DUDLEY Sports joint manager Tony Gore was left pondering how his side failed to win after a 1-1 draw at Bromyard.

Richard Esp poked home with 15 minutes to go to seemingly claim the points but Bromyard responded in dramatic fashion with a late equaliser.

Gore said: “We wanted to get the three points, and I feel we warranted the win. If you don’t take your chances in this league you will get punished, as we did with the late goal.

“Sometimes you have to just accept one point rather than three.”

Sports were forced into a hasty reshuffle after goalkeeper Adam King was ruled out injured. Without a backup keeper, Gore gave the gloves to midfielder James Taylor who performed exceedingly well.

Sports face Wednesfield on Saturday (3pm) and Gore is confident that his troops can get the job done.

He said: “I’m always confident, and I believe we are capable of beating anyone in this league when playing at our best.

“Wednesfield are a good side, but we will be looking to come back with three points.”

Gore’s son Mark is on the verge of a return to action after 10 months out with a broken leg, while Mitch Orford will be serving the last of a four match suspension against Wednesfield and Luke Ashley returns to the squad.

With King out for up to three weeks, Gore is looking at his options.

He said: “I am going to have to bring in a temporary replacement as Adam is going to miss a few games.

“I will also be looking at signing an outfield player, but will only bring in someone who will improve the squad. It will probably be a midfielder.”

Dudley Town enjoyed an excellent return to action with a 3-0 win over Ledbury Town.

It took just nine minutes for the home side to get off the mark, on loan Stourbridge forward Damion Jarrett crossing for Danny Ashton to head home.

Ashton added a second just before the break, before Jarrett capped off his debut with a goal of his own thanks to a stunning free-kick.

The Robins faced Wednesfield Town last night in the league cup second round and head to Wellington on Saturday.

But there was frustration for Tividale who saw their home clash with Darlaston Town called off.

Tivi travel to Ellesmere Rangers this Saturday, with Gornal Athletic returning to action with a trip to Oldbury Athletic.