MALVERN Town’s unbeaten league run since March came to a crashing end after they suffered a heavy 6-2 defeat to West Midland Regional League leaders Wolverhampton Sporting Community.
Despite a spirited first half display, Malvern were unable to stop a brutal Sporting strike force blitzing them to their eighth consecutive league win of the campaign at Pride Park.
A second half hat-trick from pacey winger Dmitri Dunkley and two more goals from the league’s top scorer Daniel Westwood laid down a huge marker in Sporting’s hopes of clinching promotion this season in what was an early top-of-the-table clash.
And on this showing the Black Country side will certainly take some stopping.
This was Malvern’s first league defeat since the Spring but it looked early on that they could stop Sporting’s 100 per cent winning start when Dave Reynold’s cross/shot went in off the post to give the visitors’ the lead inside the first 20 minutes.
But Malvern were unable to protect their lead for long. Sporting equalised just after the half-hour mark when a Philip McKerdy effort which struck the post was soon followed up by a scrappy finish from defender Mitchell Clarke.
Malven began the second half brightly and almost regained the lead only for defender Dene Whittal-Williams’ header to be tipped over the bar by the Sporting keeper James Gettings.
But within a minute the hosts took the lead when Westwood, who had previously netted five hat-tricks in five successive games, continued his remarkable goal-scoring run with a powerful long strike which was too hot to handle.
What was to come was a brutal display of attacking football which showed why Sporting sit pretty at the top of the table.
Dunkley, whose pace and trickery on the ball caused problems for Malvern’s defence throughout, extended the hosts’ lead to 3-1 after an impressive solo run beating several defenders was met with a powerful finish.
And just two minutes later he netted Sporting’s fourth with a similar effort, leaving a stunned Malvern out of sight.
The Hillsiders reduced their arrears to 4-2 on the 79th minute when Lewis Platt slotted the ball home after intercepting a poor pass from Sporting’s defence.
And Malvern threatened an unlikely comeback with a good spell of corners testing the home side’s nerve.
But the hosts finished the game off deep into the match when the clinical Westwood wrestled the ball off Malvern keeper Chris Pinder before superbly lobbing the ball into the back of an empty net to score his second and Sporting’s fifth.
Malvern’s Aaron Richards was shown a red card for what appeared to be dissent towards the referee during the aftermath of the goal.
And Sporting made it an even more memorable afternoon when the brilliant Dunkley completed his hat-trick with a well taken goal.
Malvern are now eight points adrift from Sporting in the table and will hope to bounce back to winning ways when they face Smethwick at home on Wednesday night (September 7).
