Plenty of resilience on show as AFC Telford United make it three wins on the spin

Resilience is a word Kevin Wilkin uses frequently, and it’s a characteristic that’s becoming more ingrained in his team. The Bucks weren’t ever fully in control of this encounter, but recognised the situation and responded accordingly.

They were aided by a King’s Lynn side lacking any genuine scoring threat, and also owed goalkeeper Josh Gracey a pat on the back for producing when it was needed.

The fixture was a reversal of the season’s opening day, when the Bucks took a point against a side tipped for promotion. However, in close to six months, the prospects for both teams have undergone notable changes.

Lynn parted company with manager James Rowe for non-footballing reasons, and the shockwaves from that event and a period of inertia under interim boss Joe Simpson. 

Ian Culverhouse left St Albans City to take the Linnets helm for a third time in late October, but the damage to their promotion hopes was already done.

Despite that, the Linnets remain a full-time outfit, and there was evidence in the opening 30 minutes of the game that, at the very least, they would be organised and physically capable of pressing the Bucks.

The visitors were sharper from kick-off, and within two minutes, Jayden Davis’s firm shot was parried well but not held by Gracey, who then saved Jack Goodman’s follow up effort.

The visitors’ Morgan Williams failed to work Gracey when the Bucks conceded a free-kick, positioned 25 yards from the goal and centrally.

In response, the Bucks’ right-back, Ammar Dyer, made several incursions on the right flank. The most notable saw him collect Stenson’s scooped pass, before testing keeper Paul Jones at his near post.

A change of approach made by Wilkin just before the half-hour showed signs of paying off when Stenson steered an effort wide from a few yards out as he met Dylan Allen-Hadley’s cross.

Moving Allen-Hadley from the left to the right was part of the Wilkin reshuffle, and in the 34th minute, it delivered the breakthrough. 

Remi Walker’s pass found space behind the defence that Allen-Hadley moved into. The winger drove a low effort into the area in front of Jones, along the edge of the six-yard box, and Stenson pounced, stretching and sliding the ball into the yawning gap to the keeper’s right.

The visitors probably felt aggrieved, perhaps not deserving to be behind on the balance of play, but having engineered a change, the Bucks struck while the iron was hot, and within five minutes, the lead was doubled.

Jones, looking to play the ball out under pressure from Allen-Hadley, found defender Tai Fleming, but he was casual in trying to turn the ball wide to Reece Hall-Johnson. Meddows intercepted Fleming’s pass, advanced on Jones and made the finish look easy.

Jones then produced a terrific low stop to glove away Walker’s shot.

The third goal didn’t come, but the purple patch the Bucks had found swung the game away from the visitors decisively.

The Bucks went close in the 52nd minute, Walker sending Khanya Leshabela through on the left of the box. Walker took his return pass, but the Linnets blocked his effort and Stenson’s shot as the ball ran loose. 

Culverhouse began to gamble, introducing experienced striker Adam Marriott, and within a minute of his arrival, the Linnets were back in the game.

Simone Troso moved on to Michael Clunan’s inviting diagonal ball, and his finish found the far corner.

It was a lifeline, and put the game back into the balance.

The game was more open now, and Bucks captain Alex Fletcher drove a shot from a partial clearance too high.

The Bucks never quite looked as though a third goal was coming, and rather than a goal to seal it, the pivotal moment in the game came when Gracey produced a fantastic mid-air save to prevent Goodman’s header across him from dropping in. 

That came with a little over 10 minutes remaining, but the officials were to add a further eight minutes. It certainly wasn’t comfortable for the hosts, but Wilkin’s team feel more assured in such situations these days. 

In the sixth minute of added time, defender Doherty arrived to meet a corner, but couldn’t control his header and sent it over Gracey and the crossbar.

It was a let-off of sorts, but overall, the Bucks had earned their victory, and the manner of it felt good. 

It had lacked the flowing style of the previous weekend and the backs-to-the-wall quality of midweek, but they’d completed the assignment, and sometimes that’s enough.

AFC Telford United (4-3-3): Gracey, Dyer, Cranston, Piggott, Cawthorne, Fletcher, Walker (Armson 71), Leshabela, Meddows, Stenson (Lawal 71), Allen-Hadley (Williams 90+6). Subs: (unused) Fridye-Harper, Ikpakwu, Hilton, Dinanga.