AFC Telford analysis: Kevin Wilkin’s side show character when it mattered most

However, by 5.00 pm, Kevin Wilkin’s side had emerged from the shadow

cast by the young midfielder’s dismissal to remain firmly in the race for promotion.

On a weekend when the clocks went forward to British Summertime, the amount of daylight

between teams in the Premier Central division of the Southern League was never likely to

increase by much, given how little there is to choose between the top six or seven teams.

With several of them in direct opposition, it was imperative that the Bucks weren’t blinded

by what was happening around them and focused on themselves. They had to show a lot of

character following Hawkins’ red card; however, a devastating spell of three goals in eight

minutes illuminated this game, with Jordan Cranston, Ola Lawal, and Jimmy Armson

ensuring it was lights out for visitors Barwell.

Wilkin made just one change to his starting eleven, with Armson, introduced to the game to

considerable effect at Kettering seven days earlier, given the nod over the unlucky Max

Brogan. Armson has been there and done it at this level and higher, and his additional

know-how likely won him a starting berth.

Barwell defeated the Bucks in one of their poorest displays of the season, a Monday night

loss in September by two goals to nil, bookended by two goals from captain Brady Hickey.

The visitors’ skipper was to be one of the central figures again as his team arrived in search

of points to extend the gap between themselves and the relegation places.

The most notable occurrence of the early stages was an unscheduled interval whilst the

Bucks’ club staff resolved an issue with one of the sprinklers used to irrigate the pitch.

Having got it to lie down, the Bucks then set about getting Barwell to do the same, but if

anything, the Leicestershire side had slightly the better of things.

Barwell won a series of corners and free-kicks with which to test the Bucks. They failed to

exploit them fully, and keeper Brandon Hall either dealt with the threat or watched as it

passed harmlessly.

It felt like the Bucks might be in for another afternoon where the result would trump the

performance. There were undoubtedly no precursors for what was to happen in the twenty-

fifth minute when Hawkins’ afternoon came to a premature end.

The game was being played at no great pace when Hawkins attempted to win the ball in a

challenge with Hickey in midfield, and it would be uncharitable to suggest malice, too.

Hawkins misjudged and got it wrong, going in with his foot raised, studs up, and catching

Hickey around his midriff.

It was definitely a yellow card, and when referee Jack Lambert marched over and reached

for his top pocket, the Bucks knew it would be an even worse outcome. Hawkins looked

shocked as the red card was shown, but the lack of any prolonged argument from him or his

colleagues was telling. Some of the home crowd felt Hickey had made the most of it and

 made him the pantomime villain for a while, but the response mainly was an unease that

the much-needed victory was now in the balance.

With more than an hour left to play, Barwell felt that if they were patient, the chances

would come, and the Bucks showed more energy than the Canaries. Cranston made a

forward foray but couldn’t find Matty Stenson, although a dangerous return ball from the

opposite flank won a corner. Armson steered a header comfortably into the arms of keeper

Will Highland from the flag-kick.

Jahdahn Fridye-Harper, playing against his former team for the first time since his February

signing, cut out a dangerous ball to set Armson forward, and he linked with Stenson for the

striker to maraud forwards and win another corner. After the initial kick from Remi Walker

brought an unsuccessful penalty claim from Stenson, Armson produced a lovely moment;

with his back to the goal, he lifted the ball up and then over his head and swivelled to strike

the dropping ball at goal. It lacked the power to beat Highland but was an indicator of the

kind of trickery Armson is capable of.

The half's closing minutes saw the crowd become increasingly irritated by referee Lambert.

Walker went tumbling in the penalty area but drew no foul, and Stenson’s censure for a foul

on Ryan Hayes to give Barwell a good free-kick opportunity drew further derision for the

official.

The Bucks could be pleased with their response to Hawkins’s dismissal, but the league

standings meant they couldn’t content themselves with seeing out the game for a point.

