MARTIN Davis gave Ludlow an early lead but sloppy defending allowed the visitors back into the game before the break, and they netted a third after the interval to complete a deserved win in the Travel Factory Alliance season's opener at the Coors stadium.

Davis looked sharp up front and when he netted midway through the half it could have marked his hat trick. He had earlier seen one good effort well saved by the Warwick keeper, and was disappointed only to hit the post with another effort. He finally put his name on the score-sheet with a neatly taken goal from a good through-ball from midfield.

The visitors fought back, and with their midfield supporting the attack far better than the home team, pressure started to mount on the home defence. They buckled twice before the break, both coming as the result of individual errors. Alan Ward bagged the equaliser and John Cudworth put them in front.

The second half saw the visitors generally in command as their defence coped comfortably with the home strikers who were all too often left isolated up front. Meanwhile the Ludlow defence also looked quite comfortable apart from a second strike from Cudworth that sealed the points in favour of the Warwickshire outfit.

Jimmy Mullen was quite pleased with some aspects of the game, but concedes there is a lot of hard work before the side can compete effectively at this level. He has pledged to strengthen the squad and is in talks with a number of players.

Town travel to Loughborough on Saturday and entertain Cradley at the Coors next Tuesday.