AFC Telford stay on track for promotion - match analysis and pictures

Liam Watson's side were left as you were in the race for the top spot but, perhaps crucially, didn't concede any more ground to the pace-setters by sharing the spoils.

The Northern Rail line runs right above the pitch where the Villagers are speeding up the leagues, a driving force which Telford were looking to derail when they arrived on Saturday.

In truth, it's already looking like a big ask given that the table-toppers managed to maintain their seven-point advantage over the Bucks.

However, had Telford lost, their burning ambition to go up as champions would have been knocked firmly off the rails.

The Bucks seized the advantage early on through captain Simon Grand's strike, before a quickfire double from Ryan Kendall turned the game on his head. Adam Farrell then equalised soon after.

The players had earlier bounced off the away coach and into the ground, where the relatively good state of the pitch encouraged Watson to make a late change to his starting line-up.

He had planned to play Russell Benjamin, expecting a mudbath in the middle of the park. But, with a surface in fine order to perform upon, he moved Charlie Barnett into the centre of midfield instead.

That looked all well and good until the heavens suddenly opened during the hour before kick-off with rain lashing down accompanied by thunder and lightning. The state of play was about to change.

When they got started, what looked a big boost came with just three minutes on the clock as Telford finally bucked their trend of going behind in games, which had occurred in the previous six matches.

Recalled skipper Grand came up from centre-half to pounce on the ball, which had been half-cleared from Charlie Barnett's corner, and steer it clear of goalkeeper Adam Nicklin.

It was just the start Telford needed, a worrying stat off their backs and a lead to defend and possibly build on against the stunned hosts. Unfortunately for them, they forgot about the defending.

Telford left Kendall, one of the league's form players, all alone from a straightforward ball into the box. From 18 yards, he had a lot to do, but shouldn't have been left unchallenged to do it.

It came on 16 minutes when Jamie Yates' cross from the right flank found Kendall unmarked, and his header beat goalkeeper Ryan Young at his near post.

The inquest began as to who was at fault for letting the attacker go, not for the first time this season. It's seven games and counting without a clean sheet.

Having conceded a soft goal, Watson will have ordered his men to get tight and not make another silly mistake at the back. That lasted a minute.

There was literally no-one in the centre this time as another ball in, this time from Danny Clarke, found Kendall in space to power another header past Young.

The Telford defenders protested that the linesman had flagged for a foul on the left, which referee David Richardson appeared ready to sanction. But they should know to play to the whistle.

They were still all over the place when Kendall took to the flank on 21 minutes to deliver a ball into the box where the unmarked Clarke just failed to connect with a header.

If that struck home as forcefully as the thunder and lightning about what was bad about the Bucks, their response showed what they do best.

Sean Clancy bust a gut to make space on the left wing in the 24th minute and turned Paul Robson to get a cross in, where Tony Gray arrived at the far post just a fraction too late to tap the ball home.

But in the 32nd minute the equaliser came, as you almost knew it would considering the Bucks have come from behind to take home something from six of their last seven games.

Farrell's 10th league goal of the season came from Gray feeding the ball through to the left side of the goal. While Farrell's first touch took the ball away from him, the second was a tight finish from an acute angle to squeeze it under Nicklin.

It was backs-to-the-wall stuff at times in the second half, as North Ferriby looked to showed why they are top of the league.

But they had Nicklin to thank for denying Farrell on 61 minutes, bravely saving at his feet as he raced forward to meet Charlie Barnett's through ball.

It was Telford's turn to defend after that and, on his 350th appearance for the club, you might have known Young would be there to save the day.

A sign of things to come two minutes later saw him block from Kendall on the edge of the box, denying him again with a leap to parry away when he was already on the ground in the 66th minute.

With 20 minutes to go, Telford had a big shout for a winner waved away by referee Richardson. Farrell's touch drifted into the goal with huge debates as to whether it crossed the line, before Robson eventually cleared the ball.

If they felt aggrieved not to have won, imagine what the mood would have been on the way home had Young not been at his brilliant best in stoppage time.

His terrific double save to deny both Nathan Jarman and Anthony Wilson left the home attackers dumbfounded, with the odds stacked against him the second time – a reaction stop on instinct.

With it, the Bucks left what was a tough place to visit with something to show for it. Only time will tell if it's enough.