Bucks analysis: Long trip shows AFC Telford United are on the right road

Opponents Leiston had the shorter journey, but were forced to take the long way around to the goal by the Bucks.

The away side, in contrast, had made a lengthy trek and perhaps decided that quickly getting from A to B, on the field at least, was the most desirable and efficient method.

Bucks boss Kevin Wilkin is a big advocate of efficiency and an eight goal in 10 starts for Matty Stenson as well as a ninth of the season for Ricardo Dinanga established an ultimately winning position in the first half an hour, as they did a week earlier against St Ives Town.

The clean sheet they maintained throughout this game was probably the most notable plus, underpinned by the qualities Wilkin prizes in his teams.

They were focused from the first whistle and showed an application to their task, especially when out of possession. They showed plenty of resolve, and they also recognised their moments, being clinical when they got their opportunities.

Wilkin wouldn’t have wanted to make an issue of the distance travelled to this game, feeling it could too easily be clung to as an excuse for underperforming. However, there is always the potential for a near-200-mile journey taking four hours to have an impact.

It was arguably a factor in the Bucks losing all three of their away matches in Suffolk last season, but seven points from nine claimed in East Anglia in this campaign should make that less of a talking point if nothing else.

The manager named an unchanged side from the previous weekend’s home victory, and consistency in selection may have contributed to this success. There was a single change on the substitutes’ bench - defender Alex Gudger, fit enough to be included, replaced the injured Steffan Jones.

Leiston entered this contest in good form, with only one defeat in their previous eight matches, when they narrowly failed to secure an away point at league leaders Kettering Town.

They might have been expected to be full of confidence, but if they were feeling positive, it didn’t show - if anything, a surprising fragility was exposed when the Bucks took an early lead.

The goal arrived with only six minutes played and owed much to Remi Walker’s tenacity.

The hosts’ Ryan Jarvis broke up play and attempted to bring the ball out from defence, but Walker, who has a touch of the Artful Dodger about him, pursued Jarvis and metaphorically picked his pocket. He pursued it, but Jordan Piggott managed to nick it away to captain Kyle Storer, and the Bucks were in business.

With Jarvis out of position, Storer found Jakub Kruszynski, and he turned and strode forward, finding Walker to his right. Walker’s low delivery was inch-perfect for Stenson, who arrived to guide the ball past the exposed Johnson from just a few yards out.

The Bucks’ second goal arrived in the 23rd minute.

Brandon Hall’s goal-kick brought a midfield scrap for possession, which Pendley ended by hoisting a high ball over the Leiston defence.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion for the next few seconds as the home side’s sizeable but slow central defensive unit allowed Dinanga to slip through their collective fingers.

Dinanga’s first touch brought the ball under control and as Johnson left his line, the Bucks’ leading scorer jabbed it past him and watched as the ball rolled in from 15 yards out.

The Bucks’ goals had been simple in their execution, but their speed had done for the hosts, with Jarvis, his brother Rossi, and Kyran Clements exposed.

Leiston’s best opportunity of the half came from a Bucks error. Pendley swung through thin air at a ball played forward, and Jamar Loza, the hosts’ biggest threat and leading scorer, nipped into the space behind Pendley. The forward swayed inside a challenge and aimed his shot to Hall’s left, but the keeper had advanced and got two hands to the ball to parry before Byron Moore’s header put the ball out of harm’s way.

Although reasonably comfortable, the Bucks, perhaps mindful of how they slackened off in a similar position a week earlier against St Ives, kept their work-rate up in the second period.

While the plan wouldn’t perhaps have been for Leiston to have so much possession, the fact that they did so little with it reflected positively on how the Bucks applied themselves.

Loza brought a save from Hall from a corner, but there was little else to trouble Telford.

Dinanga showed how his game has strengthened and how much he is buying into Wilkin’s team ethic with a shot that found the side netting as the Bucks found room behind Leiston’s increasingly high defensive line. Less than a minute later, he was back in defence, blocking a cross.

The final few minutes were frantic as Leiston’s methodical but fruitless approach gave way to desperation. Substitute Reece Styche had a shot blocked on the line as Leiston left the back door open, and Moore was booked for a foul that conceded a dangerous free-kick position. Again though, it failed.

The game ended with Johnson, perhaps venting frustration at his inconsistencies at someone else, being issued with a straight red card for words spoken to the officials.

AFC Telford United: Hall, Piggott, Cranston, Storer (c) (Armson 62), Pendley, Whittall, Walker, Moore, Stenson (Styche 73’), Dinanga, Kruszynski. Subs not used: Gudger, Hilton, Brown.

Leiston: Johnson, Yun, Saunder, Ryan Jarvis (Armin 62’), Clements (Rayworth 55’), Rossi Jarvis, Fatadjo, Alexander, Fowkes (Curtis 77’), Quantrell, Loza. Subs not used: Jackson, Oldman.