AFC Telford boss Gavin Cowan full of praise for Darlington

The Bucks recovered from an early Will Hatfield goal to level through Marcus Dinanga’s sixth goal in six games, but the visitors bossed the second half, notching a winner just before the hour through Adam Campbell, and Cowan had to concede that the Quakers were worthy winners:

“Darlington are a good side. The first forty-five minutes were relatively even, but they gathered a bit of momentum, got the goal and we were just not at the races, they were excellent today. That’s difficult for me to say, it’s a dent to my pride, but sometimes you just have to show a bit of honesty and accept that they had the better day. The truth is that we couldn’t cope with them.”

“I can’t fault the players endeavour; they gave it everything but Darlington were excellent and we couldn’t get near them. I don’t want to keep reiterating that, because it’s a bit of a kick in the teeth for me, to feel that my team were second best, but sometimes you have to hold your hands up and accept that you were outclassed.”

With the Bucks trailing, some home fans expressed their dissatisfaction at the substitution of Ryan Barnett, a decision defended by Cowan:

“I know supporters were very disappointed today that I took Ryan Barnett off the pitch, but I can’t keep him on just because he’s a local, popular lad. He hadn’t touched the ball for twenty minutes. We need more consistency, as a team and as individuals. That’s not just from Barney, although he’s the example I’ve used. He was electric in the first half, but in the second half we couldn’t get the ball to him, the left-back gets his number, and that happened all over the pitch.”

The result leaves the Bucks in 14th place in National League North, and have nine games remaining in a season which looks set for a mid-table finish, and they gave a debut to goalkeeper Russ Griffiths, signed on loan from league rival Chester, of whom Cowan said:

“He’s probably what we needed, a goalkeeper who is seasoned and understands the level. It was difficult for him today, but I’m happy with the signing.”