Stalybridge Celtic 0 Telford 2 - Report and pictures

Following four successive defeats - and five losses from their last six going into this one - the Bucks went all guns blazing to get the victory, which was only their second on the road this term.

Bailey headed home in the 51st minute to ease the tension and then, in the 77th, Marsden kept a cool head to double their lead. Callum Burton, crucially, saved a penalty late on as Telford moved six points clear of the National League North relegation zone.

The Bower Fold pitch has taken a battering with the large amount of rain in Greater Manchester in recent months, leading to the postponement of several fixtures - and even playing their last fixture, a 1-0 loss to Worcester City, at Altrincham's Moss Lane ground.

So it was not surprising to see the surface was in a poor condition, somewhat reminiscent of a beach with large amounts of sand making up for the areas low on grass.

Telford made three changes from this past weekend's 2-1 loss at Brackley Town as Ben Bailey, Joel Dielna and Connor McCarthy replaced the injured Paul McCone, Luke Higham and Jon Royle - who was left out of the squad.

Meanwhile, top scorer Josh Wilson was among the substitutes following a spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Given the state of the pitch, some may have expected a slow start but the Bucks displayed their urgency from the outset, passing quickly and closing down well.

Most of the balls forward were aimed at McCarthy, aiming to use the Liverpudlian's pace against a very high Celtic backline. He had the ball in the net after 11 minutes too, but had not timed his run correctly and was flagged offside by the assistant referee.

Then came hoof after hoof for the next quarter-of-an-hour, with possession being surrendered time after time. Telford were on top but they needed to display more composure in order to break through the home side's defence.

They thought they had broken the deadlock, again, 32 minutes in as Lee Hughes tapped in from close range, but once again the assistant's flag was raised.

And although they were on top for most of the first period, the Bucks would have gone into the break a goal down had it not been for a crucial Callum Burton save.

Celtic striker James Roberts found space in the area in the 42nd minute, and his low drive was tipped wide by the Shrewsbury Town loanee. That stop was sure to have pleased Salop goalkeeping coach Danny Coyne, who was in attendance.

Ultimately, it was a pretty scrappy opening 45 minutes - as you may have expected given where both sides are in the league table.

What Telford could not do was let frustration creep in, they had to keep plugging away. And they got their reward for their continued endeavour in the 51st minute as Bailey escaped his marker to head home at the near post following Dielna's corner.

The Bucks almost doubled their advantage soon after too. Hughes out-muscled his marker and cut inside, but his left-footed strike rolled inches wide of the far post.

With Celtic managing to come up with very little going forward, Smith made a positive change as Wilson entered the fray in place of Zak Lilly in the 65th minute.

They stuck to their guns, kept on threatening and soon found breathing space as Marsden opened his Telford account.

The forward on loan from Stockport County, in the 77th minute, took a touch and smashed the ball into the bottom corner from around 10 yards out, following some fine work by McCarthy on the wing.

That proved to be McCarthy's final contribution as he went off for Dan Westwood a couple of minutes later. The substitute slotted home soon after coming on - but like McCarthy and Hughes before him - the flag had already been raised.

Telford have made a habit of shooting themselves in the foot in recent times and with five minutes left, they gave away a penalty. Burton, who was at fault as he clipped a Celtic forward, stood up to the task though, tipping Danny Pilkington's effort onto the post and wide.

Apart from an Eddie Jones booking, it was rather comfortable for the Bucks in the dying minutes that followed. There was elation and relief in equal measure at the final whistle. It may not have been pretty but it is a win - a huge one.

Teams:

Stalybridge: (4-3-3): Shenton; Morton, Regan (Mather, 14), Hughes (c), Wisdom; McKnight, Dunabr, Bakare (Deacon, 63); Ahmadi, Roberts (Pilkington, 71), Wilkins

Subs not used: Bishop, Gee

Telford (4-4-2): Burton; Samuels, Havern (c), Bailey, Dielna; Marsden, Jones, Fitzpatrick, Lilly (Wilson, 65); Hughes, McCarthy (Westwood, 79)

Subs not used: Cowan, Higham, Hodge

Referee: Richard Wild (Rochdale)

Attendance: 296