Shropshire Star

Video: Telford Tigers fight through Flames

Telford Tigers head coach Tom Watkins hailed Joe Miller's 15th-minute goal as the 'catalyst' for victory over title-chasing Guildford Flames.

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Panic, what panic - watch the match highlights as Telford Tigers come from behind to defeat title rivals Guildford Flames at the Link Centre.

Sunday night's success saw Telford go 11 points clear at the top of the English Premier League, following a poor start in front of a bumper home crowd.

That win came after a 5-4 reverse at Swindon Wildcats on Saturday evening, as the Tigers once again failed to get the better of the Wiltshire side.

But Watkins was delighted with the reaction from his men against Guildford, saying: "Guildford had a good start and they worked very hard.

"We had to change a few things, such as our fore-checking in the neutral zone. That worked well and we put a lot of pressure on the defence, which was the catalyst for getting us going.

"Joe's goal settled us down. Perhaps we had a few nerves from the Swindon game. I was really pleased with the way we dominated the game for 50 minutes."

Miller's strike, which came after an opener from Guildford, was followed by a goal from Jason Silverthorn, giving the hosts a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period.

Further contributions from Peter Szabo and Sam Zajac secured the points for Telford.

Saturday night was a different story, with the Tigers falling behind after just 90 seconds at the Link Centre.

Goals from Silverthorn and Miller gave them the lead on 16 minutes, although a late strike from Swindon ended the first period all-square.

The hosts then took the lead at the start of the second session, with Telford once again drawing level, this time through Scott McKenzie.

Further strikes handed the Wildcats a 5-3 advantage in the third period, although Silverthorn gained some consolation with his second goal of the night on 54 minutes.

Watkins added: "Swindon have won five or six games in a row, but there are no excuses.

"I expect more from our guys and they have to bring something to the table every night.

"If there isn't enough coming from our offence, then we need to get our noses dirty and put our bodies on the line."

Meanwhile, Telford Tigers NIHL emerged from a tough Laidler Conference weekend with two well-deserved points – and with it, an impressive end to the first half of the season.

Saturday night's encounter with local rivals Solihull Barons ended in an agonising 4-3 defeat, after Telford had held the upper hand for much of the game.

On Sunday, they returned to winning ways with a 2-1 success over Nottingham Lions, lifting them to second place – albeit level on points with Sheffield.

Assistant coach Jason Parry was delighted with his side's performance at the National Ice Centre, after that disappointing loss to Solihull.

He said: "We killed a five on three penalty for five minutes at the end against Nottingham. The boys dug really deep.

"It felt so good to see James Smith score right at the end and steal the points.

"Sunday's win shows a big effort after everything we put into the game against Solihull. We had another short bench but we dug in there and got the points."

A goal from James Gallagher gave Telford a second period lead against Nottingham, although the hosts equalised just 60 seconds later.

Smith's late strike, with under a minute left on the clock, was just desserts for Parry, especially after Saturday's loss to Solihull.

A young Telford side led that game 3-1 at the start of the third period after strikes from Matthew Price, James Smith and Bradley Betteridge before Solihull hit back.

Parry added: "We deserved something from the game, but it just shows that we were missing that bit of experience."

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