Bishop’s Cleeve manager Paul Collicutt candidly acknowledged his team “couldn’t get near Malvern” following a 3-1 home defeat to Malvern Town at Kayte Lane on Saturday.
Malvern set the tone early, with Joe Tumelty’s intelligent lay-off allowing Piers Walton to tap home the opener from close range. The visitors doubled their advantage shortly after when Sam Clark headed into the net, again assisted by the in-form Tumelty.
Tumelty, a former Hereford player, delivered a complete performance by sealing the win with a powerful strike to make it 3-0, putting Malvern comfortably in control.
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Bishop’s Cleeve halved the deficit when Ross Langworthy confidently converted a penalty after Josh Bishop fouled striker Harry Williams. Despite this glimmer of hope, the Mitres were unable to recover.
Collicutt emphasized the challenge ahead, stating, “We’ve got our work cut out now. With 16 matches remaining, I expect a strong reaction when we face Melksham.”
Malvern impressed from the start, creating several threats inside the opening 15 minutes. Lewis Clayton, the Cleeve captain and goalkeeper, made key saves including a fingertip stop to deny Clark and crucial defensive clearances to keep the visitors at bay early on.
Cleeve momentarily threatened on a counterattack when Jay Malshanskyj forced a close-range save from Bishop, but Malvern’s superiority soon told.
Despite the defeat, Bishop’s Cleeve remain just two points shy of the play-off places, continuing their chase behind Shaftesbury. Malvern Town sit second in the league table, trailing leaders Frome by 11 points.
Bishop’s Cleeve will look to bounce back next Saturday away to Melksham Town at 3pm.
Lineups:
Bishop’s Cleeve: Clayton (c), Lee, Nelmes, Liddiard (Turner 45), Holland (Langworthy 57), McLean (Jeremiah 45), Williams, Malshanskyj (Keeping 82), Messenger, Davies, Kotwica (McInerney 57).
Malvern Town: Bishop, Payne, Baxter, Johnson, Macdonald, S. Clark (Salter 78), Walton (Brunt 71), Tumelty (c) (Bullock 86), H. Clark, King, Francis (Quintas 78).