A MATT Bailey penalty proved the difference as Cradley Town took all three points at Dudley Sports.

The striker picked himself up after being tripped by James Taylor to coolly slot home from 12 yards to put his side 2-0 up just before the break.

Josh Skidmore had earlier opened the scoring for Cradley when he bundled in from a corner.

Sports were poor in the first half but improved markedly after the interval, pulling a goal back thanks to Craig Tibbetts’ snapshot.

Cradley’s joy at a winning start will surely be tempered by a disappointing second half showing, where they let Sports back into the match.

The hosts’ joint manager Tony Gore left the field in deep discussion with the officials, no doubt debating any number of decisions during what was an ill-tempered second period.

But the real inquest should concern the slumbering first half showing from his side, which effectively cost them the game. With the West Midlands Premier race set to begin, Sports spectacularly missed the gun and gifted their opponents the initiative.

It took just six minutes for Cradley to take the lead with what will surely turn out to be one of the softest goals of the season. With the home defence dozing, Bailey was quickest to Karl Gardener’s inswinging corner and a combination of him and his marker flicked the ball into the path of Skidmore, who prodded it home on the volley.

Sports were lacking in communication at the back and were nearly punished again soon after, when Jason Walters sent his clearance across goal and into the path of Danny Ludlow, whose shot was deflected wide. Nathanial Waite then squandered a glorious chance to make it two when he could only send his header from a whipped in Bailey centre over, from no more than three yards out. An hour later, the big forward would be wishing this was his worst miss of the afternoon.

The hosts finally began to have some attacks of their own, with Tibbetts nearly capitalising on confusion between Cradley stopper Matt Jones and full back Luke Guy.

But at the back they still looked shaky and were indebted to Pearson for keeping the deficit at one, when he brilliantly clawed out Sam Wilkinson’s header. Corners were also still a problem, with Scott Sumner forced to nod a Waite effort away from the back post as the visitors continued to press.

That said, Sports would have been level but for a fine reflex save by Jones from a Taylor bullet header. However, with both teams winding down for the interval, it was the Sports defender who made the critical mistake and allowed the visitors to double their advantage.

There seemed little danger as Bailey chased a ball in the corner of the box but Taylor, running behind, clipped him. The referee had little choice but to point to the spot and Bailey made no mistake with the spot-kick as his side gained what turned out to be vital breathing space.

Sports, with what were no doubt frank words from Gore ringing in their ears, started the second half with far more purpose. Yet it was still Cradley who were creating the better chances and they should have increased their lead.

Wilkinson saw an angled shot fly just past the far post, while Bailey failed to keep his header down following a neat one touch move which saw the visitors advance 60 yards in a matter of seconds.

The best chance fell to Waite, only for him to fluff it in farcical fashion. Bailey did well to get clear on the right and after breaking into the box he squared for his strike partner, who with the whole goal gaping sliced his finish high and wide.

It was the kind of miss which draws chuckles from all sides of the ground but minutes later the smiles had evaporated from the visitors’ faces as Sports pulled one back.

Sumner’s cross from the right appeared to loop up after taking a deflection and Tibbetts reacted quickest to rifle a shot which hit the underside of the bar and in.

Suddenly the hosts were a team transformed and two minutes later they would have been level had Tibbett’s been able to get more than a glance to another Sumner centre.

Cradley had been guilty of taking their foot off the gas and struggled to raise it again in the face of the reinvigorated hosts. Sumner sent a curling effort wide while Tibbetts, clearly now brimming with confidence, shot wide from a corner.

But while Sports were now much more alert and focused, they still lacked quality in the final third and too often in the closing ten minutes they squandered chances with the ball in dangerous areas.

Indeed, it was Waite who had the best chance in the final moments as he nearly redeemed his earlier misses, but his finish was deflected off target.