Paul Carden proud of Telford comeback
A point in a 2-2 draw at Leamington may not have completely turned back the tide for AFC Telford United, but the circumstances in which they achieved that outcome suggested that manager Paul Carden isn’t completely King Canute-like, unable to stop waves crashing against his beleaguered team.
The best and worst of the Bucks was on display again, falling 2-0 down just after half-time but rallying to snap a run of six consecutive defeats in all competitions.
With his team needing someone to step up, or a change of luck, Carden got both as Brendon Daniels cut the deficit from the penalty spot and then fired in a shot which both Harry Flowers and Byron Moore appeared to touch on its route into the net. Carden had restored Daniels to the side and a pre-match pep talk between the two may have inspired Daniels heroics, as Carden explained:
“I said when I took the job that I’d seen him play for Alfreton, not too long before that, and every time he was on the ball in the game that I watched he was making things happen; he was shooting, he was crossing, and he was just being a pest, and I said “Let’s just see it today.””
“In the first half he was a bit too narrow, but in the second half he went out wide and opened the game up a little bit, him and Devarn (Green); he really made it count.”
Tom Hewlett’s double for the Brakes, Leamington’s nickname, had the Bucks experiencing a familiar sinking feeling, his second goal capitalising on some calamitous defending; however, the Bucks got the breaks from that point onwards.
Nate Blissett won a penalty kick, although the suspicion of a handball in the build-up led to home manager Paul Holleran being shown a red card by referee Darius Bradley:
“Bliss has done great for the penalty” said Carden, “and Brendon’s tucked it away really nicely. The second goal is fortunate, where we got a deflection, but we’ve not been getting those deflections, and I think we deserved a point after two poor goals we’ve conceded again.”
“The two goals are as poor as you’ll see. They weren’t hurting us, but the second goal was calamity. We’d regrouped and spoken about things that will affect the game and get us an advantage and then we’re staring down the barrel, 2-0 down against such a tough side as Leamington, but we showed really good grit and determination to get back into it.”
Daniels scored twice to retrieve a point from 2-0 down against the same opposition at the same venue last season; however, Byron Moore also laid claim to the Bucks second goal, but Carden wasn’t bothered who scored:
“We know that we can be better, but to come to a place like this, to go 2-0 down and to get a point out of it is a really good point, because it shows a really good character and mentality. I can’t ask for any more in the response that we showed, but what I can ask for is
to cut out the needless mistakes that are costing us, game in, game out, and which are giving teams a leg up when they haven’t really earned it.”
