Spennymoor 1 AFC Telford 1 - Report

Left-back Matty Carson, on loan from Accrington Stanley, put the Bucks ahead just after the hour mark with a precisely struck free-kick, and although Moors’ Mark Anderson levelled soon after with a stunning shot from distance the Bucks were good value for their point.

Carden made one change to the side that started the season with a victory over Chorley; Harry Flowers, having served a one match suspension, returned at the heart of defence alongside captain Matty Brown, again shifting Jordan Piggott to right-back to cover for the not fully fit Josh Dugmore.

The conditions were always going to have a say in this game, and energy conservation appeared to be on the minds of both teams in the first half. Any expectation that either side would come roaring out of their blocks to try and assert themselves were quickly dispelled.

It quickly became a battle of concentration, both sides testing each other out, trying to find any vulnerabilities and play upon them rather than waste effort in attacking with all guns blazing.

The first real threat came from the hosts, as they released right-back Finn Cousin-Dawson on the right; his low cross to the near post invited danger, but Flowers cut out the threat, diving in in front of goalkeeper Luke Pilling to concede a corner.

Devarn Green, the Bucks’ match-winner against Chorley, responded with a low shot, cutting in from the left flank, that was held as he dropped to his knees by Moors’ Max Metcalfe. Nate Blissett hadn’t found his range and fired a speculative shot wide, whilst Brown and Flowers were dealing with any aerial threat posed when Moors won free-kicks or throw-ins close to goal.

In the 21st minute the Bucks were grateful to Pilling’s anticipation saving the day; a cross-field pass struck diagonally from left to right caught Carson out and dropped over his head, into space, finding Rob Ramshaw. The no.10 took the ball down well from its flight, but not quite well enough, and the extra moment or two he needed to gain full control allowed Pilling to hare from his goal and throw himself at Ramshaw’s feet. Pilling conceded a corner, but had Ramshaw ben given time, his reputation suggests he wouldn’t have missed the target.

Within a minute Ramshaw went close again. Flowers was dragged wide to cover the threat of Taylor and got himself the wrong side of the Moors no.9, resulting in him fouling him. From the free-kick, Ramshaw tried to catch Pilling out, firing the ball directly at goal instead of floating the ball into the box, and the Bucks keeper got down well to block his effort.

Moors were beginning to look the more assertive, and just after the half-hour the Bucks would perhaps have been glad that VAR doesn’t operate in the Vanarama National League North. The hosts went quickly through the gears in the final third and when Ramshaw’s pass from the left located Thewlis the lively striker fired in a shot that Flowers blocked en route to goal. What he blocked it with is a matter for debate; the tall, blond defender went to ground as if winded, but the ball seemed to strike a combination of his midriff and his hands, and despite some appeals, referee John Bancroft clearly signalled he’d seen nothing worthy of a penalty.

In the 39th minute, the first of what was to be an eye-watering eight bookings arrived, when a poor touch from Moors’ Joe Wheatley saw his try to retrieve the ball, instead catching Liam Nolan on his shin. At the same time as Nolan received treatment, Moors skipper James Curtis was being attended to for a facial injury, one that drew blood and required a change of shirt.

Both sides had one more effort each before the interval. Green dragged a shot a foot wide of Metcalfe’s right post when once again cutting in across the edge of the box, whilst moments later a Thewlis cross from the right located left-back Scott Duxbury, joining the attack. The ball fell nicely for Duxbury, but his attempt to caress the ball past Pilling from 18 yards saw him clear the crossbar rather than find the net.

Half time: Spennymoor Town 0-0 AFC Telford United

The second half was less than a minute of, when the card count, in what was never a bad-tempered game, began to rise. Sam McLintock’s poor tackle on Ramshaw in the centre-circle saw him go into the referee’s notebook.

Spurred by that, Jude Oyibo took aim with a low effort that Pilling saved with relative ease from distance. In response, McLintock and Green helped give Carson a chance to cross, but he couldn’t find the head of Blissett.

Duxbury was booked for catching Piggott with a mistimed tackle, and from the resulting free-kick Blissett stole in at the far post to head powerfully across the face of goal; Nolan made ground, looking to head home from close range, but wasn’t close enough and the ball passed in front of him invitingly but with no contact.

As the game approached the hour mark, Duxbury joined the attack again and was allowed to advance to within yards of the box before his pass found Taylor on or around the penalty spot. The alarm bells were ringing as one of Step 2’s top marksmen looked set to score, but Carson made a superb challenge to stop his shot, and although the ball still ran dangerously loose the Bucks cleared the danger.

From being the hero at one end of the field, Carson was soon the hero at the other end. In the 62nd minute, a poor challenge from Cousin-Dawson saw him go into the book and the Bucks given a dangerous free-kick well within range of goal. Carson has a great left foot, and went directly for goal from the dead ball, dipping the ball over the defensive wall, wide of Metcalfe and into the net via the inside of the post.

A goal ahead, and with Cousin-Dawson on a yellow card, the Bucks looked to capitalise and twice in quick succession Green went past the full-back; with his first cross, Blissett tried to backheel the ball home without success, and his second run at Cousin-Dawson saw him cut inside, waiting and waiting for a shooting lane to open before instead finding substitute Carl Baker. Alas Baker couldn’t pull the trigger.

The Bucks soon paid for not killing the game off. Thewlis had placed a precise shot wide from the ‘D’, but teammate Mark Anderson tried his luck from even further out in the 73rd minute and hit the jackpot, the ball rocketing past Pilling from 25-30 yards out.

Buoyed by that success, Moors finished the game more strongly but the Bucks stayed resolute. The hosts had a penalty claim waved away when Carson felt he was the player fouled rather than vice versa, and from a resulting corner Curtis headed the ball powerfully over the crossbar.

There was a nervy moment when Nolan miskicked a clearance from a long throw, but Thewlis fell over his own feet trying to reach the loose ball and Flowers then had his own clearance charged down as Moors threw everything into the final minutes.

Anderson was booked also, and in what perhaps was a sign of how frustrated he’d been at trying to get anything out of Brown and Flowers, Taylor was the eighth man booked, for persistent fouling.

It wasn’t a great Bucks performance, as Carden acknowledged after the match, but pleasingly his team showed yet more evidence of being no-one’s soft touch this season. The wait for an away league win under Carden goes on, but often when there’s a drought it’s followed by a downpour, and it can surely only be a matter of time before the Bucks return from an away trip with all three points.

Referee: John Bancroft.

Assistants: Daniel Ranson, Paul Mosley.

Attendance: 1,353 (27 from Telford).

Telford: (4-3-3) Pilling, Piggott, Carson, Brown, Flowers, Nolan, Ekpolo, McLintock (Evans 84), Green, Moore (Baker 65), Blissett (Waite 88).

Subs not used: Dugmore, L.Baker.

Scorer(s): Carson (62).

Cautioned: McLintock, Carson, Pilling,

Spennymoor Town: Metcalfe, Cousin-Dawson, Duxbury, Tait, Curtis, Wheatley (Greenfield 70), Anderson, Oyibo (Watt 78), Ramshaw, Thewlis, Taylor.

Subs not used: Lufudu, Chandler, Payne.

Cautioned: Wheatley, Duxbury, Cousin-Dawson, Anderson, Taylor