Danny Carey-Bertram was sporting the biggest smile in Shropshire as he ended his goal drought in spectacular fashion.
Last season’s top scorer has barely been able to buy a goal this term, but he filled his boots on Tuesday night with a fabulous four in a comfortable 5-1 home win over struggling Vauxhall Motors.
It was just what the doctor ordered for AFC Telford United and their under-pressure management duo of Rob Smith and Larry Chambers.
True, Vauxhall Motors were not much cop and they allbut handed Carey-Bertram three of his goals on a plate. But he still had to be in the right place at the right time to put them away, and he did so with unerring accuracy.
Add a 10th of the season for Andy Brown and it all adds up toamemorable night for the Bucks as they called a halt to a run of three consecutive defeats. Not that it was all plain sailing. Indeed, Vauxhall Motors – bottom of the Blue Square North and without a league win since October – could have gone ahead.
They looked set to do just that when Tom Grice released skipper Josh Wilson, who rounded keeper Ryan Young but then fired tamely into the side netting.
It was a lucky escape for Telford and the good fortune kept coming as they then took the lead as Carey- Bertram’s speculative long range strike took a wicked deflection off defender Tom Hannigan and looped over keeper James Coates.
“I was quite far out and I thought I’d just have a go, if you don’t shoot you don’t score,” said the former Hereford marksman.
“Luckily the deflection took it in, but I’ve no problem with that.”
The lead lasted just five minutes Wilson levelled.
Yet Carey-Bertram soon had the Bucks back in front after Sean Newton’s freekick somehow squeezed through the defensive wall.
A re-shuffle at the interval, with Stuart Whitehead replacing Carl Rodgers to shore up the defence, just helped Telford take a firmer grip on the game, and the goals continued to flow.
It was three as Thompson crossed for Carey-Bertram to complete his hat-trick just short of the hour.
Brown then got in the act with the fourth as the impressive Thompson picked him out to his left and the top goalscorer duly swept the ball home to take his tally in trouble figures.
Substitute Jon Adams played the pass for the fifth, centre-back Gareth Evans made a feeble attempt to clear which only succeeded in playing Carey-Bertram in, and he was not about to refuse the gift.
There could have been more late on – Brown denied by Brian Moogan’s goal line clearance off the line before sub Damian Reeves also went close.
