TWO defeats in four days, both at the hands of fellow relegation candidates, have plunged Ludlow back into a relegation battle.

Looking for four points from their last four games to secure their Travel Factory Midland Alliance status for next season, these two fixtures looked to be their best bet. After a single late goal condemned them to a 1-0 defeat at Studley in midweek, their recent good home form deserted them on Saturday and they suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Alvechurch.

These results leave them having to win a difficult looking final fixture at Oadby a week on Saturday to realistically stand any chance of avoiding the drop.

The performance against Alvechurch was very poor, with Ludlow barely creating a worthwhile chance and leaking goals at the other end. Keith Rostill opened the scoring in the 24th minute and then Liam O'Shea added a second on 35 minutes.

Worse was to follow after the break as Rosthill netted their third after 66 minutes and then completed his hat-trick in the closing stages, leaving the home team a well beaten unit.

The midweek fixture at Studley was a different story. Ludlow looked the better side throughout and created most of the chances. They felt aggrieved not to be awarded a penalty when a Studley player handled the ball on the line, but the referee was unmoved.

They at least looked to be going to pick up a point and retain some light between themselves and Studley until Anthony Savery netted the crucial winner for the home team in the closing minutes.