Moors slipped to their first National League North defeat in six games as they were made to pay for some sloppy first half defending at Brackley Town on Saturday.

The Saints could hardly believe their luck as Moors proved uncharacteristically vulnerable at the back on their way to falling 3-0 behind within 25 minutes at St James Park.

Rob Ramshaw clawed one back early in the second half but the mountain proved too much to climb – though Moors remain second in the table after the weekend’s results.

Lewis Dickman made two changes to his starting line-up with Michael Ledger returning at right-back and Connor Shanks preferred in midfield, while Mark Anderson was back on the bench after injury.

Moors seemed to settle the better of the two sides in the opening exchanges, knocking the ball around with confidence and authority against their hosts.

However, that all changed on nine minutes. Moors gave away a cheap corner which they then failed to deal with, and Dan Turner was able to drill home a low shot to give Brackley the lead.

More sloppy play presented Turner with a chance to double his tally when he found space on the edge of the penalty area, but he shanked his shot wide under pressure.

Moors did not take heed of the warning though because a minute later they once again conceded possession inside their own half and one pass released Turner through on goal and this time he made no mistake with a low finish to make it 2-0.

It was 3-0 on 25 minutes. A ball down the left found Brackley’s top scorer Danny Newton and, with nobody in red inside the area, the front man took matters into his own hands by cutting inside before skilfully scooping a finish over James Montgomery.

Glen Taylor dragged one free-kick wide before striking another on target which was parried by Danny Lewis, with the Brackley keeper then reacting well to deny Sam Fielding from the rebound.

There was some renewed hope for Moors seven minutes into the second half when Ben Pollock got to Fielding’s corner from the right to head on goal and Ramshaw nodded in from close range to reduce the arrears.

Moors were well on top now and could have got another goal back on 63 minutes when Harris turned to play Fielding through on goal but Lewis in the Brackley goal stood tall to block the shot with his feet.

The home side were content to just sit back and deal with the pressure. However, substitute Morgan Roberts almost added to their tally on the break, but he dragged his shot wide of the post.

Moors were coming against a red wall in their attempts to get back into the game, but they continued to probe patiently and look for their opening, though Montgomery needed to make a decent save as Cosmas Matwasa came close on the counter-attack again.

Keenan Ferguson’s deep cross was kept alive by Ramshaw at the far post only for Taylor’s low shot to be blocked and Mark Anderson curled a shot over when the ball fell to him on the edge of the box.

Full Time: Brackley Town 3 Moors 1

Brackley Town: Lewis, Carline, Dean, Lilly, Calder, Little, Murombedzi, Armson, Turner (Matwasa 78), McHale (Roberts 63), Newton.
Subs not used: Gudger, Crawford, Cross.

Booked: Dean (28), Calder (87)

Moors: Montgomery, Ledger (Ferguson 69), Curtis, Pollock, Staunton, Ross, Fielding (Anderson 82), Ramshaw, Shanks (Mbeka 46), Harris, Taylor.
Subs not used: Doherty, McKeown.

Booked: Taylor (37), Mbeka (68), Harris (78), Anderson (90)

Referee: Dane McCarrick

Attendance: 689