Telford fell to a disappointing 1-0 defeat on a soggy Saturday in Alfreton.

Both sides made cautious starts to the game, and there wasn’t much to write home about during the opening quarter. The game started to come to life in the 23rd minute though, when the Reds forced Josh Gracey into a fantastic double save. The Bucks’ Wolves loanee did wonderfully well to first deny Jed Abbey and then Lewis Salmon, at least one of whom really should have found the net.

The Bucks then started to grow more into the game. A Jordan Cranston corner wasn’t dealt with by the Town defence, and the ball broke to Orrin Pendley, who fired just wide of George Willis’s right post. Then, a few minutes later, Willis made a good save to deny Rhys Hilton, after some good link up play with Dylan Allen-Hadley.

Kevin Wilkin’s men were perhaps just about shading things, but the Reds won a penalty right on half time when Gracey was adjudged to have impeded Abbey on the edge of the area. Austin Samuels confidently stepped up to give Alfreton a 1-0 lead at the break.

The Bucks started the second half well as they searched for a leveller. First, Hilton cut inside and stung the palms of Willis, before Ammar Dyer flashed a cross-shot across goal soon after.

Wilkin’s men were on top, but couldn’t that all elusive goal. The Bucks didn’t create a host of chances, but were firing in a number of dangerous balls into the box, with Dyer in particular causing Alfreton problems. The Reds were just about standing firm, and they managed to survive a strong shout for a Telford penalty when Remi Walker seemed to have been scythed down by a fairly crude challenge.

In the eight minutes of added time, Matty Stenson hit a shot over the bar shortly before Alex Fletcher did likewise with a header. Right at the death, Stenson turned outside his defender and fired in a fierce shot, but Alfreton hurled bodies in front of the ball and kept the Bucks at bay.

The Bucks didn’t play badly, and certainly didn’t deserve to lose the game, but Wilkin’s men lacked a cutting edge in the tricky conditions in Derbyshire. The 1-0 defeat leaves the Bucks still searching for a first away win of the season.