DOUG SHEPPARD insists a place in the NIHL South Cup final is not out of reach, despite Bracknell Bees’ disappointing first leg showing.
Bees host Peterborough Phantoms at The Hive this evening (7.30pm), looking to overturn a 6-3 deficit to book their spot in the last two.
The first leg was finely poised at 3-2 heading into the final period, with Josh Smith and Vanya Antonov on the score-sheet for Sheppard’s men, only for the hosts to race clear with three unanswered goals.
Aidan Doughty pulled one back late on, which could prove vital ahead of tonight’s clash.
“We weren’t ourselves in the first leg,” head coach Sheppard told The Wokingham Paper.
“We were only down one going into the third but we just weren’t playing our game and we made it very difficult for ourselves.
“Things did unravel for us in the third, but we got a bit of life getting that one back right at the end.
“It still really is all to play for in the second leg.
“I’m disappointed with where we are but it’s happened before, it’s not insurmountable by any means. We are where we are after the first leg, we can’t change anything.
“We will start to gear up and get ready to do whatever we need to win that game by three and then we’ll be looking to push it into overtime.”
He added: “We’ve got to play three 20-minute games. After the first period we want to get one and then obviously in the second get one and then in the third we’re going to have to outscore them by one.
“We just need to stick to the game plan and if we don’t score after the first then we can adjust and play a little more high risk, but we need to be more disciplined that’s for sure.”
