JOINT-MANAGER Dene Whittal-Williams was angered by the decision to send Matt Turner off in Malvern Town's 3-0 home defeat to Wednesfield.

There was a melee in the 35th minute when Turner reacted to an earlier heavy challenge from Ashley Bellingham.

Turner was then red carded and two Wednesfield players were booked for their part in the fracas.

A furious Whittal-Williams said the dismissal of his striker was pivotal moment in the West Midlands Regional League Premier Division clash.

“It was an extremely disappointing decision to send Milky [Matt Turner] off,” he said.

“It had a big impact on our attacking threat.

“Our opponents were a tough side who used their experience well.

"We had a good go at them during the first half, even after we had been reduced to ten men, but it was a disappointing way for our unbeaten run to come to an end.

“We were our own worst enemy for their first goal and then got hit early in the second half and it gave us a mountain to climb."

The visitors took the lead with their first raid at goal in the third minute when they carved Town open and James Quarry lifted the ball home.

Malvern were seeing plenty of the early ball with Steve Webb getting in a couple of inviting crosses that were scrambled clear, while Louis Loader went wide.

After appeals for a penalty from Wednesfield were waved away, a positive break from Town saw Webb whip in a good cross that was met with a swooping header from Joshua Hunt that landed inches wide.

Some neat link-up play between Matt Fusco and Harry Clark saw the ball fed to Loader whose effort was blocked as Malvern upped the tempo.

Just before the half-hour, Adam Sauntson found space in the middle of the park before getting in a low strike that squirmed under the ‘keeper but the wrong side of the post.

Town then suffered a huge blow when Turner was given his marching orders.

After order was restored, the hosts continued to probe as Clark’s cross to the far post was almost turned into his own net by Jammall Pinnock.

As the clock ticked down at the end of the half, Hunt had a strike pushed away by the ‘keeper before Harry Cunningham tried his luck at the other end as Charlie Weaver made a comfortable save.

There was still time for a header from Hunt to loop onto the roof of the net as a feisty opening period ended with Wednesfield leading 1-0.

Town fell further behind five minutes into the second half when Shaquille Lee tried his luck from distance and the ball sailed beyond the reach of Weaver.

There was a good opening for Quarry to further extend the visitors’ lead but he blazed well over before Pinnock also went close as Malvern came under increasing pressure.

On 76 minutes, a curling strike from Cunningham was well cleared off the line by Dan Noke whilst at the other end Loader’s cross found the head of James Febery whose attempt lacked the power to trouble the ‘keeper.

The visitors completed the scoring and a miserable afternoon in the final minute for Malvern when Chad Birch’s low strike found the net.

MALVERN: Weaver, Webb, Griffiths (Febery 58), Noke, J Sauntson, A Sauntson, Turner, Loader, Hunt, Fusco (Lane 58), Clark. Not used: Wickett, Dyde, Whittal-Williams.