AFC Telford boss Gavin Cowan: We have to take responsibility for Celtic defeat

The Bucks’ quest for a third successive National League North win went up in smoke in Yorkshire as goals from Jimmy Spencer and Dave Syers earned the hosts victory.

To rub further salt in the wound, Cowan also saw Dom McHale sent off for two needless bookings, with the midfielder now ruled out of next week’s trip to Kettering.

McHale’s dismissal was one of several decisions made by referee Paul Brown, whose handling of the game left Cowan less than impressed.

But while the Bucks boss also had concerns over the state of Farsley’s pitch, he conceded his team only had themselves to blame for the result.

“I hear people talking about how bad the pitch is and how poor the officials were and I concur with all of that,” said Cowan. “But we have to take responsibility. We had more than enough chances to take something from the game.

“The pitch and the referee weren’t the reason we didn’t start for 25 minutes. We lacked composure and intelligence in front of goal.

“There was a lot of talk about Farsley’s style but ultimately no action. We had to earn the right to reveal our identity, but that’s always going to be difficult on a pitch like theirs.

“I said in the week that at this level if you’re not at it you’re going to get punished. That’s played a massive part in us not winning the game.”

The Bucks quickly found themselves on the back foot and the battering wasn’t just a metaphor; after just six minutes home centre-forward Spencer was booked for catching Zak Lilly with a raised arm, something team-mate Luke Parkin had also done barely a minute earlier with no censure from referee Brown.

Parkin then swerved a shot wide of the far top corner following Will Hayhurst’s lay-off, before Celtic took the lead on 19 minutes. A kick downfield from goalkeeper Steven Drench was laid off to right-back Jordan Richards by Parkin and his inviting near-post cross was met on the run by Spencer to beat Russ Griffiths.

The Bucks tried to respond and it was Lee Vaughan, making his 200th appearance for the club, who took the fight to Celtic. Picking up possession around the penalty area, he burst into the box and hit a powerful angled drive which Drench pushed round the post.

Bucks skipper Adam Walker was next to take the initiative and though his ball into the six-yard box was blocked by Drench, the visitors were finally giving back some of what they’d been taking.

They went close again when Jordan Davies’ fine driving run earned a corner and in a rehearsed move, Jason Oswell peeled away to the far post to head McHale’s kick towards goal; the effort was blocked straight back to the Bucks striker, whose volleyed return effort flashed through the six-yard box with no-one from either side applying a decisive touch.

Cowan admitted the final 20 minutes of that first half put a different tone on his words to his team at the interval, and his team went about asserting themselves straight away in the second period.

Oswell was hauled down as he tried to turn on the edge of the box and McHale’s resulting free-kick cleared the wall but dipped only in time to land on top of the net rather than in it. The Bucks were enjoying the majority of possession and plenty of territorial advantage, but they couldn’t find a way through the massed ranks in green. Davies was driven wide, but forced a corner from which Lilly’s header was deflected.

The home side hadn’t been shy of trying to exploit Vaughan’s temperament, but the defender showed commendable composure on 64 minutes when Celtic left-back Hayhurst launched a crude and fairly brutal challenge, side-on, that took him out and sparked a major flashpoint. After what seemed an age, Hayhurst was shown only a yellow card.

Perhaps rattled, the Bucks could have conceded a penalty when Parkin went down in the box in a rare Celtic attack minutes later.

Still the Bucks pressed. Oswell’s chest control set him up for a volley he struck over the bar from 15 yards. McHale then made a forceful run and saw his pull-back evade almost everyone before full-back Jones fired in a shot that Byrne made contact with but could only direct wide of the goal.

Griffiths saved well from Parkin on 76 minutes, but as the game entered the last 10 minutes, a foul resulted in the ball being in McHale’s hands and foolishly, given Mr Brown’s apparent tendency to sweat the small stuff, he lobbed the ball on purpose, albeit gently, towards the head of a prone Celtic player. A second yellow card was inevitable.

But Brown then missed Spencer’s shove on Oswell, which put the visiting player on the floor, and would have earned the Celtic man a second yellow card of his own.

Syers then dealt the killer blow on 86 minutes when he struck the ball home cleanly past Griffiths to seal the points. Celtic’s players whooped in delight as they piled on to Syers, their joy a stark contrast to the Bucks dejection.

“I don’t want to be disrespectful, but it became farcical,” said Cowan, when asked about the officiating. “I don’t want to say that it was all our way.

“There were decisions given to both sides which were particularly poor, but what Farsley will always bank on will be to try and scupper momentum, and we’re all about momentum.

“I don’t blame them for that; that’s the way that they win football matches so we have to look at ourselves.”