Malvern Town's manager Lee Hooper could not hide his frustration following the 3-2 defeat to Chipping Sodbury on Tuesday night.

Town had led 2-0 at the break but for the second game in a row, they suffered a second-half collapse to throw away the points.

Hooper admits it was a bitter pill to swallow.

"It was a difficult one to take,” said Hooper.

"We started well and picked up a lot of second and third balls during the opening period.

"We played a lot in their half of the pitch and two really well-taken goals from Harry Clark put us into a strong position going into the second half."

An early second-half penalty saw the hosts pull one back and Town seemed to capitulate from there.

"To be fair to our opponents, they pushed men forward and gave it a real go in the second half," he added.

"We conceded a sloppy penalty early on and then started to panic which allowed our hosts to build up a head of steam.

"We went on to create a couple of decent chances as we looked to get back into the game but in the end it was a frustrating night."

Malvern are back in action this weekend when they look to respond to their back-to-back defeats at home to Royal Wootton Bassett Town on Saturday.

"It’s so important that we get the right response on Saturday," said Hooper.

"We have to react and do whatever it takes to get the three points on offer.

"Having come up into this League during the summer, we are still very handily-placed after 12 games. We’re very much in amongst the leading pack."