TADCASTER Albion have it all to do now to reach the Evo-Stik League east division play-offs after being losing 2-0 at mid-table Stamford.

The Brewers' promotion hopes have been bruised by back-to-back defeats, following Saturday's reversal at the i2i Stadium against Pontefract Collieries.

Sixth-placed Taddy missed the chance to return to the play-off spots and are now three points off the pace with five games to play.

A lacklustre display in Lincolnshire made for a gruelling 200-mile midweek round trip but Albion could have no complaints with the result as goals from Joe Burgess and Jon Challinor either side of the interval handed the Daniels a deserved victory.

Simon Collins was forced into making two changes to the side, with Jake Rose and Luke Porritt coming in for Paddy Miller and Will Annan.

The first noteworthy moment at the Zeeco Stadium arrived on 13 minutes when Casey Stewart brilliantly soared beyond Josh Egginton, driving into the penalty area only to see his cross superbly flicked off the toe of Joe Lumsden by an outstretching Michael Armstrong.

Following an earlier downpour, Taddy players continually lost their footing on the slick surface, yet Aiden Savory managed to recover from his slip inside the box to retain possession before he blasted over from a tight angle.

The Brewers’ best moments came down the right-hand side, with Ellis Barkworth and Casey Stewart continuing to link up well, though the end product was severely lacking.

After a convincing 3-0 defeat to Marske United on Saturday, Stamford were hungry for a reaction and they grew into the game as the half wore on. Ryan Seal slid Ollie Brown-Hill into the box down the left-hand side but his pull-back was just behind Liam Adams.

But the hosts did break the deadlock shortly after the half-hour mark as Joe Burgess’ header from a Jake Duffy corner had too much power on it for stand-in keeper James Hodges.

With a lot of work to do in the second half, Stewart was one of the few players who looked dangerous as he intercepted Egginton’s pass before pulling back to Lumsden, but he failed to connect with his rushed effort.

Things then went from bad to worse for the Brewers as the hosts doubled their lead nine minutes into the second half. Rob Morgan cleverly sent substitute Challinor gallivanting into the box down the right-hand side before the former York City man fired past Hodges at the near post.

With clear-cut chances pretty much non-existent for Taddy, the closest they came to finding the net was three minutes later when Lumsden’s goal-bound header from a corner was inadvertently diverted onto the crossbar by Michael Armstrong.

The result seemed a foregone conclusion at this point, with Stamford looking like a side gunning for the top five. Liam Adams had a great chance to add a third when he skipped past last man Harry Coates but Hodges stood tall to push over the top.

Tadcaster seemed devoid of any motivation whatsoever while their opponents simply appeared to want it more as they threatened again on 77 minutes when Adams curled a whisker wide of the left-hand upright.

Albion then reverted to a back three for the final stages with Annan replacing Jason Mycoe. The former Hull City pro provided a bit more of a spark in the final third without really troubling Stamford.

As the hosts rightfully sat in and defended their lead, Pete Davidson created Taddy’s clearest chance of the evening, threading Lumsden through into the box but goalkeeper Danny Haystead saved well. The Stamford stopper was called into action twice more before the full-time whistle went, first to tip Annan’s curling effort wide before he superbly kept out Savory’s close-range volley.

Prior to that though, Stamford had a chance to put the icing on the cake with a penalty after Barkworth hauled down Rob Morgan, who had remarkably run almost the entire length of the pitch. Greg Smith immediately ran over to grab the ball but his blast down the middle was cleverly read by Hodges who simply pushed over the top - but it counted for little for the Brewers.