The Tulips fell to a fourth consecutive away loss at the hands of AFC Telford United on Saturday. An early strike from Dion Sembie-Ferris proved too little for the Tulips, as first-half goals from Louis Moult and Oliver Cawthorne earned the Bucks all three points.

Alfie Bendle got proceedings underway as Spalding looked to make a quick start in Shropshire...

...And that they did, with Dion Sembie-Ferris tucking the ball home inside 3 minutes following a battle from a long throw in.

Remi Walker then glided past a handful of Spalding players before unleashing a shot that drifted just wide of the upright. He continued to be a nuisance for Kelly as he cut inside onto his left foot, but his effort flew wide once more.

Then, on 17 minutes, the Bucks found an equaliser through in-form Louis Moult, who tapped the ball past Crook for one apiece.

However, the Tulips seemed to respond well to the setback, with Joseph Nyahwema’s attempt being blocked well by the last line of defence.

Peter Crook was called into action shortly after, as Michael Gyasi danced past a sea of yellow shirts before being halted by the alert shot stopper.

In the 40th minute, Oliver Cawthorne was picked out in the box, and he slotted his shot low into the back of the net for 2-1.

So, at the break, the Tulips trailed which had to change if we were to pick up any points on the road.

A quiet start to the second half followed with neither side producing any clear-cut chances, apart from a cross into the box that led to a foul on Hall.

Remi Walker went close to scoring for a third time in the match as his curled effort fell the wrong side of the post.

The Tulips then made a double substitution, with Ejiro Abbey replacing Alfie Bendle and Shane Byrne making way for Maniche Sani. These changes highlighted an initiative to bring more direct attacking threat into the mix as we tried to level the tie.

Dan Jarvis went close in the 74th minute after a flurry of chances fell in Spalding’s favour, but his shot lacked precision as it flew well wide.

We continued to knock on the door in the last ten minutes as the hosts attempted to sustain their goal advantage: a wonderful block off the line denied a desperate attempt at goal from the Tulips.

Both Ashton Fox and Rohan Vaughan entered the field, but as the minutes ticked down, Spalding found it difficult to damage a resistant Bucks back line.

A disappointing result ensued as we couldn’t quite find the finish to rescue a point in Telford.

FT: AFC Telford United 2-1 Spalding United

Starting XI: P. Crook, M. Kelly, L. Moore (C), C. Johnson, A. Bendle, D. Barton, D. Jarvis, S. Byrne, S. Straughan-Brown, D. Sembie-Ferris, J. Nyahwema

Written by Zakk Symonds