Kevin Wilkin: Telford draw at King’s Lynn a ‘mixed bag’

The Bucks returned to National League North after two seasons with a tough assignment, travelling to Norfolk to face a full-time outfit tipped to be in the promotion shake-up.

Matty Stenson opened the scoring from the penalty spot, only for Michael Gyasi to level things up before the hour mark. 

“It’s a bit of a mixed bag," Wilkin reflected. "I think that, emotion-wise, where we've been under the cosh a little bit for probably the first twenty-five to thirty minutes, then we go up the other end and find a moment. 

"Sometimes you have to play on the counterattack against decent sides, but we got that moment, got ourselves into the lead and then could possibly have killed the game off. 

"For all their pressure in the first period, they've had one moment, when their guy (Joe Nyahwema) has come inside and hit the bar, but I don't think they played around us, which is pleasing."

It ended up being a game that Bucks spent most of on the back foot, and Wilkin was pleased with how his side, who are fairly inexperienced, dealt with the occasion. 

“You have to stick your head in and be competitive and come to difficult places like this and be prepared to do exactly that," he continued. "In the second half, and for large parts, we’ve had to defend. 

"They're a good side with capable players in the group, and we maybe lived a little bit dangerously at times, but sometimes that's what happens away from home. 

"You've got a lot of young men in there that won't have experienced that sort of situation on too many occasions.”

Bucks do not play in midweek, they have to wait until next Saturday for National League North action to return to the New Bucks Head. They welcome Curzon Ashton to Shropshire as Wilkin seeks to get his first win of the new season.