Steelmen beaten at home
AS the mist and fog swirled around Rockingham Triangle, the long-term prospects for this Blue Square North game were looking only slightly better than the Labour party's of staying in government beyond next summer.
The general consensus was that the game would start but would do well to finish.
As it was, 90 minutes were completed as planned as the fog actually lifted in the second half.
But how Corby must have wished it had stayed and got worse so they could call the game off and start again another day.
Once again, the Steelmen failed to win a midweek home game, so undoing the good work of an away win the weekend before.
Prior to the game, Corby boss Graham Drury had spoken of his side needing to sort out a blip in their home form but they rarely looked like doing so in this game.
The Steelmen suffered a pre-game blow when Chris Hope broke down in the warm-up and was replaced in the back four by Phil Watt.
Whether the late loss of the experienced Hope affected them or not, the Steelmen still looked ponderous and lethargic for much of the first half.
Telford took advantage and made the early running and both Lee Vaughan and Andy Brown passed up chances before it was third-time lucky for the Bucks on 25 minutes when defender Gavin Cowan rose to glance home Sean Evans' free-kick.
They nearly had a second six minutes later when Andre Gray's near-post flick eluded Mark Osborn and was hacked off the line by Watt.
The home side had offered little in the first half, save for a Leon Mettam volley over the bar and Steve Diggin drive wide.
Drury had started with the 4-3-3 formation that had worked well in the weekend win at Vauxhall Motors.
But they struggled to knit things together in the opening 45 minutes as Telford, with an extra man in the middle, clearly held the upper hand.
Drury responded to the situation by changing to 4-4-2 on the hour and sending on Joe Francis, Chris Shaw and Jason Lee in quick succession.
However, it made little difference as Corby often resorted to long balls that never gave their intended recipients a chance.
Corby's finishing was also below-standard, Diggin summing up the night when hit the corner flag with a cross-shot.
Telford's upper hand on the game became a firm grip on 75 minutes when Damien Reeves showed good strength to turn Phil Gulliver and fire into the roof of the net.
Corby did manage a consolation when Steve Towers netted from Diggin's cross.
But there was no hiding from the fact they were a comfortable second on the night.
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Weather for Kettering
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
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