AFC Telford 0 Worcester City 3 - match report

A calamitous 10-minute spell of woeful defending midway through the first half left the Bucks 3-0 down with less than 30 minutes on the clock.

And it was a triple blow they never recovered from as Carl Heeley's side comfortably saw out the remainder of the game at the New Bucks Head.

Things had not started too badly for Liam Watson's side prior to that.

Matty McGinn's long throw caused momentary panic inside Worcester's box early on.

Then Mike Phenix saw his shot blocked from Charlie Barnett's cross but Mike Grogan was alert as the ball was sent back into the area – he out-jumped his marker but could only guide his header straight at City keeper Jose Veiga.

Worcester hit back though with a far better effort from Daniel Nti, whose rasping 20-yard drive was pushed round the post superbly by Ryan Young.

Barnett then produced an excellent cross from the left that sparked a goalmouth scramble which was ended when the referee spotted a Bucks hand ball.

Telford looked like they were finding an extra gear but Nti nodded Worcester on front 20 minutes when the Bucks switched off badly from a corner.

Things got worse for the hosts two minutes later as Heeley's side doubled their advantage in farcical circumstances.

Former Telford striker Aaron Williams got the last touch on a hopeful long ball into the box by Ellis Deeney after being left in acres of space by a statuesque defence.

It was a major bodyblow and only a last-ditch Grogan header prevented City netting a third four minutes later, from Danny Glover's incisive inswinging cross.

Young's blushes were spared after he came for a long throw and grasped only air soon afterwards.

But it was three when Williams slotted home his second of the night, again unmarked, from the edge of the box after just 28 minutes.

Angry boos could be heard from the home sections of the modest 603 crowd, but the Bucks did improve a little towards half-time.

Adam Farrell was not far wide with a speculative daisy-cutter and Andy Owens nodded just wide from a Farrell cross.

Grogan was booked for a poor challenge on Glover on 35 minutes that seemed to owe as much to frustration as anything else.

Farrell went close five minutes before the break, drilling just wide from the edge of the box after City had only half-cleared another long throw.

But Glover went equally close for the visitors from a similar distance in first-half stoppage time.

The home side were understandably booed off at the break and it was no surprise that Watson made a change at the interval, with Owens coming off for Wes Baynes.

The Bucks did try to up the tempo at the start of the second half but Sean Cooke failed to test Veiga from distance early on and Worcester continued to look the more dangerous side.

Deeney was only a hair's breadth away from making it 4-0 with a well-struck low drive from the edge of the box.

As Telford committed men forward, former Walsall man Richard Taundry almost punished them further when he slotted just wide from long range.

Barnett forced a stretching save from Veiga with a looping cross-cum-shot, before second-half substitute Tony Gray went close to a consolation strike for the Bucks in the last 10 minutes with a thumping free-kick which whistled just over the bar.

Fellow substitute Sean Clancy drew a decent save from Veiga that brought sarcastic applause from the frustrated crowd, before Cooke clipped the post with a free-kick in stoppage time after Deeney had been booked for a clumsy challenge on the edge of the box.

But there was to be no comeback from Telford, who could have no complaints after a very poor display.