Worcester Raiders will have to get over their dramatic Christmas defeat to Malvern Town quickly as they begin the new year with a trip to Wantage Town on Monday.

Joe Bates' 90th minute penalty at Sixways sealed a 3-2 win for Malvern, a result that leaves Raiders now 10 points off second placed Cribbs.

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But there is no time for Karl Gormley's men to feel sorry for themselves.

"We knew we needed to get something out of the Malvern game but it's a long old season," said Gormley.

"There are still 17/18 games left and we won't chop and change, if anything, we will just keep trying to do the same things that have got us to where we are

"12 months ago we were fighting for promotion from the league below so when you look at the bigger picture, we're doing alright.

"The games come thick and fast so we will keep going, keep pushing and try and finish as high as we can, let's see where that gets us come the end of the season, that's all we can do now."

Gormley and Raiders have now lost both home games to the two sides above them in the Hellenic Premier so they are very much having to rely on Cribbs and Malvern slipping up in order to have a chance of promotion.

But having only been in this league due to a reshuffle of the leagues by the FA, Raiders have enjoyed a strong start to life in Step 5.

But they must now be perfect for the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign and so today's match at Wantage, a team who have taken four points off Malvern this season already, is a must win.