MALVERN Town’s hopes of finishing as high as second in the West Midlands League Premier Division were dashed as they lost 2-0 at home to Wellington.

A victory on Wednesday would have seen Les Jones’ men leapfrog Wolverhampton Sporting Community into third spot and close the gap on second-placed Wolverhampton Casuals to two points.

But two goals inside the opening 13 minutes from Matt Williams left Malvern with it all to do.

Harry Wickett and Bryan Craven went close in the second period.

But Town failed to find the net and ended the match with 10 men after Jamie Smith saw red on 69 minutes.

While a top-two finish is out of reach, Jones will be hopeful his side can sneak into third as they trail Sporting Community by two points.

Malvern finish the league season with a trip to Ellesmere Rangers on Saturday (3pm).