Telford boss happy with the point - but not the officials
AFC Telford United manager Kevin Wilkin was careful with his words following Saturday's 2-2 draw at Radcliffe FC in which he felt the officiating had “too much bearing” on the outcome.
Bucks defender Oliver Cawthorne was dismissed for a second bookable offence in the dying moments at the Neuven Stadium, but Wilkin’s dismay wasn’t restricted to that decision.
“I'm okay with the point, I guess. At the start of it, if you could offer me a point, yes, I'd be okay," said Wilkin.
"I think you look at how the game unfolded, and unfortunately, the referee and the officials have had too much bearing on the game again.
"I don't want to say something that's going to get me in trouble, but some, and not just for us, for both sides, really poor decisions and some poor moments there that I think have had too much of a bearing on the game.”
Referee Scott Henry issued 11 bookings and dismissed Cawthorne in a game that was hugely competitive, but not ill-tempered.
Alex Fletcher, the Bucks captain, was shown a yellow card just a minute into the contest, setting a tone that Wilkin felt he compounded with further poor decisions.
“There are moments there that I see that are fairly similar, that get totally different reactions," added Wilkin.
"I've seen their second goal back; he's clearly offside, and I thought he was at the time.
"We've certainly not been helped by those decisions, but the lads’ character and belief and ability mean it is, I suppose, a decent point, but I can't help but feel we could have won the game.”
The Bucks twice came from behind to earn a point against a sixth-placed Radcliffe side who led at the half-time break through Dan Gardner’s 23rd-minute penalty conversion.
It took until just past the hour mark for the Bucks to level, and Wilkin was rewarded for a positive substitution, replacing Charlie Williams with Dylan Allen-Hadley, who then netted.
Wilkin felt his side deserved that reward, saying: “Yeah, there's a little bit of indecision from them, and for all the moments that we've passed the ball really well and got in good areas and good crossing moments and situations, it's a little bit of indecision from them that's allowed us the opening."
Radcliffe regained the lead after 72 minutes, and while David Ball’s precise finish was impressive, Wilkin contended that Ball gained an unfair advantage, running on to the ball from an offside position.
The Bucks dug deep, and Matty Stenson’s 12th goal of the season tied things up after 80 minutes.
The striker had a barren afternoon in terms of chances, but showed superb technique to cushion a volleyed finish past Hewelt from Remi Walker’s accurate cross.
Wilkin felt it evidenced that the messages given to the team had been taken on board.
“Yeah, we had a look at one or two bits and some footage of other teams at the level on Thursday and some good finishes there, some calm and composed finishes and where players are not necessarily looking to knock spots off the ball and just basically working the target," said Wilkin.
"He's done that superbly well. We know he can. He's got a fantastic shot on him, as we know, but just in that moment, a side foot, to work the target, brings us back in and gives us a chance and an opportunity to try and win the game.”
