00:00Myself and Dan here at the New Book's Head after AFC Telford United got through to the
00:06Southern Central Premier League playoff final with their 3-2 victory over Hale Zoe in town.
00:11It was quite the game, wasn't it?
00:13Just a bit, just a bit. My heart rate's only just returned back to normal, yeah.
00:17I mean, it's always been tight between Hale Zoe and Telford this season and for large parts
00:22I think it was more open than many expected, definitely at the beginning.
00:26But, yeah, they came through in the end, which I guess is all that matters in playoffs.
00:31But, goodness me, they made hard work of it at times, didn't they?
00:34Yeah, it was, I mean, I must admit I've watched some pretty dull football over the course of the last nine months or so.
00:40But, you know, the opening half an hour, 45 minutes here was incredibly exciting, wasn't it?
00:45There were chances galore. It could have been 3-3 after 20 minutes, wasn't it?
00:49In the end, it was Hale Zoe that took the lead. What did you make of the start of the game?
00:53Yeah, I mean, like you say, there were chances at both ends, weren't there?
00:57I think Kieran Donnelly could have...
00:59A hat-trick goal, yeah.
01:00Yeah, the goal that he scored probably should have been his hat-trick goal, yeah.
01:03And equally at the other end, Matty Stenson, it really was a battle of the top scorers, really.
01:07I mean, Donnelly with those couple of chances, I think one was off the post,
01:12maybe Brandon Hall save as well. We'll give him a bit of credit for it.
01:15And then Matty Stenson, yeah, I mean, they've both been so reliable.
01:19And it was Donnelly, obviously, who opened the score.
01:22Probably Telford will look at it and go, you know, could we have done better?
01:26Probably, yes, first contact on a corner.
01:29Which I know Kev Wilkin is always, you know, always big on making sure that they win those.
01:33And they didn't today.
01:35And, you know, we spoke before, didn't we, about the sort of physicality of Telford.
01:38And it looked like Hale's Owen had a bit more of it at that corner.
01:42And, yeah, ultimately, they opened the score and arguably deserved based on, you know,
01:47they've just grown into the game a bit more, weren't they?
01:50Yeah, of course, there were three goals, two goals in space of, you know,
01:54a couple of first half minutes that kind of flipped the tie on its head, didn't it?
01:57From looking like, Telford, we're going to go in trailing to leading.
02:02So, it kind of almost, it probably came out of the blue a little bit, would you say?
02:06It didn't really look like they were going to score.
02:08But then suddenly, you know, they got the fans onside.
02:11And, you know, the atmosphere was really good in here this evening.
02:14So, you know, those goals just before half-time, really key, weren't they,
02:18to kind of changing the complexion of the game?
02:20Absolutely, yeah.
02:21And, you know, I'll just ask Kevin Wilkin about that.
02:23And he, you know, he said that it was a bit flat.
02:25And he was quite disappointed with how his side reacted after the opening goal for Hale's Owen.
02:30But, yeah, they hit back just, I guess, at the perfect time, isn't it?
02:35Dylan and Alan Hadley with a lovely finish.
02:38And I think that's three and four for him now, which is, you know,
02:40hitting format the perfect time.
02:42And it was a lovely goal just to, like you say, just get a bit of atmosphere back in place.
02:46Because at the start of the game, you know, Hale's Owen had brought, I think, nearly 800 fans.
02:50So, it was a nice bit of back and forth.
02:52And it was really buzzing.
02:53And after that first goal, it was a bit flat around us, wasn't it?
02:57And then, yeah, Alan Hadley with the equaliser.
03:00And then, you know, by the time I put a tweet out, Oren Penley had put it two on.
03:04And it went bonkers in here, yeah.
03:07Yeah, didn't it?
03:08It was, I mean, they always say a goal before half-time is a lovely time to score two of them.
03:13It's pretty special.
03:14The dream, yeah.
03:14Well, the second half was kind of, if the first half started really quickly, the second half didn't.
03:20It kind of came out of nowhere where Hale's Owen equalised.
03:23The substitute, Charlie Ragg, came on and scored a header.
03:25And then that man, Matty Stenson, capitalised on a mistake.
03:30Probably on the balance of play in the second half.
03:32I mean, I personally felt as though that Telford were probably just slightly edged the second half.
03:38And they go through, which is obviously the most important thing.
03:42Absolutely, yeah.
03:42And like you say, you mentioned him there, Matty Stenson wasn't going to go quietly after those missed chances,
03:47which, you know, he's scored 32 goals this season.
03:50That's nothing to be sniffed at.
03:53But today, especially in that first half, it felt like it wasn't his day.
03:56I mean, he's missed one from no more than four yards, really.
03:59But ultimately, I guess the sign of a good goal scorer, isn't it?
04:02Is, you know, you don't let those ones affect you.
04:04And he's snuck in there.
04:06A bit of a defensive error, which, especially at that end of the pitch, seemed to be a bit of a theme, didn't it?
04:11There were Telford players slipping around in the first half.
04:13And then Stenson, again, ole, ole, as the fans always say.
04:17Indeed.
04:17Yeah, lovely for him.
04:19And I guess, you know, that's why you've got a 30-goal season striker in your team.
04:24You're always going to rely on him in those moments.
04:26And a trip to Kettering, it looks like now, on Monday.
04:29Yeah.
04:29Are you going?
04:30I will be.
04:31You will be going.
04:31Yes.
04:32So, yeah, looking forward to that.
04:33I did the away game in the league and it's pretty brutal for away media.
04:37So, I'm not looking forward to plugging my laptop into a plug socket out of the stand.
04:41We'll go with it.
04:43Yeah.
04:43And what are Telford going to be expecting then from Kettering on Monday?
04:48A fast start, definitely.
04:49I think Kettering are a side that will look to, not too dissimilar to Hayles Owen, win that sort of physical battle against them.
04:57And, yeah, they'll obviously be buzzing in front of their home fans.
05:01But Telford will always bring a big following.
05:03And I guess, well, I was going to say today the first goal was crucial, but obviously Hayles Owen got it and didn't win.
05:09But I think at Kettering, I can't see it being anywhere near as open as it was today.
05:14And, yeah, the first goal will feel crucial.
05:16Last time they played at Kettering, Telford got it and was, you know, broken hearts in their 96th minute, I think.
05:24And they missed a hell of a lot of chances in their second half.
05:27So I think the message from Code Wilkin will be, you know, we know that we can outplay them at their place because we did it a matter of months ago.
05:34But be more clinical and there's nothing to fear for Telford, absolutely nothing.
05:38Well, it looks like Dan is off to Kettering on Monday.
05:42So all the reaction and the action will be there via Shropshirestar.com.
