Shropshire Star

AFC Telford boss Gavin Cowan glad to avoid FA Cup upset

Boss Gavin Cowan has praised AFC Telford United for winning a 'tricky' FA Cup tie against Bedford Town.

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The Eagles play two tiers below Telford but fought hard, with the Bucks eventually prevailing 3-1 at the New Bucks Head.

Daniel Udoh was the undeniable star of the show in the second qualifying round clash as he netted a hat-trick.

Reacting to the performance as a whole, Cowan said: "Days like these can always be tricky as you've got a team of so-called less ability, who raise their game 25 per cent and want to cause an upset - that's what the FA Cup is all about.

"The lads stood up well to it, although we maybe made it a little bit harder than we needed to.

"People are understanding now that we're a good team. They want to come and spoil - and that's what Bedford did well for large parts.

"But I felt we had the lion's share and could have scored a lot more."

Telford will receive £9,000 for the win and find out their opponents for the next stage of the competition on Monday.

"We have got to be a little bit more clinical. We do a lot of work on that in training," added Cowan.

"It's a great hat-trick for Dan and the lads have worked very hard. We're a good side."