AFC Telford's Amari Morgan-Smith urged to give more of the same
AFC Telford United boss Rob Edwards hopes Amari Morgan-Smith will put in another ‘unbelievable’ display as they host fellow strugglers Curzon Ashton tonight.
The 28-year-old striker scored a penalty on his Bucks bow – Saturday’s 3-0 win against rock-bottom North Ferriby United.
Telford go into this game (kick-off 7.45pm) second from bottom while Curzon are two places and a point better off.
On Morgan-Smith, Edwards said: “I thought he was unbelievable.
“He won the headers from first balls, chased down every one of the back four and held it up when he needed to. He ran in behind as well and got a goal. I can’t ask for any more.
"I don’t want to single out just one, but on his debut he got a goal.
“I thought every one of them was unbelievable on Saturday.
“There was Ben Wilson in goal, Shane Sutton won everything in the air, Ellis Deeney controlled the middle of the pitch and Jordan Lussey covered every blade of grass.
“The front three didn’t stop all day either. I’m absolutely delighted with them.
“But we’ve got a huge game now. It’s nice to bring some positivity around the place after a difficult January and the season starts right now.”
The Bucks’ win at the weekend was their first in National League North since beating Tamworth 2-0 on November 21.
Edwards’ charges, back in August, lost the reverse fixture against the Nash 1-0.
“It’ll be a tough game. At their place it was difficult,” said Edwards.
“I thought we just shaded it but we lost 1-0. We’ve said that a lot this year.
“I think we are further down the line and better since then, a stronger unit.
“The condition of the pitch will dictate a lot of the game. They like to play football. You can, at the right times – but it is difficult.
“We’ve got to make sure we come out on top.”
Elliot Newby (hamstring) and Jon Royle (quad) are expected to miss the game through injury.
It is likely Edwards will go with the same 11 that started on Saturday.
“We can freshen it up if needed, but we haven’t had many games recently,” he added.
“I’ll have a look at them and pick the team I see fit to win the game.”