WORCESTER City’s refusal to “crumble” when the going gets tough is a “rare” quality to have, according to Cieron Keane.

The left midfielder hailed City’s “unbelievable” team spirit after they claimed a last-gasp 2-1 win over AFC Telford United.

After going ahead to an early Lee Hughes goal, Worcester came under heavy pressure at the Victoria Ground.

Telford deservedly levelled on 77 minutes when Luca Havern headed in from a corner.

But the hosts claimed all three points as Colby Bishop struck deep into stoppage-time.

Keane felt their dramatic victory in National League North highlighted the culture being created at Worcester under manager Carl Heeley and assistant boss John Snape.

“The spirit in the team is unbelievable here,” said the 20-year-old, who has scored five goals in 18 appearances.

“We never give up right until the final whistle and that’s just the way the gaffer (Heeley) and Snapper (Snape) have formed us as a team.

“We keep going and, when it’s not going well, everyone digs in together.

“It’s not about individuals. It is a team effort, which is really good.”

Last season, Keane was part of a Nuneaton Town side who narrowly missed a place in the play-offs.

However, the former Notts County youngster admitted Boro did not have the type of character City have.

“What we have here is really rare,” he said.

“From my experience last season at Nuneaton, we had a really good bunch of lads.

“But, when it came down to the nitty-gritty bits of the game where we had to dig in, tackle and defend as a team, that’s when we crumbled.

“We could pass teams off the park but, when it wasn’t going their way, they didn’t know how to change the team.”

After joining City in the summer, Keane suffered the disappointment of five defeats in his first seven games as they slumped to the foot of the table.

But he believes the poor start has helped them “in the long run” as 12th-placed City look ahead to a trip to Salford City on Saturday (3pm).

“We came close against Harrogate in the first game of the season but after that it was mistake after mistake and we were losing,” Keane said.

“But I think losing those games and knowing we should have got a point or even three has sunk into the heads of every single player, especially the young lads.

“A lot of young lads don’t want to do all the running and the digging in. They want to do the pretty side of the game and just get their name in the headlines with goals and assists.

“But they all want to defend here and everyone wants to run and work for the team, which is a really good thing to have.”