ENTERTAINMENT has always been a wonderful by-product of Martin Gray’s management. In the main, it has meant us scoring goals galore, but from time to time it’s seen our players losing it. It doesn’t happen very often but when it does, the result almost always suffers and the pattern repeated itself on Saturday at Telford.

En route to Telford I was actually getting very nostalgic. Having previously lived in the East Midlands for over a decade, I’m well versed in using the criss-crossing routes around South Cheshire and Shropshire to get to the likes of Shrewsbury, Wrexham and Chester. After taking Google Maps’ advice to avoid the M6 around Stoke like the plague, I found myself in a past life where every route seems to head to Whitchurch.

Sticking to ‘A’ roads has a drastic effect on journey times, so it was of some relief when we finally rocked up to AFC Telford United’s wonderful New Bucks Head. What a ground. I’d not been before but I’d seen and read enough of it to know what to expect. They are very fortunate to have such a facility. Like many clubs that have gone a south in recent history, the local council having ownership of the ground appears to have worked out quite well for them.

After all the talk about the limited entry to the bar at Blackwell Meadows and away fans having not been allowed in a number of bars at clubs this season, it was refreshing to be warmly welcomed in to Telford’s small but adequate bar. That’s what football at this level is supposed to be about.

On the pitch wasn’t as pleasant. Let’s be honest, it wasn’t the greatest of performances. Yes, Mark Beck had a big chance. There were a few mutterings about whether our other strikers may have taken the chance, but let’s face it, it was only a chance for someone as big as Beck.

So, with the game heading for a pretty bland 0-0, Peter Jameson decided to add some drama. It was an aberration of the grandest scale. It cost us; especially with Telford having looked pretty blunt up front up until that point. Defeat snatched from the jaws of stalemate certainly made the onerous journey home feel like a commute from one end of the country to another. The mood in our car was not happy. A suitably contrite apology came from Jameson on Sunday via Twitter. We move on.

A bit of credit needs to be given to Telford. There’s a way to beat us despite being inferior and they achieved it. It worries me, as it has over the last few years, about how easy it is to wind up our players and management. A shoulder barge from their manager here, a challenge from the centre forward there. It seems to work a treat. Referees at this level aren’t great. We can’t rely on them to protect our players. With that in mind, at times, some thicker skin is required to deal with the treatment of opposing players. It’s about being professional. We lost our heads for ten minutes on Saturday and it cost us a second goal and the game.

Hopefully, we’ll put Saturday behind us and put in a good display this Sunday to get past Marine in the FA Trophy. It’s about time we turned around our poor cup form under Martin Gray and give ourselves a chance of getting through to a round where we could face National League sides. We can live in hope!