STRATFORD Town suffered a 3-0 defeat away at AFC Sudbury in what proved to be Gavin Hurren’s final game in charge of the Bards.
Hurren departed the club to take charge of Northern Premier League West side Hednesford Town, who play one level below Stratford, following the defeat against Sudbury at the MEL Group Stadium.
The result means the Bards sit ninth in the Southern League Premier Central table, three points outside of the play-off places.
Sudbury broke the deadlock on 17 minutes when Oliver Peters lobbed the ball over advancing Bards goalkeeper Jake Weaver.
And the home side doubled their lead on 31 minutes as Weaver could only parry a shot into the path of Neal who smashed a shot into the net.
Stratford made two tactical changes before half time in an attempt to stem the flow of Sudbury attacks with Lewis Wilson and Tom Solanke introduced six minutes before the interval.
However, Sudbury extended their lead five minutes into the second period when Myles Cowling drove a shot past Weaver through a crowd of bodies from the edge of the penalty area after the Bards goalkeeper tipped an initial effort onto the crossbar.
The Bards looked to respond only for Sudbury goalkeeper James Bradbrook to make two crucial saves in quick succession.
Substitute Harry Leeson then went down in the box following an apparent push from Benjamin Isaacson only for the referee to wave away the Bards protests.
Stratford are next in action against West Bromwich Albion in the Birmingham Senior Cup on Tuesday, November 19 with kick-off at 7.45pm at the Arden Garages Stadium.
