Telford Tigers 4 Sheffield Steeldogs 7
A Liam Kirk hat-trick helped Sheffield Steeldogs move a step closer to a 100% record in the Spring Cup as they played Telford Tigers for a third time in this competition.
With the trophy in the bag, the only carrot left for Greg Wood’s side to chase is that of completing it without suffering defeat and this result leaves them on the brink of doing just that.
It was 11 goals shared between them and after the first two periods, the game was on a knife edge, but the visitors found that extra gear that took them over the line to claim another two points to their tally.
Despite the glut of goals later on in the game, there was only one between them in the first period as Liam Kirk found the net for Sheffield to keep up his impressive scoring record throughout the tournament.
Liam Kirk scored another hat-trick for Sheffield Steeldogs (PHOTO: Steve Brodie)
Jason Silverthorn hit back for Tigers in the second period to level the game up and it got interesting when Steeldogs restored their lead then added to it not long after.
Ben Lake and Stanislav Lascek were the men to put Steeldogs 3-1 ahead, but Tom Watkins’ side soon reminded them they wouldn’t have it their own way.
Two quick goals from David Clements and Austin Mitchell-King restored parity, at least for a short spell before Kirk edged Sheffield ahead once more. This time, Clements was on hand as the game tied at four with 20 minutes to go.
A keenly fought third period played out as Steeldogs’ impressive record hung in the balance, but they dug deep to find the resolve they needed to get the better of their opponents.
Experienced heads Jonathan Phillips and Jason Hewitt got the goals needed to eventually leave Telford in their wake, while Kirk finished off proceedings with his hat-trick goal to complete another successful night for the Spring Cup winners.
