Telford Tigers’ Head Coach Tom Watkins says he was pleased with his players after seeing them maintain their lead at the top of the EPL.

The injury-hit Tigers won 5-2 at Manchester Phoenix and followed up with a 6-0 home victory over Swindon Wildcats to stay six points ahead of MK Lightning.

Watkins said: “We had some good chances against Manchester and we also missed some, but overall I’m pleased with the performance from the guys.

“When you lose players it does affect how you set up for things like powerplays, but the others stepped up really well.

“Corey Goodison had a great game and Joe Aston didn’t look out of place at all – they both had good, regular shifts.

“It was a good performance at what is a tough place to play.

“Against Swindon it was a bit scrappy at first, and it really took us until the third period for us to get our legs going.

“We haven’t had a shut-out against Swindon and Stevie Lyle especially. They’ve done that to us on a couple of occasions, so to get a couple of quick ones was good.

“It was tough, of course, as Stevie is a quality netminder.”

Watkins’ delight at the results was tempered after Sunday’s game by the news that netminder Ondrej Raszka would be returning to Poland.

“Ondrej has taken an offer to play back home – he’s a great guy and has been a big part of the team,” added Watkins.

“I can’t fault his decision, as everyone has got their own situation to take care of. I applaud him for his efforts, and signing off with a shut-out was great for him.”

(Image permission: Steve Brodie)