MALVERN Town shipped six goals in a humiliating 6-1 home defeat against new league leaders Frome Town.
The Hillsiders found themselves three goals behind at the break as Archie Ferris netted a brace before Sam Meakes extended the away side’s lead at the HDAnywhere Community Stadium.
And Frome scored three more times in the second half as Harry Lucas, Zak Drew and David Duru all found the net to leave the home side stunned.
Malvern scored a consolation goal courtesy of Dion Molyneux but could not reduce the deficit further in a heavy home defeat.
The result means the Hillsiders sit fifth in the Southern League Division One South table, four points behind leaders Frome.
Lee Hooper’s side fell behind inside 60 seconds as Drew raced towards the penalty area and pulled the ball back across the box to Ferris who applied the finish.
And Frome doubled their lead on 26 minutes when Ferris headed in his second goal of the game from eight-yards out.
Frome struck again six minutes later as Meakes hammered home after Drew caught Malvern in possession on the right-hand side of their own penalty area.
The visitors threatened to run away with the contest early in the second half as Malvern goalkeeper Seth Locke produced a trio of fine saves.
However, the away side eventually extended their lead on 52 minutes when a corner appeared to hit Lucas and the ball dribbled into the net.
Frome made it five on 61 minutes as Drew found the the corner of the goal from outside the penalty area after collecting the ball on the right.
And the visitors added a sixth goal nine minutes later when substitute Duru held off two defenders before placing a shot past Locke.
Malvern won a penalty later in the half when a defender crashed into Piers Walton in the box as he attempted to block the striker’s effort.
However, Frome captain Kyle Phillips denied Joe Tumelty from the spot on a miserable afternoon for the home side.
The Hillsiders scored a consolation goal from the resulting corner on 75 minutes when Molyneux headed home as the home side slipped to back-to-back defeats in the league.
Malvern are next in action against Falmouth Town on Saturday, November 1 with kick-off at 3pm at Bickland Park.
