WORCESTER Raiders saw a second-half comeback fall short in a thrilling 4-3 pre-season defeat against Malvern Town.
A hat-trick from Sam Clark condemned Raiders to defeat although Bailey Fuller, Prince Henry and a trialist all found the net for Worcester at the HDAnywhere Community Stadium.
Raiders play one level below Malvern who achieved promotion to Step Three last season.
Worcester went close early on as a shot flashed inches past the post inside the opening 10 minutes.
And Raiders broke the offside trap soon after as Luke Payne made a crucial clearance from in front of his own goal to keep the scores level.
The home side responded with a chance of their own as Jay Malshanskyj lifted a shot over the goalkeeper but wide of the post.
And Malvern broke the deadlock on 32 minutes when Reece King flicked home a free-kick to put the Hillsiders ahead.
However, Raiders drew level three minutes before half time as Fuller lashed a strike from distance into the net.
The Hillsiders reclaimed the lead in first-half injury time when Clark spotted the Raiders goalkeeper off his line and sent a lob into the net from distance.
And Clark doubled his tally for the game three minutes into the second period with another well-taken strike.
Clark completed his treble on 50 minutes with a simple finish after good work from Malshanskyj.
Worcester reduced the deficit five minutes later as Henry pounced on a mistake to find the net.
And the visitors scored a third goal on 64 minutes as a Raiders trialist struck following a quick break.
