MALVERN Town produced a dogged display before West Midlands Regional League leaders Lye Town netted four times in the final 15 minutes to secure a comfortable 5-0 victory.
Les Jones’ side were in the contest for three quarters of the game as a solitary Ricky Anslow score separated the two teams after a goalless first half.
But as Town’s legs tired, Lye took full advantage as Simon Williams, Ben Wilkins, Damien Whitcombe and Kevin Nickle scored late on.
Unsurprisingly, Ian Hill was the busier of the two keepers as he kept the visitors in the game, while wasteful finishing also helped Malvern’s cause.
Lye dominated possession, but they could not find the back of the net, with Whitcombe, Wilkins, Scott Gennard and Anslow all failing to convert when presented with an opportunity to strike.
Town’s only chances came on the break and it was Dave Reynolds who was presented with the best of them as he fired wide from 16 yards before Jake James did well to deny the striker with a low save.
The deadlock was soon broken at the start of the second period as Lye broke Malvern’s resistance with a superb strike from Anslow which flew into the right hand corner of the net.
The breakthrough did not open the floodgates, though, as the visitors continued to struggle in front of goal, with Anslow missing a number of opportunities to double his side’s advantage.
But in contrast to the first period, Malvern were barely able to get out of their half as Lye pinned their opponents back.
Charles Weaver, who came on for Hill at half-time, managed to restrict the away side to a 1-0 lead with a string of fine saves.
But the pressure eventually told as Lye finally added a second when Wilkins fired home. A third quickly followed, with Whitcombe scoring, as the match seemed to be slipping away from Malvern.
The victory was then sealed with a fine goal from Williams as he unleashed a superb curling left-foot shot, which arced over the hapless Weaver into the top left corner of the net from 25 yards.
Lye were not finished yet, though, as they scored their fifth and final goal with Nickle side-footing the ball home from close range.