But Les Jones’ men refused to be overawed by their high-flying opponents as they got off to a strong start and took an early lead. Lush benefited from sloppy play by stand-in keeper Ben Jevons to force the ball home from a narrow angle.
The goal proved to be a wake up call for Lye as they piled forward in search of a reply. Malvern were being forced into some desperate defending, but they were holding firm.
When Lye eventually hit the back of the net after Ricky Anslow slid the ball past Hill it was ruled out for offside, while Ben Wilkins saw his 25-yard free kick cannon off the crossbar moments later.
Despite spending most of the first period pinned back in their half, Town nearly found themselves 2-0 in front at the interval after Jevons fumbled a cross and almost carried the ball over the line himself.
The one-sided contest continued after the interval, but Malvern were still proving a tough nut to crack, with Hill producing a superb save to turn away Anslow’s goal-bound header.
With Lye failing to find their finishing touch, the hosts sensed an opportunity to take an unlikely 2-0 lead, which they soon did to the horror of the visiting fans. Lush was once again in the right place at the right time to score after Jevons pushed Dave Reynolds’ shot onto the crossbar.
Lye refused to give in, but the ball simply would not go in for them as Kevin Nickle came close on a number of occasions, while Malvern defended for their lives until the final whistle.