Smith delighted by victory in shield

AFC Telford United's impressive Setanta Shield heroes could get the chance to stake a claim for a regular spot in the team.

Boss Rob Smith was delighted by his reshuffled side as they came back from 2-0 down to beat Gainsborough Trinity 3-2 after extra-time in the first round clash at the New Bucks Head last night.

See the match photo gallery here

He made seven changes to the team who beat the same opposition 2-1 at the weekend - and got his reward as goals from Jarred Stevens and Jon Adams drew them level before Jamie Vermiglio headed a 105th minute winner.

Stevens was one of the changes and had been hoping to stand out along with the likes of Lee Vaughan and Lee Moore.

Smith was clearly impressed by what he saw, declaring: "I think Lee Vaughan was absolutely amazing. He was dead on his feet at half-time but I asked him to carry on for 15 minutes more.

"He's got his faults and he's been a pain in the backside for me in the last few weeks, but he was awesome last night."I thought Jarred (Stevens) worked really hard for us as well and I thought that when Lee Moore went up front he absolutely ran the show.

"Jon Adams was immense as well when he came on, so there were some real positive performances and it gives us a headache.

"We've not been performing well (in the league) so there's places up for grabs.

"No player has a divine right to a shirt at the moment and a few of them did themselves no harm last night."

The dramatic comeback was watched by just 652, and Smith insisted those fans who decided to give the competition a wide berth had missed a treat.

"I think the people who didn't come along last night missed an absolute stormer of a game," he said. "Both teams were a credit to the competition.

"The one thing we've shown is character and that's what I like to see," he added.

By Chris Hudson