AARON Nell hailed his Swindon Wildcats side’s heroic display at Telford Tigers this evening as their crowning moment of the season so far.

Travelling to Shropshire off the back of a five-match winning streak, Cats succumbed to a 2-1 overtime defeat but only after pushing their talented opponents all the way with a performance chock full of unyielding character.

Neil Liddiard’s dramatic last-gasp equaliser earned Swindon a losing point and even though the hosts snatched victory after just 39 seconds of overtime, little could rain on Link Centre chief Nell’s parade.

“We were very good tonight,” said the Wildcats player-coach.

“It was definitely a point gained and I don’t think many teams expected us to get a point or a win tonight – the boys were fantastic.

“We definitely deserved a point and if we’d got that overtime winner or shoot-out winner, then we would have deserved that too.

“I’m very proud of the boys tonight and we need to keep on pushing on.

“We worked really hard tonight and it was probably our best game of the year because of how hard we battled.

“After winning five in a row, this was almost a free game because we had done so well recently.

“Telford; they spend twice as much as us. Just look at all the players they’ve got and to play that hard was brilliant.

“That was the plan for the team we built this summer and if we carry on playing like that, we’re going to be very successful.”

Michal Satek’s second-period goal looked to have Telford on their way to a 1-0 victory but after the Wildcats pulled netminder Stevie Lyle, veteran D-man Liddiard slammed home from range with 24 seconds of normal time remaining to force overtime.

However, Sam Zajac then stroked home the winner shortly after play resumed to ensure the Tigers roared last.

Cats have now picked up 11 points from their last six outings and after a stuttering start to the season, Nell is delighted with how his team have turned things around, particularly since the completion of Great Britain international Ben Davies’ short-term stay.

The Swindon boss said: “After the first two weeks, we were in a bad spot but we just all came together.

“Ben Davies was kind of carrying us for the last two weeks he was here and I’m sure people thought: ‘oh, Ben’s gone now – they’re going to struggle’ but boys have stepped up.

“Everyone was great tonight and I’m very proud of the team. It was definitely a point gained.

“To come to Telford and not even get a power play was unbelievable and the character we’ve shown was excellent, and we should be very proud of ourselves.”