Kevin Wilkin reacts as AFC Telford United thrust themselves into play-off contention

The Bucks rose to eighth in the National League North table with the triumph, on an evening where half of the scheduled full fixture programme fell victim to Storm Chandra.

They now sit within two points of fifth place, with the top seven the target for a play-off place, but take a break from league action at the weekend when they face Yeovil Town in the fifth round of the FA Trophy.

“Yeah, delighted," said Wilkin after the win at Merthyr. "They're a good team, tough to beat at their place. We probably were favoured with the sending off, but we're still in a good place at that stage.

"We're still obviously a goal to the good, and to get another one before half-time is a nice cushion.

"To then go out and face 10 men for the second half, and I thought we managed the second half really well...

"They're still going to have a go and carry a threat, and, as we know, 10 men can make life really difficult for you.

"They didn't make it easy for us, but, you know, once the third one went in, it was pretty much game over.”

The dismissal Wilkin referred to was a red card for the Martyrs’ Lee Lucas in first-half injury time, a decision that infuriated the home fans and their team's management.

The Bucks led through Dylan Allen-Hadley’s 19th-minute opener and were looking reasonably assured when Lucas and the Bucks’ Jimmy Armson got into a scuffle for the ball, and Lucas saw red for moving his head towards Armson’s face.

Home supporters felt Armson exaggerated the contact, but Wilkin stated the case for his midfielder: “There was a bit of a melee for the ball, and I think the lad's moved his head towards Jim and he’s said he's made contact with him. It's just giving the referee a decision to make, and he's made that decision.

"It's not as easy for a ref when you're penalising the home team, but look, he shouldn't be allowing the referee to have to make a decision.

"Whether it's a great deal of contact, it’s still the wrong thing to do, and we might have benefited from it, but we were in the lead at the time anyway, and there was not a great deal in the game.

"I think Remi (Walker) has hit the post; they had a couple of near moments as well, so it was a close game at that stage anyway.”

Armson, playing in place of the suspended Matty Stenson, made his first start of the campaign, and the Bucks shrugged off Stenson’s absence with another excellent performance.

With the red mist still swirling after Lucas’s red card, Ammar Dyer added a second, and further goals from Walker and a second for Allen-Hadley eased the Bucks to three points.

Cole Jarvis’s close-range finish from a corner gave the Martyrs’ brief hope at 3-1, but the contest was by then firmly under the Bucks’ control.

Wilkin praised Allen-Hadley’s contribution, and that of Armson too: “Yeah, he's done brilliantly tonight; we play him centrally, we go with Jimmy, he's got an understanding, he's got a presence, and I think he's the only one in the group that hasn't had a start this season, so, he's had to be patient and wait for it, and he deserves a chance and an opportunity. He's come in there and done really well.

"Remi and him (Armson), we knew they'd work really hard for the cause, away from home, understanding what it takes. He's been there many times before, Jim, and like I say, he's done really well for us tonight.”