AFC Telford 0 Brackley Town 6 - Report and pictures

Following back-to-back wins on home soil, there was some optimism but the Bucks - who had Paul McCone sent off in the 38th minute - were dreadful.

Jordan Hempenstall, Shane Byrne, James Armson, Glenn Walker and David Moyo (two) all found the net on a night where the hosts were completely outclassed.

Telford went into this game sitting 16th in the National League North table - five points off the relegation zone. Brackley were 10th and six points off the play-offs.

Three changes were made from the 1-0 win against Altrincham at the weekend as Ben Bailey, Josh Wilson and John-Paul Kissock replaced Eddie Jones, Elliot Hodge and the injured Lee Hughes.

Also, Telford reverted to a 5-3-2 formation, which has been used on several occasions by boss Rob Smith this term.

There was a pedestrian start to the affair as both sides looked to get their footing on a bumpy, fairly muddy surface.

Telford appeared off the pace, as they were against bottom club Altrincham, and were caught cold as Brackley took the lead after 15 minutes through Hempenstall.

The visitors' no.10 was given time and space to hit the ball, on the swivel, into the top corner with his right foot from around eight yards out. It was a well-taken finish, but Smith would have been disappointed with his side's defending.

The Bucks - who were without Hughes due to a groin injury - did not create anything meaningful in the opening half-hour and, in fact, were lucky to only be one down as both Moyo and Adam Walker went close.

There was a startling contrast between the two sides - Telford were slow and appeared tired, while Brackley were quick on the ball and pressing very well.

Things went from bad to worse shorty before the interval as McCone saw red, and Byrne doubled the away side's lead.

The home fans were incensed with referee Peter Gibbons for his decision to dismiss the defender.

Although there was no malice in the challenge, McCone did not get the ball, was the last man and prevented Moyo from bursting through on goal so you could see why the official made the decision he did.

From the resulting free-kick, Byrne found the bottom corner with a precise, curling effort - out of Callum Burton's reach.

Telford, despite a lacklustre showing in the opening 45 minutes and being a man down, stuck to their guns and made no changes at half-time. Brackley were also unchanged for the second period.

The hosts continued to look sloppy and were made to pay for a lapse in concentration in the 47th minute as Armson followed up a sharp turn with a fine strike off the underside of the bar, and into the net.

Then two minutes later, down a mixture of fortune and lazy defending from the hosts, Brackley went four up. A wicked deflection forced Burton into tipping the ball onto the crossbar and Glenn Walker went in, unchallenged, to tap the ball home.

Smith made two substitutions in an attempt to freshen things up, bringing on Jones and Zak Lilly for Dave Hibbert and Jon Royle, but Telford just got worse.

Moyo quickly shifted the ball on to his right foot and his well-drilled effort from 25 yards out beat Burton to make it 5-0 in the 65th minute.

And within 60 seconds of the restart, the centre forward got a second as he tapped in following a decent cross from the left to make it 6-0.

Make no mistake, Telford were awful but Brackley deserved credit for the way they kept going, refusing to take their foot off the gas. Only Burton's sharp shot-stopping towards the end prevented the visitors from making it more.

The silence at the final whistle spoke volumes. A huge amount for Telford to work on ahead of the trip to in-form Chorley on Saturday.

Teams

Telford (5-3-2): Burton; Samuels, Bailey, Havern (c), McCone, Dielna; Royle (Jones, 54), Rea, Kissock; Hibbert (Lilly, 54), Wilson (Reynolds, 78).

Subs not used: Hodge, Cowan.

Brackley (4-4-2): L Walker; Clifton, Graham, Dean, Gudger; Byrne, Armson (Diggin, 78), A Walker, G Walker (Gough, 64); Hempenstall, Moyo.

Subs not used: Myles, Cox, Ndlovu.

Attendance: 844

Referee: Peter Gibbons