Stratford Town 1, Ludlow Town 2

TOWN'S promotion chances suffered a severe setback following another unexpected defeat last Saturday, writes Mick Clewes.

Match statistics tell the story with Stratford having no fewer than 23attempts on goal compared to the visitors six, with 16of them coming in a one- sided first half.

They had to settle for a single goal from Tony Robinson when he headed in Marcus Hamill's cross on 28 minutes.

Hamill was a late inclusion in the side after Tommy Byrne pulled a muscle during the warm-up and he created several openings in the first half.

Gez Carr gave a commanding performance at the back and caused problems for Ludlow at set-pieces, having a point-blank header saved and then thundering a 25-yarder just over the bar.

The Stratford skipper almost set up a goal for James Wood with a superb headed pass but his header cannoned off the bar.

The hosts were rocked five minutes before the break when Ludlow equalised against the run of play when Kevin Thompson headed home.

The injured Hamill was replaced by Michael Stephenson in the second half but Town never got into gear and they conceded a second from another set-piece after 74 minutes when Charlie Blakemore converted.

Michael Moore and Steve Fergusson were introduced into the fray as Stratford staged a late onslaught in an attempt to salvage a point.

Robinson almost equalised and, in a frenetic finale, Fergusson, John Halford, and Moore all had shots on goal blocked before Darroch hit the bar in the final minute.