THE FA Vase provided a positive distraction for West Midlands Regional League strugglers Malvern Town as they thumped Shifnal Town 4-1 to progress.
A run of five defeats in six league games has seen Town slip into the relegation zone and they looked like facing further disappointment when they went 1-0 down at Shifnal on Saturday.
But Malvern turned things around after Dane Aldington scored just after the interval.
Les Jones’ side then dominated the second half and clinched their place in the next round, thanks to goals from Lee Hooper, Matthew Turner and Dave Reynolds.
The first period was a more even contest with Chas Weaver producing a fine save to push Chris Henry’s 30-yard shot over the bar on the 20th minute.
Malvern had their chances, but it was the home side who took the lead. With just a minute to go before the break, the ball ran through to Seth Lewis whose shot hit the crossbar and dropped into the net.
Despite the blow, Malvern responded brilliantly as they levelled matters through Aldington at the start of the second period.
Town continued to have their chances, with Reynolds having an effort cleared off the line, and on the 62nd minute they edged 2-1 ahead. Malvern took a short corner to Hooper who curled the ball into the back of the net.
Ten minutes later, Hooper turned provider as Turner collected his pass before weaving his way past Shifnal’s defence and firing the ball home.
Reynold then sealed the victory with a goal on the 80th minute as Malvern set up a second round tie away to Ellesmere Rangers on October 5.