BOSS Cami Brown says his team now need a “reaction” after their toughest night of the season.
The Allied Vehicles Tigers went down 53-37 at Redcar in their KO Cup quarter-final first leg on Teesside.
It means they have a mountain to climb in the second leg at Ashfield on Tuesday, if they are to progress to the semis.
Brown said: “It was a really tough night. The boys couldn’t get out of the start and Redcar were on it.
“There were some battling rides but not enough. Ben Basso, Tom Brennan, Marcin Nowak and Ace Pijper all produced good moments. Everyone else struggled but we win and lose as a team. It is definitely a wake up call.
“We had a chat after the meeting and now the boys know they have to dig deep to get through on Tuesday night. We want a massive reaction.
“This was our biggest test of the season to see how they reacted when the chips were down. Fair play to Redcar, they were flying. Now we’ve got to do the same to them on our home track.
“Make no mistake about it, we are not out of this tie. We can do the same to them as they did to us.
“Tuesday night is going to be an absolute blockbuster of a meeting as we try and pull this one out of the fire.”
Redcar 53: Charles Wright 13+1, Connor Bailey 9+1, Danny King 9, Steve Worrall 8+1, Danyon Hume 7, Jake Mulford 4+1, Jason Edwards 3+1.
Tigers 37: Tom Brennan 10, Ben Basso 9+1, Marcin Nowak 5+1, Chris Harris 5, Ace Pijper 4, Claus Vissing 2, Lee Complin 2.