CRADLEY Town boss Andy Wyton confirmed his players were playing for their futures this week following their 3-2 defeat against fourth placed Malvern Town.

That was after Croatian striker Dreniz Bala had fired Cradley into an early lead before Malvern hit back to level within a minute of resumption.

A dismayed Wyton claimed: "They say you're most vulnerable just after scoring and we were. We gave then a simple tap-in!

"It was 1-1 at half time and I'd say that was a fair scoreline, but we didn't do enough defensively throughout the game.

"We gifted their top scorer Dave Reynolds two goals before Geoff Hill fired home a stoppage time penalty.

"I was really disappointed because we didn't work hard enough to close Malvern down.

"I want to finish in the top six this season and I still think we can, but we've made it much harder for ourselves now. We need to be beating teams like Malvern and Ellesmere.

"But we haven't beaten any of the top sides this season and that disappoints me."

Cradley look to bounce back this Saturday when they entertain an improving AFC Bridgnorth side.

Wyton has vowed to make changes and can welcome back Ross Love to bolster the defence.