WORCESTER City maintained what is now the only 100 per cent record in Northern Premier League Midlands with a professional-if-not-sparkling performance against Lye Town.

City laboured early on but emerged 2-0 winners as Elliott Keightley and substitute Izak Reid inflicted a fifth straight defeat on visitors that barely laid a glove in the final third.

It came as early leaders Corby Town, City's destination for a mouthwatering first-against-second showdown on Saturday, dropped points for the first time this season, drawing 0-0 at Wellingborough Town.

City named an unchanged starting XI following Saturday's 3-1 win at Loughborough Students but struggled to find a flow early on, too frequently going long, and there was a warning when Justice Campbell curled a little wide of the far post after Nathan Hayward had been dispossessed 10 minutes in.

City might have led after 18 minutes when Elliott Hartley laid into the path of Liam Lockett but he produced a tame finish that Matt Hill gathered with ease.

It gradually got brighter as City started to move the ball around in midfield and the pressure told five minutes before half-time, Hartley cutting back after a corner had been recycled for Kyle Belmonte to be denied at full stretch by Hill only with Keightley plundering the opener on the rebound.

It should have been two five minutes into the second half but Hayward scuffed straight at Hill having been rolled in by Belmonte with Lockett screaming for the ball to his left.

Lye's stubborn resistance was stretched beyond breaking point when anchorman Lewis Wright went off injured after an hour and the killer second came six minutes later, Jordan Lymn pouncing on a loose ball to roll into Reid who just beat Hill to it to nudge inside the near post on the run.

That was it for the contest as City bossed it from there and might have scored a third with Reid flicking a near-post header a fraction off target from Adam Mace's swirling centre.

Lye's best chance came with the last kick, Syrus Warren-Paul picked out on the left to fire across goal but the centre skipped past Elliott Ball in front of gaping goal.

 

City: Bishop, Keightley, Mace, Lymn, Wise, Reeves, Lockett (Bates, 87) Hayward, Guinan (Reid, 61), Belmonte (Monteith, 85), Hartley (Owens, 78). Unused sub: Townsend.