AFC Telford 2 Brackley 1 - Report and pictures

The visitors were lively and had Gregg Smith score late on but this was a far cry from the previous two meetings between the two sides at the New Bucks Head - comfortable 3-1 and 6-0 triumphs for the Saints.

Udoh struck in the first half for the Bucks, Knights in the second, while Sheridan Martinez saved a penalty. Gavin Cowan's side are unbeaten in National League North - two wins, two draws.

There was just one Telford change from the 1-1 draw at Guiseley on Saturday as Andre Brown, who got the goal at Nethermoor, came in for Amari Morgan-Smith up front. Dom Smith was on the bench after serving a three-match suspension.

The Bucks were donning their white home kit, which they did not have for the first New Bucks Head fixture of the term - a 1-0 win against Southport - because of a blunder from suppliers Hummel.

It was very scrappy in the opening 10 minutes. Telford were going long and, mostly, giving the ball away. They were not stringing many passes together but, as it turned out, they did not have to.

An ambitious effort put them ahead. Udoh picked the ball up from 25 yards and his swerving shot deceived Brackley goalkeeper Danny Lewis, rippling the net. It may have been a case of the sun being in Lewis's eyes.

That woke the Saints from their slumber. They had three glorious chances within several minutes to level but, somehow, did not take any of them.

Right after Udoh's strike, Glenn Walker toe-poked wide from a few yards out. Lee Ndlovu then burst through on goal, following an uncharacteristic error from Bucks midfielder James McQuilkin, and was tripped by Martinez - after the keeper initially stopped him from pulling the trigger - for a penalty.

James Armson stepped up to the spot but Martinez atoned for his mistake with a sharp stop, which was met with a huge roar from the home fans. Armson became even more frustrated after blazing over from inside the six-yard box a few moments later.

It was chaotic, Telford were massively under the cosh. Rather luckily, Martinez went down to receive treatment for a slight knock and that allowed Cowan's charges to catch their breath. The shot-stopper turned out to be OK too.

Udoh almost doubled his tally before the break with another crack from distance. Brown went close too, his header bouncing just over the crossbar.

The neutral got their money's worth in the first half, with plenty of goalmouth action. Cowan would have been hoping for things to calm down a little bit for the start of the second period though as his side were a little bit fortunate to be in front.

The Bucks almost doubled their advantage within 90 seconds of the restart. A Knights free-kick found the head of skipper Shane Sutton, who provided the power but not the accuracy - a little too high.

Brackley captain Gareth Dean soon displayed his aerial ability at the other end. He rose highest following a corner but headed into the grateful arms of Martinez.

The Saints continued to display a lot of attacking intent and Cowan had to decide whether to try to preserve their lead or take some risks in an attempt to add to it.

He did not commit to either approach though as he made a double substitution, bringing on flying winger Adam Dawson and defensive midfielder Jon Royle for Brown and McQuilkin.

As they desperately aimed to get something from the game, Brackley went for a triple switch. Telford made it 2-0 pretty much as soon as they did though.

Dawson showed a bit of fancy footwork before crossing to Knights, who cleverly finished on the volley.

The away side kept plugging away and got a goal - substitute Smith tapping in past Martinez - but the Bucks grabbed a well-earned three points.

Cowan has spoken a lot about how Dawson can be an impact sub for Telford, and he certainly was here. The unorthodox Martinez came up with some top-drawer saves too.

Up next is a long trip to Spennymoor Town on Saturday.

Teams

Telford (4-4-2): Martinez; Sears, Sutton (c), Streete, White; Cowans, McQuilkin (Dawson, 65), Deeney, Knights; Udoh (Morgan-Smith, 76), Brown (Royle, 65)

Subs not used: D Smith, Barnes-Homer

Brackley (3-5-2): Lewis; Franklin, Hall, Dean (c); Lowe, Byrne, Murombedzi (Myles, 71), A Walker, G Walker (Fairlamb, 71); Armson (G Smith, 71), Ndlovu

Subs not used: Graham, Nti

Attendance: 1,097

Referee: Michael Barlow (Lancashire)