Bucks midfielder Jon Adams challenges for the ball

AFC Telford United ended 2009 with a defeat that encapsulated their frustrating season to date.

Wasted chances, silly mistakes, we’ve seen them all before over the last five months.

The Bucks gave a creditable account of themselves on a virtually frozen playing surface at Hinckley United, but could not make their superiority count.

Where last season they scored fun, they can hardly buy a goal this term.

And their usually watertight defence continues to leak goals that leave players and management alike lost for words.

On another day, Hinckley could have found themselves out of this one long before half-time.

Yet they ended up winning it with two second half goals, both from free-kicks and both efforts that Telford would have felt could – and should – have been avoided.

“They’ve not had a clear cut chance all game, they’ve not created anything but then they’ve had two set pieces and scored from both,” said subdued skipper Stuart Whitehead.

“We’ve probably had enough chances to win two or three games of football.

“But it’s not happening for us in front of goal this season. Goals change games and it could have been so different – we could have been three or 4-0 up at half-time and cruising.”

That’s probably an exaggeration, but it’s safe to say that Telford should certainly have gone back to the warmth of the changing room at half-time with a comfortable lead.

Andre Gray, playing the last game of his initial one month loan from Shrewsbury Town, was the biggest guilty party.

He missed a sitter on three minutes when Sean Newton’s corner was knocked straight to his feet by a home defender but, from just yards out, he blazed high over the bar.

The teenager was then twice able to use his pace to break free of the organised Knitters’ defence, only to be foiled by former Telford keeper Chris MacKenzie.

Hinckley’s only real spell of pressure came while both teams were down to 10 men when Jon Adams and Alex Taylor were both off the field receiving treatment after a sickening clash of heads.

But Gray then went even closer to opening the scoring as half-time approached when he hit a side-footed volley against the bar.

The second period also started in similar fashion, Liam Blakeman going for what would have been a spectacular goal from wide on the right and Adams then having an effort blocked.

But the game changed when Steve Thompson needlessly gave away a free-kick halfway inside his own half – and the home side gave a lesson in how to take an opportunity.

Neil Cartwright’s free-kick was lethal and the knock-down inch perfect for the unmarked Matt West, who made no mistake. From there, Telford never again managed to look as threatening – and they were not helped by losing Adams, whose head wound had re-opened to leave his shirt drenched with blood.

A spate of bookings followed as the game got niggly, and what few chances there were now fell for Hinckley.

Andy Hall drilled a powerful 30-yard strike inches over before the second goal arrived three minutes from time.

This time it was Lee Vaughan who conceded the free-kick, and the Bucks defence did not look ready as it was whipped into the box, Lee Collins reacting fastest to bundle the ball in.

“The performance was better than Redditch, and better than Farsley, and better than Alfreton,” said assistant manager Larry Chambers, reflecting on other defeats on the road this season.

“But the trouble is that we have come away on our travels again and got nothing.

“For large parts of the game it was very even, but at both ends of the pitch we haven’t done our jobs.”

By Chris Hudson