DROITWICH SPA’s chances of gaining promotion this season faltered as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat to fellow title rivals Chelmsley Town at The Pavillion.
A penalty from Mitchell Thompson and strike from Kieron Fitzgerald in the space of a minute secured the win for Chelmsley who leapfrogged Spa into second in the Midland League Division Two table.
Leading scorer James Lemon got a consolation for the Saltmen deep into injury time with a wonderful volley from the edge of the area.
On a cold afternoon and on a difficult playing surface, Spa took their time to get settled as it was Chelmsley who started the more brightly, carving out the first opportunity of the game after 11 minutes.
After collecting a throughball from Robert Ellis, namesake Thomas found himself one-on-one with Matthew Oliver but the Spa keeper stood firm to save well.
It took 22 minutes for the Saltmen to have their first real shot on goal as Lemon sent a header just wide of the far post after meeting Jack Brighton’s free kick from the right.
The woodwork came to the rescue of Spa six minutes later as Adam Granger’s poor defensive clearance was latched on to by Thompson whose powerful volley crashed against the bar.
In a half which saw a lack of clear cut opportunities and lacklustre football, the final chance of the half came to Spa’s Macauley Finch but his turn and volley from inside the area flew over the bar, sending the two teams into the break level.
Following the interval, there was a period of 12 minutes where nothing happened, but then two goals in the space of a minute set the game alight.
The first came when Granger committed a foul in the box, with the resultant penalty calmly dispatched with ease by Thompson.
From kick-off, Max Crisp failed to collect the ball before Mike Seeley could not collect the loose ball, allowing Fitzgerald to break through, round Oliver before keeping his calm to slot home from a tight angle to put Chelmsley 2-0 up.
Despite the introductions of James Ward and Haydn Morris, the Saltmen failed to keep the ball, let alone create any chances. Long ball after long ball was comfortably dealt with by a Chelmsley defence that were never really threatened all game.
And it should have been 3-0 three minutes from the end but after substitute Ryan Conlon found some space in the box, his volley went narrowly wide of the far post.
Chris Lloyd wasted a good opportunity to add a third a minute later but after rounding Oliver and having an open goal to aim at, his effort from the edge of the area sailed over the bar.
Despite a poor performance from the Saltmen, Lemon added his 47th goal in all competitions in the final minute of added time, with a superb volley from 20 yards out that flew into the top right hand corner of the net.
Spa will be hoping to put this result – and performance for that matter – behind them quickly as next Saturday sees them travel to league leaders Rostance Edwards for another crunch clash.
