Telford Tigers 8 Bradford Bulldogs 3: Struggling Bulldogs plenty of work to do in 2023

NOW HEAR THIS: Bradford Bulldogs’ players - sporting their specially-designed Christmas jerseys - get in the huddle ahead of their clash against NIHL North Two leaders, Telford Tigers. Picture courtesy of Steve Brodie.

THERE was little festive cheer to be had for Bradford Bulldogs on the final weekend of action before Christmas, coming off second-best again on the road against Telford Tigers. 

The Bulldogs get to what is effectively the halfway point of their NIHL North Two (Laidler) season sitting second-from-bottom in the standings, with four wins so far from their 13 games.

There is still a long way to go in the campaign, with head coach Andy Brown hoping for an upturn once the season resumes on January 7 at home to Sheffield.

“It was a much better performance than we’ve put in recently and I felt we matched Telford for two periods with just the middle period letting us down,” said Brown.

“We were a good match for Telford in that opening 20 minutes but we couldn’t maintain that through the second and paid a heavy price, effectively handing the game to a team who are top-of-the-table for a reason.

NOT THIS TIME: Bulldogs' netminder Sam Bolwell fends off another attempt on goal by hosts' Telford. Picture courtesy of Steve Brodie.

“We rallied a bit in the third and briefly gave ourselves a glimmer of hope but then we switched off again and it was game over."

On Saturday, it was the second visit to the league leaders’ St Quentin’s Gate pad in just over a month for the Bulldogs, having lost 4-3 there on November 12.

The Bulldogs proved more than a match for their hosts in the first period and went in at the first break just 1-0 adrift, with Callum Griffin having broken the deadlock at 14.26.

But the visitors found themselves very much second-best after the break, out-shot 21-7 and 6-0 down before they were eventually able to get on the board themselves when Connor Medley struck with just 19 seconds of the period remaining.

Only 30 seconds of the middle section had elapsed before the Tigers doubled their advantage through Oliver Hunt, before two goals in as many minutes - the first from Ben Washburn at 25.29, the next from Conor Gordon at 27.57 - put the hosts firmly in control.

Michael Jones made it 5-0 at 35.27 before Tigers’ captain Hunt doubled his tally just under two minutes later.

After Medley’s reply, two further goals in the space of 12 seconds briefly threatened an unlikely Bulldogs comeback, Rhys Edwards striking at 47.28 before leading goalscorer Josh Stockton got on the board.

BATTLING HARD: Bulldogs' Kieran Furlong tries to get an attack going during Saturday's NIHL North Two clash with leaders Telford. Picture courtesy of Steve Brodie.

But conceding goals in quick succession for a third time in the match was to ultimately prove the Bulldogs’ undoing, Dan Mitchell making it 7-3 at 51.08 before Hunt completed his hat-trick with what proved to be the final goal of the game.

“Look, there’s still a lot of hockey to be played come January," added Brown. "But we need to find a way of producing more consistent performances if we want to stand any chance of climbing the standings.

“We’re capable, we’ve shown that on a number of occasions this season and with players the calibre of Connor Medley on our team we can definitely beat anyone on our day.

“It’s a case of whether we want it badly enough - that’s something only the players can answer.”