LUDLOW FC boss Chris Waldron fears his side’s chances of promotion are all but over after heavy back-to-back defeats in West Midlands Division Two.

Waldron’s men followed up their 8-0 drubbing at league leaders AFC Bentley a fortnight by ending 2019 with a 6-3 home defeat to Warstones Wanderers.

Those results have left Ludlow fifth in the table and Waldron admits that cup competitions might be their best hope of success in 2020.

Ludlow begin the New Year by hosting Church Stretton in round one of the League Cup and also have a Shropshire Challenge Cup semi-final against Shrewsbury Juniors to look forward to.

Waldron said: “We’re going to have to regroup and have a good second half of the season but it’s been disappointing how the last two games have gone – it’s not been good enough from any of us.

“We’ve got to concentrate on the cups now because the league is probably gone.

“It’s a shame we haven’t got a game sooner (the cup tie with Stretton is on January 11) because with the results we’ve just had it would be nice to get straight back at it.

“But that’s not the way it’s fell so we’ll get Christmas out of the way and work hard to put it right.”

Shipping 14 goals in their past two games has left Ludlow with a negative goal difference and Waldron admits their defensive wobbles are a worry.

Ludlow were without skipper Reece Williams, due to illness, at the back against Warstones and twice let slip leads given to them by Jack Marston and Ryan Lewis to go in 2-2 at the interval.

Warstones then went 4-2 ahead and although Lewis pulled one back with his second of the game, the visitors went straight up the other end to make it 5-3 before adding a late sixth.

“We just didn’t come out of the blocks in the second half,” admitted Waldron. “They scored two quick goals and we never really recovered from that.

“Going forward we were fine and I was really pleased with our attacking performance but defensively it just wasn’t good enough as a team, although losing Reece was a big blow.

“It’s definitely something we have to be thinking about because conceding eight and then six back-to-back isn’t good.”

Elsewhere, Stretton remain second in the table after their game at Worcester Raiders Reserves was rained off, as was Shawbury United’s trip to Raiders’ first team in the Premier Division.