'Sharpen up' message to Bucks

Boss Rob Smith has challenged his AFC Telford squad to build on their strong start to their pre-season campaign, insisting: "We need to get sharper."

The Bucks enjoyed a 5-1 away win over Wellington Amateurs last night, Matty Lewis scoring twice and Terry Fearns netting a second half hat-trick.

See our match photo gallery here

Stewart Parnham bagged the Ams' consolation from the penalty spot.

It followed a same-score win over Stratford - but two Football League sides lie in wait next, with Cheltenham the visitors on Friday and Nottingham Forest a week tonight.

"No disrespect to Wellington Amateurs or Stratford, but we need a tough game now and the lads are ready for it," said Smith.

"It's all about getting right for the start on August 9 and that's what we're working towards.

"We want to test ourselves against better opposition and we really need to get sharper now.

"It will be a big test for us on Friday evening and we're looking forward to it."

Wing-back Martyn Naylor was unable to play last night because of a slight knock picked up at Stratford, but is expected to recover in time to face Cheltenham.

There was a boost last night though with veteran midfielder Gary Fitzpatrick coming on to play a part in the second half - marking his return after a long absence due to a foot injury.

That left Smith in high spirits as he reflected on the evening - and he paid tribute to his two goalscorers.

"It was a good evening for everyone," he added. "They can be very proud of the way they played and we did the job we came to do, which was to get the 90 minutes out of the way and win the game.

"The main thing for us is to keep ticking over. Games like that beat training.

"We wanted to approach it professionally and hopefully we did that. It was nice to see the strikers get among the goals - Fearns really has an eye for goal and Matty is a great finisher."

By Chris Hudson