Match Preview | AFC Telford United (H)

Halesowen face off in a huge play-off contention clash against an on the road out of form Telford

Written by Ben Ditchfield

The Yeltz face a 14 match unbeaten Telford United just 48 hours after a tiring 360 mile round trip to the East Coast and back hoping to extend their eight match unbeaten home run and streak of just one home loss in 14 stretching back to September.

This is the just the fifth meeting between the two since The Bucks were founded as AFC Telford United back in 2004. The Yeltz have won just once, a 4-2 away win in the first ever meeting in 2006. We have since gone winless in the last three against The Bucks without scoring, a 0-0 away draw in August 2023, a 2-0 home defeat in December 2023, and a 2-0 away defeat last December. In fact, since 1969 and against the newest AFC Telford United and former Telford United who folded in 2004, the Yeltz have won just twice in the nine fixtures, both away wins. The astonishing number of blanks against the newest iteration of Telford, has meant just one Yeltz player, Matt Lewis, has scored in the fixture.

I spoke to Yeltz boss Russ Penn to get his thoughts on the huge clash. "We enter the final two games under some great form, which has happened because we have picked up 29 points in 2025. The one downside to recent games is our lack of goals. We are creating chances and putting opponents on the backfoot, but we have not taken them. It applies to everyone in the team, and every on the pitch scenario, whether it is set pieces, defenders in the box, second phases or counter attacks. We had some guilt edged chances in huge and close games recently, the one against Harborough with Donnelly in the last minute, Mini Manning against St Ives in the first 10, and against Barwell where we hit the post, bar, and had a shot cleared off the line.

"The support of our amazing fans has certainly helped especially in games where we have got over the line. But even games where we have struggled, most recently with the 1,241 in attendance for the Barwell game. The fans are our 12th man and are a massive reason as to why we have lost so little here. The fans are a major part of us. It makes every player in the league want to play here and lift their game while on our pitch. My favourite moment at The Grove this season was the number 9 derby against Stourbridge. It was big crowd, and even though we did not turn up in the first half, we did in the second, and it made for an extremely memorable day that I will remember for the rest of my time here, and my life.”

The Yeltz boss also spoke on Dan Platt, and the recent performances of Josh Smile. “Dan is fantastic, he is club captain for a reason. He has been here for years and has been an ever present since I joined the club. I loved his consistency and form this season. We try and help him out by trying to limit our opponents’ chances to force him into action, but when he is he deals with it well. Dan has experience, and that is more valuable than anything else. He is huge for us behind the scenes, what he says to the lads is educational and realistic, and that is why he is so high up the leaders list. I do not like my captains to wear the armband on the pitch, but that does not mean you cannot help off it, and in the dressing room. What I will say about him, is that he is a true professional, works hard, looks the part, and has contributed to a crucial 13 clean sheets in the league this season.

"Josh, on the other hand, is not the most vocal player, but goes about his business effectively and quietly. He comes into training and is always one of the best on the training pitch. He has played football at a much higher level than this, and it shows. Goals and man of the match awards are not things he gets often, but when we do not have him in the side, it shows, and he for me is right up there for player of the season. Josh has played a massive part in the last nine months. He has never played this many games in one season in his career due to injury, so I think we have managed him well, which is why he has been so consistent. I cannot remember him missing a game, one or two over Christmas but other than that he has played every game. We tried to sign him in the off season, which did not work out. The Reece Flanagan issue meant we signed him six weeks later, and since he has been fantastic, raised the standards, and helped push the club in the right direction.”

On our opponents Penn stated, “It is very tough to keep a good striker quiet, and Telford have one themselves with Matty Stenson. We must manage him because we have seen for ourselves how hard it is for teams to keep someone like Kieren Donnelly quiet for 90 minutes, and Stenson will be no different. We need to keep him as far away from goal as possible because that is the easiest way to cause us problems. I know Matt very well because I signed him on loan at Kiddie from Halifax. He was fantastic for me and can pose numerous challenges. Matt is the best striker in the league in my opinion, and will no doubt get at least one chance against us on Monday. I have played against their boss Kevin before I joined here, when I was at Kiddie and he was at Brackley. His teams are always organised, strong and consistent. I know all of Telford’s midfielders, they are incredibly good for the level, but like I say we are good at home. I know the number of tickets we have sold, and what to expect from Telford on Monday, so we are ready.”

Our opponents have two former Yeltz players in their ranks. Rhys Hilton who featured in just seven games for the club last season after a move from Sutton Coldfield Town, and most fondly known of the two, Jordan Piggott, who featured 35 times, one of which in our historic game against Barnet in the 2019/20 season. The Bucks very often score first, only Stamford with 66% have a higher scored first percentage than Telford's 60%. This is mirrored by the fact they score more than anyone else in the first 45 of games this season, with 40 goals. Telford's purple patch in games come in the 15 minute plus stoppage period before full-time. No other team in the league have scored more goals after the 75th minute than Telford's 23. But The Bucks are also vulnerable in that period, as only six sides have conceded more times after the 75th minute than Telford's 16 goals. A much more positive outcome for our visitors is that no other side have picked up more points from losing positions than Telford's 22.

Key Seasonal Stats

Halesowen

League Position - 4th

Season Record - PL45 23W 9D 13L 73GS 50GC

Form (Last 5 Games) - WDDDW

Top Scorer - Kieren Donnelly (26 Goals)

Most Appearances - Todd Parker, Jak Hickman & Ben Cassidy (44)

Most Starts - Conor Tee & Dan Platt (42)

Biggest League Win - 5-0 vs Lowestoft Town & Barwell (Away - 5th November & 14th December)

Biggest League Defeat - 4-0 vs Hitchin Town (Home - 21st September)

Longest Unbeaten Run - 11 Games (15th February - present)

Longest Winless Run - 3 Games (3 Times)