Analysis: Deja vu helps Telford stop the rot - player ratings

At the very least, it “stopped the rot”, in the words of manager Paul Carden, and allowed Bucks fans, as well as Carden and his team, to enjoy their first Saturday evening in a number of weeks without seeing the dreaded ‘L’ column in the league table increased by one.

Last season, after a run of defeats that saw the Bucks heading towards 2022 looking almost dead and buried, two goals from Brendon Daniels in a crazy last five minutes saw them escape from the same venue with a 2-2 draw.

Fast forward just over nine months, and Daniels was again a key figure for the Bucks as they repeated the same act of escapology. After falling 2-0 behind and looking set for a seventh straight defeat in all competitions, he first converted a penalty kick and then had a major hand, or foot, in the equaliser.

Daniels’ effort from the edge of the penalty area wrong-footed home keeper Callum Hawkins in the 83rd minute, and although Byron Moore laid claim to the goal also, it frankly matters little who got the decisive touch. Daniels’ shot certainly took a hefty redirection after he had taken aim, catching home keeper Hawkins with most of his weight on his left foot and unable to readjust, instead watching as the ball spun and rolled almost in slow motion over the line.

Lucky? That depends who you ask. Leamington will certainly feel that luck went against them, but the moment provided a bounce of the ball that the Bucks haven’t been getting of late. Make no mistake, you don’t lose six games in a row simply because of bad luck. However, when you feel that nothing is going your way, it can sometimes be the feeling that you got the rub of the green that starts to change things in your favour.

Lady Luck may have helped the Bucks out a little, but it’s also true that they need to do more to start helping themselves. After matching the hosts, who went into the game in seventh place, they fell behind just after the half-hour and then contrived to give Leamington a second goal with some slapstick defending before launching their fightback.

Carden made four changes to the team that lost 1-0 to Brackley in midweek. Harry Flowers replaced Jordan Piggott, who reported problems with his vision, and Prince Ekpolo stood down in place of Robbie Evans. Daniels was also restored and Nate Blissett started the game as Carden went for a 4-4-2 formation, pairing Blissett with recent signing Montel Gibson in his search for more scoring threat.

Some added potency was needed. Leamington boasted one of the meanest defences in the division, aided by the arrival of former Buck Theo Streete in the summer. Streete was pitted against Blissett, and Gibson was tasked with playing as the foil, exploiting the spaces created by his strike partner.

Gibson produced the first effort on goal; just two minutes were on the clock when the pacy front man shot hard and across goal from the right of the penalty area, Hawkins turning his effort to safety.

Neither team looked especially composed in open play, and the game fell into a pattern where the best opportunities arose from set-pieces. In the 14th minute, the Bucks should have taken the lead, as a Daniels free-kick was partially cleared before being returned to the penalty area where Liam Nolan could only sky the ball over the bar.

The hosts, known as the Brakes, were keeping the Bucks in check, and midfielder Simeon Maye dragged a 20-yard shot wide of Luke Pilling’s right post.

A long throw from the right then travelled through the six-yard box and was almost bundled in by the diminutive Devon Kelly-Evans, the Bucks Devarn Green doing enough to put him off.

Daniels fired the ball over the bar, but just after the 30 minutes mark the hosts forged ahead. Debutant Tom Hewlett was in the right place 10 yards from goal to fire the ball high over Pilling.

Just after that, Leamington’s Adam Walker, the Bucks captain in this fixture last season, was booked for a challenge on the Bucks loanee George Burroughs. The Coventry City youngster has been in the wars, having to leave the field as a result of facial injuries in each of his last two matches, and Walker’s tackle eventually forced his withdrawal in this game, as Burroughs gamely tried to continue with an ankle injury before surrendering to the inevitable. Jordan Piggott took his place.

The Bucks conceded a second within three minutes of the start of the second half. Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare, is just 14 miles from Leamington, and the Bucks staged their own performance of a comedy of errors to present Hewlett with his second goal of the game.

Bood and Brown both went for the same ball in the inside right channel, some 35 yards from goal, but then both stood off, leaving it to one another. Leamington looked to pounce, Brown took the initiative, but his clearance hit Bood, rebounded behind them into the no man’s land in front of Pilling, and Hewlett raced on to the ball to steer past Pilling.

Given their recent form, you sensed that was game over, but within five minutes referee Darius Bradley awarded the Bucks a penalty after Hawkins sent Blissett tumbling.

Before Daniels could take the penalty, there was more drama, as Brakes manager Paul Holleran was shown a red card, apparently for speaking out of turn to the referee.

Daniels beat Hawkins from 12 yards, going left as the keeper went the other way.

Handed a lifeline, the Bucks didn’t immediately show signs of grabbing it. The hosts, always a danger from set-pieces, were winning too many opportunities to load the penalty area for Carden’s comfort, and if anything, the hosts looked the side more likely to score the next goal. The lively Ben Usher-Shipway remained a threat, and full-back Dan Meredith had a 25-yard effort charged down after a buccaneering run.

The Bucks’ frustration showed when captain Brown and Jack Edwards were both booked, Brown appearing to strike out in the direction of a Brakes player and sparking a melee.

Almost immediately after that incident, Daniels struck the shot that he and Moore both laid claim to as the equaliser.

And from a commanding position it almost got worse for the hosts. Gibson sprinted on to a Daniels pass and lashed a volley goalwards that dipped but cleared the bar.

Gibson had one more scuffed shot saved by Hawkins, and Pilling had to punch a free-kick clear, but neither side was to find a winner.