Analysis: St Ives Town 2 AFC Telford 2

Backed into a corner by their own errors, they came out swinging in a quiet corner of Cambridgeshire to record a seventh game without defeat, with Rhys Hilton and Jordan Cranston scoring the goals that overturned a 2-0 half-time deficit.

A point isn’t a disaster, but the gaps between the teams in the top five are so small that any slip has consequences, and the Bucks can’t afford more first halves than the one they experienced at Westwood Road.

Slipping into a two-goal deficit after some inattentive defensive work invited St Ives to take control, Kevin Wilkin’s side had to show resolve and enterprise to gain a share of the points.

Understanding how they collectively failed to turn up in the opening 45 minutes would be to repeat a systemic pattern that must be driving Wilkin to despair, mystified as to why his team cannot piece together a consistent and largely error-free 90 minutes.

The Bucks were without Jimmy Armson, who failed a fitness test ahead of the game. Wilkin selected Rhys Hilton in his place, a surprising selection for some, given that Hilton appeared to be heading towards the exit door around Christmas. 

There was also a return to the substitutes bench for Byron Moore, who has been injured for nearly two months.

Neither side established any early control over affairs. Brandon Hall comfortably held a first effort on his goal, a tame header from a free-kick, and Lewis Trickett threatened at the opposite end, directing a near post shot wide after a cross by Max Brogan on the right.

Neither side allowed the other to settle in possession, and the Bucks lacked fluidity, unable to move the ball as they would have desired on the artificial surface.

St Ives, who had recorded draws in each of their last four matches, weren’t in control, but they were frustrating Wilkin’s team, which was performing some way below its best.

They were to be punished for a collective lapse in concentration after 20 minutes when St Ives took the lead. 

Diminutive midfielder Jernade Meade sent a hopeful ball forward to the right of the penalty area. Hall and his defence appeared content that it would run out of play, but an alert St Ives player darted in and struck the ball towards the six-yard box. 

What happened next is unclear, but defender Jordan Piggott declared after the game that his attempt to clear had rebounded off Hall and into the net. It was untidy, preventable, and the sort of goal that the Bucks have become far too likely to concede.

There was no immediate response from Wilkin’s team, but eventually, they began to stir a little. A booking for Meade for a poor challenge on captain Luke Rowe brought a free-kick, and a glancing blow from the head of defender Orrin Pendley guided the ball wide but also out of the path of his 23-goal colleague Matty Stenson.

Stenson’s body language conveyed huge frustration, with St Ives defenders crowding and swarming around him at every opportunity. 

One of those assigned to keep Stenson subdued, Will Glennon, had the next effort on goal as his bicycle-kick was pushed away to his left by Hall for a corner. 

The Bucks looked vulnerable to set-pieces, and from the corner, a rising shot whistled over Hall’s crossbar.

Alarms bells were starting to ring, and they were clanging furiously when St Ives doubled their advantage in the 37th minute. 

An attacking long throw was hurled towards Hall’s near post, and a touch of the head of one of a cluster of players sent the ball goalwards. Hall arched back and got enough of a hand on to the ball to see it rebound off his crossbar, but it fell to striker George Munday, who gleefully turned it into the empty net.

The Bucks were in trouble but could offer few complaints about how the situation had developed. 

Wilkin said after the game that his team was briefed on the long-throw threat, but being aware of it and being able to defend it effectively proved irreconcilable.

Wilkin admitted that he “got into” his players at the interval, and whatever he said got a reaction.

Within three minutes of the restart, Hilton crashed an unstoppable effort from the edge of the box past Dan Wilks to get the Bucks on the board, following a driving run across midfield from Brogan. 

Fed by his colleague, Hilton took advantage when coming inside on to his left foot, and a defender’s reluctance to get closer to him was punished decisively.

Hilton’s strike put a jolt of electricity through his team, and the patient almost leapt off the table and into life. Within five minutes, Hilton momentarily appeared to have tied things up when another shot rifled goalwards from a similar range, smacked off the underside of Wilk’s crossbar and bounced down, but not over, the line.

In a microcosm of their season, the Bucks now appeared to be posing a threat whenever they went forward, but the Achilles heel of their defending was still evident. 

Piggott’s careless ball towards Hall was almost picked off, the keeper dashing a few yards outside his box to win a tackle and clear his lines. 

From the resulting play, a cross from the right found its way to Jordan Cranston, but he struck his shot on the rise and cleared the crossbar.

Hall was soon to rescue his side once more, as a ball returned into the box found the head of an unmarked Munday, but Hall denied him from goal at close range.

The hosts regained their composure, which slowed the Bucks’ impetus, but the game was now in the balance, with the next goal looking crucial to the outcome.

Remi Walker was introduced in place of Trickett, and his greater experience of the level helped to join things up as the Bucks sought an equaliser. 

The moment they’d been searching for came with around 20 minutes remaining and owed much to Brogan’s alertness.

Some sloppy defensive work from St Ives saw them slow to react, Brogan swooping on to a loose ball on the left of the box.  And rather than look to score himself, he teed up Jordan Cranston and the left-back decisively drove the ball inside Wilks’ near post with his left foot from eight to ten yards. 

It was his first goal for the club and a timely one.

With the hosts’ lead wiped out, the Bucks had the momentum to go on and try to win the contest, but although the drive and effort were present, the clear chance they needed wouldn’t open up.

Defender Williams and substitute Ed Hottor were booked for St Ives for poor challenges as a game that was always competitive but never bad-tempered teetered one way and then the other.

Wilkin debuted loan striker Tyler Bruck from Solihull Moors as time ticked down, Bruck partnering Stenson for a rare, non-productive afternoon for the Bucks’ hot-shot, at least in terms of goal production.

Peter Abimbola, who impressed on the right of the St Ives midfield with his athleticism and drive, occupied the Bucks occasionally but could not carve out any real goal threat for them.

The visitors had a little more success, with some late pressure from corners and free-kicks, but the best sight of goal they got was a low shot from Stenson; that lacked power, and Wilks blocked it to deny Stenson his customary goal.

Six additional minutes yielded plenty of huffing and puffing, but neither team could blow the other’s house down as they had to settle for a share of the spoils.

AFC Telford United: Hall, Myles (Bruck 86), Cranston, Piggott, Pendley, Hawkins, Brogan, Rowe, Stenson, Hilton, Trickett (Walker 65). Subs not used: Fridye-Harper, Morris, Moore.