STOURPORT Swifts suffered a 3-2 defeat at Stratford Town in the Midland Football Alliance.

Rod Brown's side were denied by home keeper Warren Ayres who produced a string of excellent saves to keep Swifts at bay.

Goals from Pete McBean and Adie Fitzhugh in the opening five minutes shook Swifts but a Jan Mulders header on 39 minutes put them back in the game.

Ayres, who had denied Jamie Hart and Lee Booth with excellent saves before the break, pulled off a dazzling stop to tip Lea Shaw's 35-yard screamer onto the crossbar on the hour.

Hart should have levelled moments later, rounding the keeper only to fire over an empty goal, but it was all square on 68 minutes when Adrian Cooper scrambled the ball home after Booth's long-range effort had hit the bar. Swifts looked like adding to their tally but were caught out four minutes from time when McBean surged clear of the visitors defence and placed his shot beyond the reach of keeper Mark Pardoe.