A LATE strike from Louis Loader ensured Malvern Town enjoyed the perfect Easter weekend as they claimed a 2-1 victory over local rivals Wellington at the HDAnywhere Community Stadium.
Luke Corbett had put the Hillsiders ahead from the penalty spot in the 12th minute before Will Perkins drew the visitors level on the hour mark.
However, seven minutes from time Loader fired home from Corbett’s knock-down to earn Malvern all three points, moving them up to fifth in the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division table.
Going into this game on the back of an impressive 4-2 victory over promotion-chasing AFC Bridgnorth on Saturday, Malvern continued on from where they left off and almost found themselves 1-0 up inside the first minute.
Lewis Platt ran down the left before cutting the ball back to Ben Hayes whose shot was blocked by Chris Mancui in the Wellington goal.
Malvern continued to press forward and in the 10th minute, Matthew Turner shot wide from Platt’s cross.
Two minutes later, the Hillsiders were awarded a penalty when Platt was bundled over in the area and up stepped Corbett to net his 11th goal of the season.
Matt Williams tested Malvern’s Chas Weaver in the 21st minute with a long range effort but the keeper saved well to keep the score at 1-0.
Disaster struck five minutes later when Malvern’s sharpshooter Ben Hayes pulled his hamstring and had to be substituted.
Little action followed the injury, meaning the score remained 1-0 to Malvern going into the half-time break.
Following the interval, Wellington levelled in the 58th minute when a free-kick from the left was met by Perkins who headed the ball home past Weaver.
The equaliser gave Wellington some momentum and they began to dominate the play but after carving out an opportunity, Williams shot over in the 67th minute.
Despite Wellington’s dominance, it was Malvern who got the winning goal in the 83rd minute.
From Chris Parker’s free-kick on the left, Corbett knocked the ball down to Loader who fired home to ensure Malvern claimed their third straight league win.
The Hillsiders currently sit in fifth place in the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division prior to the league’s midweek fixtures involving sides in and around Malvern’s position.
Malvern’s next game sees them make the trip to Bilston Town Community on Saturday.
Picture courtesy of Cliff Williams
