No old pals act for Telford's Remi Walker

The 21-year-old broke the deadlock after 67 minutes with a stunning effort from the edge of the box with his weaker left foot.

And speaking after another player of the match performance, Walker revealed why this goal was a little bit more special to him.

“I’ll be going back home with a big smile on my face,” the Leamington native said, grinning. “I know a few of their players and I went to school with one of them, Callum Stewart, who was the year above me.”

He added: “All my pals are in the players’ lounge after the game now and I think they all enjoyed it.

“To get a goal, and the three points which is the main thing, we’re all buzzing. I can’t complain at all, it’s been a nice day especially against my local side.”

The day ended nicely for Telford, but Walker revealed they received a stern talking to from manager Kevin Wilkin at half-time after a lacklustre first 45 minutes.

“It was a bit flat first half and the gaffer got on to us at half-time which was deserved,” he explained. “In the second half we came out a bit livelier and set the tone for the rest of the game really.”

Key to their improvement was the former Birmingham City academy star’s set-piece delivery, which nearly gave The Bucks the lead after the break.

Firstly he clipped the bar with a dipping free-kick, before delivering two corners from which centre back duo Orrin Pendley and Fraser Kerr both clattered headers against the woodwork. And while frustrating at the time, Walker admitted seeing the former’s effort rebound away is not all bad in hindsight.

“I’ve just overtaken Orrin’s goal tally today luckily,” Walker laughed. “Our set pieces are a big thing and I do try to work on them in training to be honest, so luckily they’re paying off.”

Of Walker’s six league goals this season, half would be more than worthy of winning the goal-of-the-season award.

And while Saturday’s effort had the 1,367 people in attendance at New Bucks Head in awe, the midfielder believes it was not even his most impressive strike of the campaign.

“My favourite was this one because it was against Leamington, but I think the better goal was the one against (AFC ) Sudbury,” he revealed. “I just saw a gap and trusted my left foot today. I would have liked (the pass) on my right, but I’ll happily take one with my left.”

And while a play-off spot is now secured for Telford, their talismanic midfielder is hungry for more success in the remaining league games.

“We’ve got to get second so we can have all of our games here if we can,” Walker said. “We want to win these next three games, keep focused and keep motivated so hopefully we can go up.”