The second half was barely three minutes old when the task was almost made that much

harder. Barwell’s Prince Mancinelli slipped past a tackle into the box and fed former Buck

Kane Richards; he fired a bending, angled shot goalwards, and with Hall beaten, Cranston

ducked in to direct the ball off the line with his head.

That was the best the visitors mustered for some considerable time as the Bucks began to

exert themselves slowly, although it took them a while to gain momentum.

Piggott was halted on a run towards the Barwell box that brought a free-kick, and Mancinelli

collected the game’s only yellow card for a similar foul at a similar range, around 35 yards

from the goal. Neither opportunity brought a threat to Highland’s goal.

With a little over an hour played, the numerical disadvantage wasn’t evident, but there soon

followed a moment that changed the momentum decisively. Another Piggott advance down

the middle looked to have hit the buffers as Barwell’s defensive line held along the edge of

the box, but the defender showed some ‘never say die’ spirit to keep going as the ball spun

loose. Piggott appeared to get to the ball a split-second ahead of Highland, and the keeper’s

challenge sent Piggott crashing. The home crowd, players and management all leapt to their

feet, but there was to be no penalty, and the Bucks were furious.

AFC Telford United 3-0 Barwell FC by Rich Worton

The incident sparked some confrontations on the touchline, with claims and counterclaims

followed by shoving and a breakdown of order. The game halted, and the officials calmed

matters, but the Bucks’ dander was up, and it was to make all the difference.

Orrin Pendley rose to head a Cranston corner narrowly over the bar, and Lawal did likewise

from open play soon after, neither able to control their efforts. Highland sensed the

momentum shift, and a request for attention from the physio, ostensibly to slow the game

down, provided only temporary respite.

Fridye-Harper sliced a shot goalwards from a Pendley knock-back following a corner, and

Highland opted for safety and turned the ball over. The pressure grew, and Cranston

switched to the right side to strike an inswinging corner with his left foot. His initial effort

was cleared back to him; Barwell tried to shut him down, but Cranston created enough

room to strike a curling left-footed cross that evaded everyone, Highland included, as it

swung in and crept into the far corner of the net on the first bounce.

Pandemonium ensued. The injustice of the Piggott penalty call had stoked the Bucks’ fire,

and their impassioned response had brought a reward.

Within two minutes, the heightened emotions brought a second goal. Running on the

adrenaline provided by Cranston’s goal, the Bucks capitalised when a Barwell short corner

routine fell apart to give them possession. Stenson, all pumping limbs and determination,

galloped from his half with the ball and kept going and going until he was in the Barwell

penalty area. The striker unselfishly tried to square the ball for Remi Walker in support; he

couldn’t finish, but the ball ran across the goal, and Lawal, another who had shown a hunger

to join the moment, gleefully tapped in across the line at the far post.

The first goal brought bedlam, but the emotions were possibly even more raw for Lawal’s

first goal for the club, and within no time at all, the Bucks added a third.

Stenson, usually the scorer, had spurned a one-on-one chance, saved by keeper Highland,

but was the provider once again. Perhaps eager to add his customary goal, he chased into

the Barwell penalty area, kept the ball in play when it appeared lost and tried to work a

shooting opportunity. Barwell hurriedly halted him, but the ball ran loose into the path of

Armson, whose timing was impeccable and allowed him to despatch the ball into a largely

unprotected net.

The drama of that period has rarely been matched this season at the SEAH Stadium,

although was reminiscent of a spell of four goals in ten minutes that blew away league

leaders Bedford in January.

Leroy Lita, the former Premier League striker, now aged forty, made a late appearance for

the visitors; though he knocked on the door in injury time, Pendley kept it closed with a

near-post block to maintain his team’s clean sheet.

Barwell’s sloppiness and lack of drive had nullified their numerical superiority, and the

Bucks’ greater desire had won the day.

AFC Telford United 3-0 Barwell FC by Rich Worton

With five games remaining, the Bucks still have much to do if they are to have their day in

the sun, but the light and heat they generated in response to adversity suggested brighter

days to come.