MALVERN Town co-manager Lee Hooper cut a disappointed figure as he reflected upon their first defeat of the season.

They lost 2-0 at home to Herefordshire club Wellington in the West Midlands League Premier Division at the HDAnywhere Community Stadium.

It followed a thrilling 3-2 FA Cup extra preliminary round replay victory over higher-ranked Boldmere St Michaels last week.

After conceding a goal in either half, Malvern's misery was complete with an injury-time red card for skipper Louis Loader.

Hooper said: “It was one of those days. I don’t know whether it was a hangover from the cup but after the highs of the previous Tuesday we were just not at it or focused as a group.

“The players know it was not good enough. We were second best all over the pitch and they fell well below the standards that we expect.

“It’s a case of drawing a line under it now and moving on to the next one.

“We’ll work hard on the training ground in order to prove this was just a blip and ensure we are ready to respond in the right way this weekend.”

Town went close on six minutes when a foul on Matt Turner resulted in a free-kick which Loader curled inches wide.

Young Henry Dyde did well before putting a low ball into the path of Matt Pinder who was just wide with his effort.

But the visitors grabbed the lead on 27 minutes when a corner was flicked home at the near post by Neil Walmsley.

With their tails up, a stinging strike from skipper Adam Newbury was pushed over by Malvern keeper Charlie Weaver.

There was a big let-off for the Hillsiders when another corner was deflected onto the goal-line by James Febery and somehow cleared.

On the stroke of half-time, a free-kick out wide was delivered into the danger zone by Aaron Griffiths but the visitors scrambled clear.

The second period started with an acrobatic effort from Pinder going over before a positive break from deep by Curtis Smith saw him fire over.

As Town pushed for a leveller, a Loader free-kick was sent into the area where it just evaded Turner.

Despite seeing more of the ball, Malvern were almost caught out on the hour when Paul Jones broke to feed George Hayes but Weaver was alert to gather on the edge of the area.

A towering header from Town's Adam Sauntson hit the woodwork before the loose ball was cleared.

But the visitors won a penalty with 20 minutes left when Jones was brought down by Sam Whitton and Newbury stepped up to double their advantage.

A pacy break from the Hillsiders ended with Matt Fusco’s strike straight at the keeper but a bad day for Town ended with Loader's red card following a robust challenge.

Malvern are back in FA Cup action on Saturday at home to Midland League Division One side Racing Club Warwick in the preliminary round (3pm).

Malvern: Weaver, C Smith (Webb 80), Griffiths, Sauntson, Febery (Noke 46), Parker, Turner, Loader, M Pinder, Fusco, Dyde (Whitton 64). Subs not used: Aldington, Whittal-Williams.