Old boy Kyle Perry has backed AFC Telford United to thrive in the top tier of non-League football – after scoring two goals to spoil the homecoming party.

Former Buck Perry was introduced as a 74th minute substitute for Lincoln last night and scored twice within six minutes to send the Bucks spiralling to a 2-1 defeat in what was their first home game since winning promotion.

But the 25-year-old – who has also played at this level for Mansfield and Tamworth – saw enough to convince him that they should not be worried about going straight back down.

“I hope and think they’ll be okay,” said Perry, who scored 32 goals in 68 games for Telford between 2004 and 2007. “I’ve always followed them since I left and they’ve got quality players.”

“What I found with Tamworth last season is that you just need consistency. If you stop your mistakes then you are sure to succeed.

“Telford have done it before and if you have a team of winners then you can win anything.”

Meanwhile, Bucks boss Andy Sinton insisted he would be taking plenty of positives out of the game, despite the result.

Telford have now lost two of their first three – the sole win coming at York on Saturday – but their manager felt they have proved they can compete with sides of Lincoln’s stature.

“It’s gone against us but that is the reality of where we are now,” said Sinton.

“There were lots of positives, I didn’t think there was a great deal in the game.

“I thought they were slightly quicker than us, slightly sharper than us, but you’d expect that as they were a Football League club until just over three months ago.

“We acquitted ourselves well and in the first half probably had the best chance of the game so it’s a fine line.

“At 0-0 in the second half I thought we were starting to turn the screw when we got punished for some naïve defending.”

By CHRIS HUDSON