YOUNG guns Jamie Smith and Andre Brown may have captured the headlines in midweek but this time it was City’s ‘Old Guard’ calling the shots as they eased to a 3-0 victory against National League North strugglers AFC Telford United.

Veteran duo Wayne Thomas and Deon Burton were among the goals for the home side and, with midfield maestro Danny Jackman putting in an outstanding display to orchestrate proceedings, the trio showed there’s still a place for an old head.

With around 1,000 Football League appearances between them, they have seen it all before and probably have a stash of T-shirts to prove it.

But while the scoreline suggests a convincing home win, there was little in this game until the break when, in the face of adversity, Worcester rose to the challenge.

Defenders Tyler Weir and Tom Sharpe had picked up first-half injuries prompting a double substitution, but it was a move that appeared to galvanise the Blue and Whites.

There had been chances before the break with both sides having the opportunity to take the lead.

For City, Dan Nti was denied by Telford keeper James Montgomery at the foot of the post after a neat passing move with Sam Minihan down the right.

That came after just seven minutes and four minutes later Lucas Dawson went closer still for the visitors when his deflected shot hit the crossbar with home keeper Nathan Vaughan wrong-footed.

Ashley Vincent also had a decent effort for Worcester, a 30-yard shot that flew just the wrong side of the post.

But the presence of Thomas and the pace of fellow substitute Tristian Dunkley gave fresh impetus to City after the break.

It was fitting that it was Thomas who scored the opener on 61 minutes, latching on to a Vincent corner and looping a header back across goal and just inside the far post.

The former Stoke City and Southampton defender was also involved in his side’s second nine minutes later, making a nuisance of himself in front of the Telford wall as skipper Ellis Deeney curled a sublime free-kick beyond the unsighted Montgomery.

By this point it was one-way traffic with the visitors unable to match their first-half effort.

Alex Gudger, who put in another fine defensive display, had a header blocked on the line, while Sean Geddes had a free-kick pushed away by the Telford keeper.

The highlight of a bleak second half for the visitors came when substitute Callum Hassan sneaked in behind the City defence but his shot lacked power and Vaughan was able to hoof it clear.

With five minutes to go, 39-year-old Deon Burton provided a classy finish to round things off, collecting the ball from Jackman and then dispatching a delightful shot into the bottom right-hand corner from 20 yards.

Back-to-back wins have now lifted Worcester up to 15th and mid-table going into their FA Trophy trip to Brackley Town on Saturday.