Ludlow Town 5 Newport Town 1.

THE result was the same, but the contrast in performance with their display the previous weekend was immense, when Ludlow brushed aside Newport Town at the SBS Stadium.

The two sides were separated by just one point going into the game, but Town now lead the way in the Sportsjamkits.com Shropshire County Premier League by three points, although FC Hodnet and Haughmond have games in hand.

With centre-half Dan Humphreys and Joel Leathershed added to their starting line-up, Ludlow took the lead when Aaron Hodge slotted the ball home.

The same player struck a post and the bar before converting the second goal around the half-hour mark.

Andy Walker attacked down the wing and crossed for Nathan Hodge at the near post to score the third from a rare headed goal.

The manager’s pleas to keep things tight in the second half fell on deaf ears and Newport grabbed a goal within minutes of the restart.

After a poor 10-minute spell when keeper Mick Giles brought off two fine saves, Ludlow regained their composure and went on to extend the winning margin.

Nathan Hodge matched his brother with a second strike and substitute Ryan Lockley rounded off a good performance from the home side with a fifth goal.

Ludlow Colts recorded their first Shropshire Alliance win of the season by beating visiting Hopesgate United 3-1.

Bryn Martin opened the scoring with a 10th minute header after Rob Evans had missed an earlier chance. The Colts forced the pace and missed two more chances before doubling their tally 10 minutes before the break, with Alley Carvell converting the penalty after Evans had been brought down.

Hopesgate forced their way back into the contest in the second half when Luke Stealey scored. After a wobbly 10-minute spell, Colts regained their composure and sealed the win.

Carvell produced a strong run and finish to score their third goal.

Church Stretton head Division 1 of the Shropshire League, along with Brown Clee and Oakengates, after forcing a deserved last-minute winner to beat travelling Wroxeter Rovers 3-2.

Stretton exposed the Wroxeter side with some slick play down the flanks. Matthew Tudor took the ball and burst into the penalty box to open the scoring midway through the first half. Then Dean Richards found new signing Ian Brown who controlled the ball on his chest and fired home the second goal.

Wroxeter fought back and reduced the deficit with a long ball out of defence to put the match in the balance going into the break.

The home side had a mixed second half, creating a number of chances when they employed some slick football, but looked vulnerable in defence when the tempo of the game dipped. Hopesgate capitalised on one such situation to level the score.

The rest of the game was nip and tuck, but Richards latched on to a Tommy Preston cross at the death to send the Stretton side home in a happy mood.