ALCESTER Town bowed out of the Birmingham Vase on Saturday, going down 2-1 against West Midlands Regional League Division One opposition Wrens Nest.

Manager James Robbins was forced in to two changes following the 1-0 defeat to Coventrians a fortnight ago.

There were debuts for new signings Mark Briggs and Adam Trinder, replacing the unavailable Nick Cox and injured Matt Layton.

Town fell behind after ten minutes and, to make matters worse, saw Kieran Downey sent off for a rash challenge.

They dug in, though, and could well have gone in all square at half-time had Chris Hill’s effort not been smartly smothered by the goalkeeper.

Following a half-time re-shuffle, Alcester came out and battled superbly, forcing the home side into there own half for long spells.

As the game went on, with Town committing more men forward in search of the equaliser, Wrens Nest had opportunities to double their lead, hitting the post and forcing Rich Layton in to a couple of stops.

With ten minutes remaining, the home side doubled their lead following a fortunate deflection.

Again Alcester kept up the tempo, though, and Matt Trinder scored a well-taken strike from outside the box to drag his side back in to the game.

There were chances again for Hill and Trinder late on, but it just was not to be and Wren’s Nest hung on for the victory.