer, but manager Dave Fielder was full of praise for his side.

He said: “We should have been 3-2 up before they scored their third, and if we had drawn the game we would have been happy.

“But it was very frustrating to lose because the lads worked hard with a short bench. We only had two and a half forward lines.

“The team had to dig deep to get a draw, then a decision didn’t go our way and we went on to lose.” The absence of several senior players, including Mark Stallard, Ash Stanton and Owen Bennett meant Telford were forced to play with a much-reduced bench.

But they also faced a Trafford side bolstered by a number of EPL players, with Manchester Phoenix not starting their season until next weekend.

Fielder added: “They had some extra players and I think on another day we would have beaten them.

“After last week, Ben Hunt in goal had an awesome game and faced 50 shots.”

Telford must now prepare for the visit of last season’s ENL North winners Whitley Warriors next weekend.