AFC Telford boss left counting the cost of draw
AFC Telford United manager Liam Watson believes his side have dropped 10 points at teams in the top five after last night's 1-1 draw away to Altrincham.
Watson's men have travelled to all of the teams currently occupying a Skrill Conference North promotion place and avoided defeat on each occasion.
But the Bucks have not been able to take all three points either, only recording draws, and Watson believes a killer edge in those instances would have put them streets ahead.
As it stands, James Walshaw's first-half equaliser after Mike Grogan's early opener for Telford saw the club drop a place to fourth last night, courtesy of Boston United's 2-1 win at Histon.
Watson said: "That's every team in the top five – North Ferriby, Hednesford, Brackley, Boston and now Altrincham – where we have gone away, taken the lead and not been able to see it through.
"You might say that, away from home against the top five, we are unbeaten and that's good. But I honestly believe that, hand on heart, we have dropped 10 points in those games.
"It's a massive opportunity missed again last night, but I can't fault the players. For effort, they were first class and played at a great tempo.
"We were, by far, the best team on the pitch and that's not being disrespectful to Altrincham. I thought, especially in the first-half against the wind, we missed a great opportunity.
"We took the lead, had further chances and they got a touch of fortune when their lad has gone clean through and finished it well."
Watson made five changes to his starting line-up with Dan Preston, Chris Lever, Russell Benjamin, Mike Phenix and Andy Owens all coming in.
The Bucks boss substituted Preston for Neill Byrne in the second-half, admitting that the defender's booking had left him walking a disciplinary tightrope.
He said: "I had to take Dan off because he had been booked, then he brought someone down and I actually thought that he was going to go.
"But, no disrespect to Neill, Dan helped us to keep a higher line, which made us more condensed as a side. As soon as he went off, we dropped 10 yards. That makes it more difficult to play as a team."
