Beaten Telford United's spirit is praised in defeat
AFC Telford boss Liam Watson praised his players for not giving up as the Bucks were outclassed by high-flying Gateshead last night.
Watson's winless side were beaten 4-1 for the second game running and had Sean Cooke sent off as the Heed cruised to three points in the Conference Premier clash.
After being critical of his side's late capitulation against Dover, Watson insists there is still a fighting spirit in the camp.
"We were well and truly beaten by a side that are far better than us," said the Bucks boss.
"None of the heads dropped, though, and they carried on working and showed great togetherness.
"They (Gateshead) are by far the best side we have faced in a long, long time.
"Bizarrely enough I think we maybe scored too early (Sean Clancy netted on two minutes) and I think the second goal was the killer for us.
"There is only one thing that can put things right and that is us.The morale in the dressing room at full-time was alright, they players never downed tools even with 10 men.
"They could have done that but they didn't. We could have actually lost eight or nine one but we kept going until the end."
Telford now return to Shropshire on Saturday to host the manager's tip for the title in non-league's top-flight, relegated Football League side Barnet.
Martin Allen's promotion-chasing Bees travel tonight to Dover Athletic, who compounded the Bucks' miserable form on their own patch with a 4-1 victory last weekend.
All four goals were conceded in the last 14 minutes – and Watson is warning the opposition won't get any easier next time around.
He said: "Saturday is not a game where I am expecting us to just go out there and turn it on. We will have to work our socks off to get anything. I think Barnet will win this division."
