AFC Telford secure home advantage on an "emotional" afternoon
AFC Telford United manager Kevin Wilkin admitted that he’d needed to turn counsellor at half-time of his side’s 1-1 draw with Royston Town at the SEAH Stadium, writes Rich Worton.
The Bucks can look forward to a home play-off semi-final tie as a late equaliser ensured semi-final opponents Halesowen Town will have to travel for Wednesday’s meeting rather than the Bucks heading to the Black Country.
Wilkin felt his side had become too emotionally involved in the game and had to urge them not to expend emotional energy in the wrong direction.
“It’s been a bit of a bumpy afternoon, to be honest," said the boss after the Royston draw. "It hasn't quite played out how we would have liked, and certainly anything but comfortable.
"I’m delighted that we’ve secured third place and the resolve the boys show at the right time, and to keep going and keep finding those big moments. It was a real challenge.
"I think there's a lot of emotion there: on the pitch, and in the stands, and in the dugout, and it surfaced on a lot of occasions, certainly in the first half where one or two kind of allowed that to affect their game and their judgement and their focus.”
The Bucks conceded a sixth-minute goal by Kian Harness and allowed the visitors to dictate physically, as a side with four changes struggled to find its flow. After 20 minutes, Reuben Rabstein’s penalty save denied them an equaliser, Matty Stenson failing to convert after Jimmy Armson had been fouled.
The Bucks’ play, Royston’s desire to have a say, and some puzzling officiating created an anxiety in the crowd that looked as though it could generate the perfect storm for Wilkin’s side, but the manager’s call to pick their battles settled his side sufficiently to steer around the choppy waters, even if it took a long time before Orrin Pendley’s 87th-minute intervention.
“It was good to get in at half-time, regroup and just have that little bit of a conversation," added the boss. "That was the thing we needed to do most, you know? Worry about our game and not wanting to fight whoever and get involved in the wrong situations, and I thought, by and large, we did that in the second half.
"We certainly created the best moments, chances and opportunities, and the lads deserve great credit for it.
"There’s always an expectation for us to win here, and we put that expectation on ourselves. The crowd will also put that on us, and we understand that, and accept that.”
The Bucks have closed the season with a 16-match unbeaten run, and have lost just six times in the Southern League’s Premier Central division, fewer than any other team. They achieved the same last season when finishing second, but draws have been the Bucks’ Achilles heel; a league-leading 17 draws have contained too many points dropped from advantageous situations.
They also ended as the league’s leading scorers, with 82. Scoring has been much less of an issue than defending.
Nevertheless, Wilkin feels there’s been appreciable improvement in that area and a togetherness that has seen them become much harder to beat, a potentially useful characteristic in the play-offs.
