"I was really cheesed off" - but AFC Telford United thrilled to bounce back

Bucks overcame their rivals 3-0 at the Seah Stadium on Tuesday night thanks to a brace from record goalscorer Matty Stenson - his 23rd and 24th strikes of the season - and a late third from Jimmy Armson.

But boss Wilkin was more pleased to quickly bounce back from Saturday's defeat on the road at Worksop Town - his side's first in the league of this calendar year. 

“I’m delighted to win the game," he said. "I was really, really cheesed off Saturday to lose that game. We’ve played well enough in it to merit getting something out of the game. It hasn't happened.

"The good run we've been on… It’s disappointing when that comes to an end, but the way we've bounced back tonight and won the game, I'm really, really pleased with it. It's all about three points, all the time, and yeah, it's a nice three points.”

Stenson added a vital second goal with 15 minutes remaining, adding to a first-half penalty, against a Bulls side who battled hard but rarely looked like breaking any of the Bucks’ best china.

Wilkin was adamant that the victory wasn’t the formality some may have felt, saying: “A lot of people look at their league position and think just because they're in the bottom reaches that you just rock up and it just happens. We've all been here long enough to understand that's not the case.

“They're a better side than their league position would suggest, and clearly, they've got a whole bundle of games there to go and catch up and play, which is tough for them, but they're not a bad side.

"They're capable; they've made life hard for us. We've had to push and be very focused and concentrated to win the game.”

Hereford’s woes, with their Edgar Street pitch affected badly by drainage issues and recent heavy rains, are facing a massive fixture pile-up and sit second from bottom. Wilkin expressed sympathy for their beleaguered boss, Paul Caddis.

“You feel for Paul in those situations," he said. "It's easy for me to stand here as a manager who's won the game, and maybe they’re having a little bit of a difficult period of it at the moment. Look, that's unfortunate. They're better than the league position, definitely, and we wish them well in the coming weeks and months.”

Wilkin recognised that the Bulls hadn’t laid down for their manager, and was also pleased that his own side showed better focus than had been the case at Worksop: “I don't think we ever looked in any real danger in open play, but certainly, soon after we took the lead, we gave at least three restart moments where they could load the ball on us and get the ball into our penalty area, and that was where, if they were going to score, I think that was where it was going to be: from a restart.

"They've got some big lads in the side and good delivery, but we stayed focused and concentrated in those moments and saw out the danger, fortunately.”

The Bulls were mounting a push to find an equaliser in what proved to be the game’s decisive period, with 15-20 minutes remaining, when Stenson bagged his second goal.

The final goal, credited to substitute Armson, appeared to many to be a Kyle Howkins own goal, but it was Stenson’s second that applied the coup de grace.

Wilkin added: “It needed a second goal to settle us, and as we saw against King’s Lynn, it always needed the second goal in case a sporadic moment happened. It did there, and fortunately, it didn't tonight. The clean sheet is a bonus, and it's a very welcome three points, and we're a few days off now.”