The Bucks twice came from behind to take a well-deserved point away from Radcliffe.

Match highlights

Match report

The Bucks took a little while to get into the game, as the hosts controlled the opening exchanges. The first real chance of the game came on ten minutes, when a well-worked Radcliffe corner routine saw Josh Gracey turn away Brad Roscoe’s effort before the Lois Maynard fired the rebound into the side netting.

Kevin Wilkin’s men grew into the game as the half wore on though, with Ricardo Dinanga in particular causing Boro a few problems. But after a ball in from Dinanga was snuffed out by the Radcliffe defence, Boro swiftly broke down the other end and won a penalty. The were strong appeals from the Bucks for offside as David Ball raced towards goal, but play continued with Oliver Cawthorne putting in a strong tackle on the Boro man that the referee deemed to be a foul, much to the consternation of Telford defender. Dan Gardner stepped up and hit his penalty down the middle to make it 1-0 in the 23rd minute.

The game then became a fairly even affair, but the Bucks were growing into the half. Wilkin’s men nearly found an equaliser in the 36th minute; Mateusz Hewelt producing an outstanding stop to keep out Charlie Williams’ freekick as it arced toward the top corner. And Hewelt made another good stop a few minutes later to keep out Ammar Dyer’s driven effort.

Shortly before half time, the Bucks thought they had won a penalty when Jordan Piggott went down in the box, but referee Scott Henry adjudged it to be simulation by Piggott, which the Bucks defender seemed to accept. 1-0 to Radcliffe at half time.

The Bucks made a good start after the break, but both sides were creating chances. The Bucks fired some dangerous crosses into the box but couldn’t connect, while at the other end Anthony Dudley missed a good chance to double the Boro lead when well-placed.

Having had a very brief run out against Oxford on Tuesday, Dylan Allen-Hadley was introduced on 59 minutes. And the winger’s injury woes look to be well and truly behind him as he brought the Bucks level just three minutes after his introduction. There didn’t seem to be much threat initially, but as loose ball was played back to Hewelt, Allen-Hadley nipped in to pinch the ball and slot home to make it 1-1.

But parity lasted for only ten minutes, as Boro took the lead with a goal out of nothing. A quick ball forward caught the Bucks out and found Ball in time and space, and the Radcliffe forward found the net with a fine chip over Gracey. A good goal from a Radcliffe point of view, but one that felt very preventable for those of a Telford persuasion.

Wilkin’s men found an equaliser much more quickly this time. In the 80th minute, Remi Walker’s ball in from the right found Matty Stenson who stroked home a sumptious right-footed volley back across Hewelt and into the back of the net.

As the game moved into added time, Ola Lawal had a glorious chance to give the Bucks the lead, but he could only poke wide when through on Hewelt one-on-one. Moments later, the Bucks were down to ten men. Cawthorne, who had just been warned by Mr Henry, tangled with Ball and was duly shown a second yellow card, having already been booked for the challenge that led to the Radcliffe penalty.

The ten men of Telford hung on for the final few minutes, as the game finished 2-2.

Match reaction