Sudbury 2 Telford 2 - Wilkin’s men leave it late to earn deserved reward

In the 2023/24 campaign, a defeat at Sudbury was one of the few missteps AFC Telford United took in the season’s final third.

However, the circumstances were very different. Sudbury were in a relegation battle and nullified the Bucks – but freed of those concerns, Marc Abbott’s youthful side were full of zest and confidence, having defeated league leaders Stamford a week earlier.

The Bucks came into this game after an 11-day break from action, and Wilkin had used the lay-off to watch Sudbury a week earlier. His side were well-briefed on what to expect, including a warning about the vagaries of Sudbury’s artificial surface, which demanded additional concentration.

Wilkin’s team was unchanged from the side that earned a 2-1 win over Bromsgrove Sporting, and they started the game brightly.

Barely a minute had passed when Ricardo Dinanga made his first incursion on the left wing. Sudbury halted the in-form forward’s run, and although Byron Moore couldn’t react decisively, colleague Jimmy Armson took a touch before his shot was cleared off the Sudbury line.

Sudbury responded with some good passing and movement to release Callum Page on the left of the Bucks’ penalty area, and his shot brought a good block with his feet by keeper Brandon Hall.

The Bucks defended the corner they conceded successfully, but a couple of minutes later, another corner was dealt with less decisively, and the home side’s no.9, Joe Neal, failed to keep his volleyed effort low enough to bring a save from Hall.

Both teams had given notice of their intentions, and the game pattern remained broadly similar all afternoon. Each had spells of possession and control, but couldn’t quite keep the other quiet for long enough to feel that they genuinely had the upper hand.

Home keeper James Bradbrook denied Dinanga, racing out to block his shot after Armson had sent him free of the defence, and Armson was involved in much of what the Bucks created.

His shot from an orchestrated corner routine was blocked, and soon after, his header from a Dinanga cross dropped over Bradbrook but went over the crossbar.

Sudbury responded, and central defensive pairing Orrin Pendley and Alex Gudger had to move swiftly to nullify Joe Neal.

The early pace of the game settled a little, and from a free-kick awarded for a foul on Jordan Piggott, Pendley was to go close to scoring. Remi Walker’s free-kick located the head of his colleague, and he sent his effort over Bradbrook, only to see the keeper reach back and tip the ball over for a corner. The Bucks did not have much longer to wait before they claimed the game’s first

goal.

In the 24th minute, Dinanga once again troubled home right-back Charlie Lewis with his willingness to run at him. It induced panic in the Sudbury rearguard, who blocked Dinanga’s shot at goal but didn’t deal with the consequences, allowing Piggott to steer a header past Bradbrook.

Soon afterwards, the Bucks could and probably should have extended their advantage, but Walker’s attempt to curl a shot right-footed to Bradbrook’s left lacked the required accuracy.

As can often happen, missed moments in matches are magnified soon afterwards, and the hosts reacted to draw level. Pendley took a poor touch in his penalty area and his attempted recovery of the situation felled forward Josh Allen for a clear penalty. Neal took the spot-kick and drilled it hard down the middle, beating Hall. Midfielder Myles Cowling sent a shot wide of Hall’s left post soon afterwards, but the Bucks weren’t slow to respond, and Walker’s lovely backheel sent Dinanga free on the left, although he could not pick out Armson with his eventual cross.

Both teams continued to eye goal-scoring opportunities. Pendley, perhaps trying to redress

his error for the goal, tried to beat Bradbrook with an audacious 40-yard shot, and Page

replied for Sudbury, heading a Neal cross comfortably wide. Walker missed the target from 20-25 yards when his colleagues’ passing and movement opened up a shooting lane, and half-time was finally reached after a lengthy period of additional time, including a further stoppage for a bang on the head taken by Dinanga. The second period delivered more of the same enterprising play from both

teams.

The Bucks got things moving with an early free-kick awarded for a foul on Armson. Walker took the goal attempt after Nathan Fox’s attempted deception, but Bradbrook read the effort to get down and push the ball around his left post.

Soon after, Armson had a chance of his own. He got in front of a defender to meet a cross at the near post but directed the ball too high.

Back came Sudbury, and Gudger headed the ball out to concede a corner, which almost paid dividends. The Bucks didn’t deal with the delivery from the quadrant, and they were a little nfortunate when a scuffed effort ended up in Hall’s gloves more by luck than judgment.

The withdrawal of Dinanga after an hour with an injury could have been a setback, but his

replacement, Ellis Brown, has many of the same qualities, so Wilkin’s side suffered little with the change.

The hosts took the lead in the 65th minute when Liam Pearce sent a precise shot across Hall and into the net via the far post.

This was perhaps where the Sudbury side’s inexperience emerged, and the Bucks’ greater experience showed its value.

The hosts seemed to retreat into their shells and it played into the Bucks’ hands.

Allowing the visitors to dictate possession and move them around with their passing yielded more scoring chances than was healthy for Sudbury.

Walker fired another sharp but presentable chance narrowly over after Ellis Myles got behind the home defence to cross.

Wilkin then freshened things up by introducing Dior Angus and Rhys Hilton, but the one clear chance they wanted wouldn’t come until Sudbury presented them with it, with barely a minute of regulation time to play.

Piggott popped up just inside the penalty area, Myles Cowling’s desperation to thwart him turned into a poor challenge that earned him an immediate red card from referee Paul Stratton and a penalty kick.

Substitute Angus took responsibility for converting the kick successfully, calmly stroking the ball past Bradbrook to his left, and the Bucks had their point.

AFC Sudbury: Bradbrook, Lewis, Isaacson, Turner (c), Dickens, Peters, Cowling, Pearce

(Henshaw 79), Page, Neal, Allen.

Subs (unused): Philp, Bradley, Terminiello, Cox.

Scorers: Neal (29), Pearce (65).

AFC Sudbury 2-2 AFC Telford United by Rich Worton

Cautioned: Turner.

Dismissed: Cowling.

AFC Telford United: Hall, Myles, Fox, Storer, Pendley, Gudger, Walker, Armson (Angus 79), Moore (Hylton 79), Dinanga (Brown 59), Piggott. Subs not used: Burroughs, Jones.

Scorers: Piggott (24), Angus (90, pen).

Cautioned: None.

Referee: Paul Stratton,

Assistants: Brian Taylor, Andrew Wheaton.