AFC Telford goalkeeper Matt Urwin not surprised by AFC Fylde dominance

The 23-year-old – who made his Bucks bow last weekend after joining on loan for the rest of the campaign from Fleetwood Town – was the man between the sticks for the Coasters last term,

He was in goal as Fylde lost to 2-1 to North Ferriby United in the play-off final last year, and went on to sign for the Cod Army over the summer.

Without Urwin, the Lancashire side have steamrolled their way to the top of the division – they are currently nine points clear of both Salford City and Kidderminster Harriers.

Ahead of the Bucks' visit to Mill Farm tomorrow, the keeper spoke highly of his former team-mates.

"I think there were players there that definitely had the ability to be playing at a higher level," said Urwin.

"They made the decision to go full-time and it has given them the chance to really work on things, day in and day out, and become better as a unit.

"They wanted to be up there for promotion and going full-time has worked out very well for them so far.

"It doesn't surprise me where they are, at all."

Make no mistake about it, Telford are very much the underdogs here.

The Bucks are 19th in the table – just two points above the relegation zone – and have managed to score just 25 goals from 27 league games.

To put that into perspective, Fylde's Danny Rowe – who is the top scorer in the division – has managed 10 more league goals himself.

Throw in the fact that Telford have only won once away from home all season – against rock-bottom Altrincham in October – then a defeat may seem inevitable. However, the hosts may be vulnerable as they lost 5-0 to Salford last weekend.

Coasters manager Dave Challinor was very critical of his charges afterwards and described what he had seen as 'the most abject performance I've ever been associated with as a manager'.

Telford lost the reverse fixture 1-0 on the opening day of the season, and were well in the game.

Urwin wants the Bucks to make themselves hard to beat, especially as he expects Fylde to come out firing following that heavy defeat.

"The thing for me is, I would imagine they will be fighting to make up for that result," he added.

"Knowing the manager, Dave Challinor, he will be demanding a lot from them and letting them know exactly what he wants.

"We have to go there with a positive frame of mind, and make ourselves hard to beat. We will go there as the underdogs but sometimes that is a good position to be in."

Meanwhile, Fylde's Sam Finley – formerly of The New Saints – is on the road to recovery from ulcerative colitis. He feared he would need an operation, which would result in 12 months out, after a recent flare-up but the 24-year-old is now hopeful of avoiding surgery.