Analysis: New signings shine as AFC Telford United pick up pressure easing win

On a day when Wilkin’s side had to respond to numerous plot twists, they kept their heads and also enjoyed a slice or two of good fortune to claim an important win over the Bards.

There were hugely encouraging debuts from Reece Styche and Sam Whittall, while Nathan Fox’s return after a lengthy injury absence also felt a little like having a new signing – and all contributed, Styche notching a debut goal.

A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings home full numbers.Wilkin’s team weren’t to come through unscathed, and captain Fraser Kerr will undergo scans this week on a nasty ankle injury that left him in obvious pain and led to his leaving the game before the half-hour mark.

That forced Wilkin to make a positional change and Whittall, who had started in midfield, slotted into the defence in the gap left by Kerr. The recent arrival from Rushall Olympic has over 300 games to his name at Step 3, many of them in central defence, and he ensured that Kerr’s absence wasn’t felt as much as it could have been.

With Styche and Whittall on debut, Wilkin made three further changes; Fox returned at left-back and Ricardo Dinanga came back in after missing last weekend’s FA Trophy loss at Quorn through injury.

The final change was an unexpected one. Montel Gibson was named on the teamsheet but withdrew, having turned his ankle in training and aggravated it in the warm-ups. Midfielder Remi Walker stepped in and played one of his best games in Bucks colours to date, a bonus for Wilkin.

Stratford, managed by former Buck Gavin Hurren and with the hugely popular ex-Buck Lee Vaughan as his assistant, had the game’s first effort on goal, a downward header from a free-kick that bounced up nicely into the arms of Brandon Hall at his far post.

The Bucks responded, and from Dinanga’s run and inviting cross, midfielder Jordan Piggott was inches away from heading the ball in from close range after an energetic burst. Another set-piece situation followed soon after when a foul on Walker prevented him and Dinanga from creating an overload on the Bucks’ left.

Match referee Jack Shepherd handled the game in a way that left plenty of spectators puzzled, and his first yellow card of the afternoon went to Orrin Pendley, a decision the Bucks contested to no avail. Dan Lafferty’s free-kick brought no further punishment, the defensive wall holding firm.

In the 17th minute, the Bucks took the lead. Keeper Louis Beresford got into a mess as he tried to set his side up to play out from their penalty area, and they turned over possession. The ball was smuggled to Byron Moore just inside the box and the Bucks’ midfielder showed good composure to drive the ball past a defender and through Beresford on his line to open the scoring.

Whittall picked up a booking soon afterwards but his afternoon was about to take an unexpected turn. Bucks then lost captain Kerr. He went into a challenge and remained on the turf, his body language and hand gestures conveying the apparent severity of an injury that was to end his afternoon and which, pending scans, could end his season.

A lengthy stoppage followed and Kerr was eventually helped to his feet, hopping the short distance to the home dugout, unable to put any weight onto his damaged ankle.

The free-kick awarded against Whittall had yet to be taken, and when it was, Lafferty’s strike at goal skidded low and was pushed around his right post at full stretch by Hall. From the resulting corner, the Bards found a spare man but he wasted the opportunity, heading well over Hall’s crossbar.

With Whittall in defence and Ty Webster introduced in midfield, the Bucks cracked on with putting the loss of Kerr to the backs of their collective minds. Beresford’s early shakiness continued, as he punched a free-kick away inconclusively, and from the resulting play, Webster almost made an immediate impact, striking the crossbar with an angled shot hooked towards goal from the left of the box.

And they stretchered their lead in the 32nd minute through the impressive Styche. Pressure on the ball again paid dividends and they broke up Stratford’s possession before finding Styche on the edge of the box. The Gibraltar international still had much to do, but like Moore, he too showed good presence of mind to wait for a moment before despatching the ball unerringly past Beresford to his left.

Stratford had paid the price for their errors but again dug into their reserves to find an answer and in the 38th minute they got a goal back. The Bucks were unable to clear effectively and Lafferty struck a bending first-time shot past Hall to his left and into the top corner, a sumptuous effort.

The remainder of the half and the five minutes added for Kerr’s injury saw both sides trying to be positive, and on the stroke of the whistle, Piggott went close with another close-range header, making contact but clearing the bar.

The second half picked up where the first had left off as Dinanga cut inside but his shot was wild and flew off target.

Hall was soon busy again, and as a Stratford man reached a cross to the far post to power in a header, Hall made himself big, star-jumping and seeing the ball divert over his crossbar off his upper arm.

Styche, who has earned a reputation as a robust forward with a mean streak, will give the Bucks a harder edge in the final third, and he fired a shot wide from 25 yards before Dinanga missed a golden opportunity from a few yards out, his low shot was stroked goalwards almost too casually and drifted a foot wide.

Dinanga found the frame of the goal in the 62nd minute, following a typical Ellis Myles surge from full-back. Dinanga flicked the ball goalwards and it looped over Beresford but bounced to safety off the top of the bar.

The Bards struck the bar themselves four minutes later through Callum Ebanks before Hall denied winger Charlie Williams as Stratford’s belief grew, the keeper diving to his right to turn the ball wide after Williams pivoted and hooked a left-foot shot towards goal from a left-wing cross.

Webster, who himself had replaced Kerr, was replaced by Bood as the Bucks sought to plug a gap that Stratford was beginning to exploit more and more.

Chris Hussey, who only left League Two side Walsall a few weeks ago, curled a free-kick from a good position horribly high and wide, but the Bucks were tiring and unable to make the ball stick with Styche when they cleared their lines.

Williams then fired a low shot inches wide of Hall’s left post as the Bucks fought tooth and nail to hold onto their lead. They did so, surviving seven minutes of added time, and the relief at the final whistle was palpable.

There seems to be a growing feeling around the club that tearing up the Wilkin blueprint would just send the Bucks back to square one, but the manager recognises that the pace of change needs to be accelerated and that it needs to be accompanied by improved results.

The result was the main thing on this occasion, and whilst it wasn’t a sparkling Bucks performance, neither was it much ado about nothing.

AFC Telford United: Hall, Myles, Fox, Piggott, Kerr (Webster 25, Bood 73), Pendley, Dinanga (Forsyth 82), Whittall, Walker, Styche, Moore. Subs: Jones.

Stratford Town: Beresford, Vann (Daly 85), Worley, Hussey, McCone, Solanke (Storer 63), Williams, Ison, Ebanks, Lafferty, O’Sullivan. Subs: O’Sullivan, Wildbore, Barkers.