BRACKNELL Bees are determined to give their success-starved supporters something to cheer about before the end of a very disappointing season, writes Dave Wright.

Many fans have stayed loyal to the club despite seeing them lose 40 of their 49 EPIHL games and player Carl Thompson admits they deserve some reward, albeit a small one.

“We have a few games left and we want to win them,” he said. “We want to do it for those fans who turn up week in, week out.

“Their support is much appreciated by the guys and we feel we owe them something. We are pushing as much as we can and trying to get that puck into the back of the net.”

Thompson was speaking to the News after a weekend that saw Bees crash 7-0 at title-chasing Milton Keynes Lightning on Saturday and 7-4 to Manchester Phoenix at The Hive on Sunday.

They were also scheduled to visit Hull last Friday, but problems over transport saw the fixture called off and re-arranged for this Friday.

Bees managed to hold out until the 18th minute at MK, but it was a completely different story on Sunday when they conceded a goal after just 11 seconds and found themselves trailing 3-0 with the clock showing 3mins 20secs.

“The slow start really cost us, as after that it was a big hill to climb,” said Thompson, having earlier collected his side’s man-of-the-match award.

“It really messes with your head. We wish we could have reacted a little bit quicker. It took the break between the first and second (periods) to really sit down and think about things and to get going again.”

From 4-0 down, the depleted Bees team enjoyed a much better second period and pulled three goals back in just over 12 minutes.

“It takes some real character to fight back; so the guys deserve some credit for that,” said Thompson. “It was just unfortunate that we conceded another goal (the fifth) shortly afterwards.”

Having taken the period 3-1, Bracknell were back in the game at 3-5, but they lost the final period 2-1.

“We are short of guys and we got tired and struggled a bit,” Thompson added. “But the amount of shots we had on their goal we could still have got something out of the game.

“We had 24 in the third, probably about 20 of them were mine. It was frustrating. We could have won something like 8-5.

“When we had a chat in the dressing room after the game, we talked about the character we showed to bounce back after our slow start.

“It is not as big as a win, but you feel a bit better about yourself, as you have managed to bounce back and put in that effort.

“It could easily have turned out like yesterday (Saturday) and finished 7-0 down again, but we didn’t. We got back out there and showed some fight.

“We really pushed them (Manchester) and I think the fans appreciated that.”

Thompson continued: “We all accept we are in a difficult situation, but we still like to think we can really push for a win or two.

“In many games there has not been a lot in it, and this is against teams who have huge budgets and fantastic players.

“There are some good youngsters at this club, which has always been known for having a good youth system.

“Due to the difficulties we have had this season, it has given them the opportunities to play week in, week out. There is no better way of developing than just getting out there on the ice.“

It is far better than just sitting on the bench and watching, as that could knock their confidence.

“They do make mistakes, but they will learn from them.”

After their re-arranged game at Hull on Friday, Bees visit Sheffield Steeldogs the following night (7.30pm face-off) before entertaining Peterborough Phantoms at The Hive on Sunday (6pm).