Men's 1st XI Vs Leek 1

Telford faced the scenic drive up to Leek on Saturday, a journey much smoother than their previous visit in 2020 through the floods. They were missing full back Vince Richardson, but were able to welcome back skipper Tom Gough after his week of revelry.

Telford started the game slowly, conceding a goal in the first few minutes. A calamity of errors (including a misplaced pass, a missed tackle and poor marking), culminated in keeper Neil Davies misjudging the Leek push pass/  shot and watching it go in at the far post. Telford were soon 2 down after Leek were awarded a penalty corner, which they dispatched with aplomb into the bottom left corner. This finally seemed to spur Telford on, and they built into the game, having a couple of near misses on the Leek goal. They got in the score sheet following a lovely move down their right, which  saw Tom Mallett play a ball across the D to Ollie Brannen, who finished calmly past the keeper. This should have spurred Telford on, but it was Leek who came back the stronger. They saw a shot well saved by a diving Davies and another cleared in front of the goal by the ever youthful Sunny Sahota. However, the pressure told when Telford gave the ball away in their 25, and while they were still protesting an earlier decision, the Leek player had time to stroll into the D, pick his spot, and strike the ball in off the inside of the far post.

A frustrated Telford went into half time 3-1 down, knowing that they had been complicit in at least 2 of the goals, but that they could fight back.

The second half saw Telford more dominant in possession and creating more opportunities. They limited Leek to only one chance in the half, with Chris 'Beefo' Heath marshalling the defence well. Unfortunately this chance did lead to a goal when a ball was played from the baseline to a free man a few yards out. Going 4-1 down spurred Telford on and they upped the pressure, which finally saw them get the goal they deserved. A clever Sam Pratt pass found Tom Mallett free on the should of the D, who fired a pinpoint shot, with his weaker open stick, off the post and in. At the point the match, which had always threatened to bubble over, became more physical, with both sides throwing in some robust challenge. However, it was only Telford who received any cards, with Noah Higginson seeing yellow after one such challenge. 

A 4-2 loss left Telford wondering why could have been and knowing that they are not yet safe in this league. A game next week against 2nd place Khalsa and their internationals, is followed by 3 big  games which will determine the outcome of the season.