IN contrast to the previous weekend’s performance against Shifnal, Ludlow Town made a sluggish start to their Sportsjamkits.com County Premier Division fixture with Wellington at The SBS Stadium.

They deservedly went two goals behind during the first half-hour and, despite a late charge in the final 10 minutes, went down by the odd goal in five.

A strong Wellington side made the most of their early domination to gain the upper-hand. Dale Hodge gave Mike Seaborne’s men a lifeline when he reduced the deficit with a header from a Danny Gower free-kick before the break. The Amateurs restored their two-goal advantage after the break, but then had a player sent off to give Ludlow a chance.

They pulled a goal back with 10 minutes to go when the ball was played down at the far post for Aaron Bowden to fire home from near to the penalty spot.

Town pushed on in the closing stages but they failed to break down a stubborn Wellington rear-guard again.

􀁥 CHURCH Stretton also found themselves 2-0 down at the break, but they produced a late rally to snatch a point in a 2-2 draw at Ketley Bank, and dent their hosts’ perfect start to the season.

Opting to kick into the wind on a poor pitch and facing a big side looked to be a poor decision when they trailed by two goals at the break, especially as they had picked up a couple of injuries on the bumpy surface as well.

Neil Castle struck the woodwork with Stretton’s best chance.

The visitors played a lot better in the second half, but with seven minutes to go they still trailed 2-0. The decision to push centre-half Matt Jones up front paid dividends when the big defender pulled a goal back.

Substitute Ross Ramunite completed the comeback by forcing home the equaliser three minutes from time.

Stretton play their first home league match against Wellington Amateurs Reserves this weekend.