Analysis: AFC Telford's never-say-die attitude on show

Or at least it does not seem to be after a last-gasp goal saw them pick up a point against a well-drilled Stockport County.

Things were not really going Telford’s way for large spells of the game.

As usual, Cowan’s charges were not shy to get on the ball.

A cutting edge, for the most part, was not there though.

Their passing was not slick enough, or quick enough, to break the Hatters down.

But they kept going. The Bucks would not take no for an answer and, right before stoppage-time, Henry Cowans cancelled out Connor Dimaio’s strike for the visitors.

A never-say-die attitude was very much on display.

After falling to a 3-0 defeat at Darlington the weekend prior, Telford put in the extra work to make sure they did not suffer back-to-back losses and, in turn, have fans doubting whether they will end up much better off than last year.

And that was a very big thing going into the encounter for Cowan.

He called for a show of character from his players – and he got it.

Speaking after the game, he praised them for that and also said a point was the least they deserved.

Cowan thought they could have nicked a win but, given how Stockport should have been two or three up by the hour mark, most Bucks supporters are happy to have got a draw.

And their excitement in what this team could achieve remains high.

Telford announced the signing of left-back Callum Cockerill-Mollett, on loan from Walsall, an hour before kick-off and he went straight into the starting line-up.

The 19-year-old was in for Dom Smith. Up against powerful runner Adam Thomas, he endured a bit of a harsh introduction to life with the Bucks – mistiming a few tackles and giving the ball away in the first 20 minutes or so.

He did grow in confidence as the clash progressed though, proving a threat going forward.

And having a left-footed player at left-back – not taking away the job Ross White did filling in there in the several games previous – obviously has its benefits.

The home side had their moments in the first half.

Andre Brown’s pace posed problems for the Hatters’ high line and he had a couple of efforts.

One went high and wide while the other was straight at Ben Hinchliffe.

It is not quite falling for Brown at the moment but it appears just a matter of time until he hits a purple patch.

Telford just could not get into a rhythm. Stockport looked to be passing it around a second or two faster.

Bucks goalkeeper Max Bramley was not his usual commanding self either.

He did well to deny a couple of Frank Mulhern attempts but an unsure punch following a corner was capitalised upon as the visitors took the lead.

Dimaio still had a fair bit to do but made it look easy, finding the top corner from 18 yards.

Bramley, in hindsight, should have caught the cross.

And the on-loan glovesman gave fans another heart-in-mouth moment just prior to half-time.

He rushed off his line to tackle Darren Stephenson.

Bramley did not get the ball but the referee, fortunately, did not penalise him.

Instead, he reached for his pocket and decided to caution Stephenson for diving.

The Hatters came out of the traps quickest after the break as well.

Stephenson was allowed the time and space to drive at the Telford defence and his cross found Mulhern, whose acrobatic strike smacked the woodwork. It would have been a wonderful goal.

While the Bucks were not free-flowing in open play, they were still troubling Stockport from set-pieces.

Darryl Knights’ free-kick, nine times out of 10, would have gone in.

This time though, Hinchliffe pulled off an absolutely miraculous save with his fingertips.

Had that happened in the Premier League courtesy of David De Gea, you would not have heard the last of it.

It was a truly immense piece of goalkeeping – especially when you consider he got up to keep out Daniel Udoh from point-blank range, with his face – that suggested Telford would not be able to come up with an equaliser.

But they did just before added-on time as Cowans poked in following some fine work from Matthew Barnes-Homer.

Cowans deserves credit for how he steered the ball in as it flew across the face of goal, swivelling and back-heeling it into the net. It was his first goal of the season and he was the star performer for the Bucks.

A player who let a few games pass him by last term, you cannot help but notice him now, he was everywhere.

Barnes-Homer – one of three brought on by Cowan, the others being Adam Dawson and Jon Royle – maximised his minutes.

Introduced for the final quarter of an hour, the well-travelled 32-year-old, quite surprisingly, was determined to drive at the Stockport defence with every opportunity he had.

He was a nuisance and could well be in line for a first start of the campaign as Telford host Bedford Town in the FA Cup this weekend.

Theo Streete was solid again in the centre of defence too.

The Bucks are unbeaten at home and sitting pretty in National League North – third, after 10 games.

An old adage in football is that you cannot grasp where a team may finish until 10 matches into a season.

And if you are a believer in that, although there is a long way to go, it is absolutely correct to say Telford are play-off contenders.