LICHFIELD City fell at the first hurdle as they lost 2-1 at home to Corby Town in the FA Trophy.
The visitors got off to a dream start as a strike by Tyrone Lewthwaite deflected off the thigh of defender Joe Haines which ended up in the back of the net with nothing young goalkeeper Isaac Taylor-Deadman could do.
The hosts immediately tried to hit back with Luke Childs and Jack Edwards looking to unlock the Corby defence.
The Steelmen nearly got their second of the tie following a goalmouth scramble which saw Taylor-Deadman doing well on the line to keep the ball out and prevent Lichfield going two behind.
At the other end, Edwards saw a free kick drift just wide of Jack Laban’s goal.
Corby then saw Connor Tomlinson have a go from the edge of the box, but the ball sailed over the bar.
The hosts thought they had a goal from captain Dan Lomas, but the assistant referee’s flag ruled it out.
Lewthwaite continued to shine for the visitors with two efforts of his being deflected before and cleared away.
Towards the end of the half, Tomlinson ended up on the floor in the box, but the referee waved away the appeals.
The second period started well for the hosts with James Willock swinging the ball into the box, but keeper Jack Laban got there before Lomas could head home.
A defensive error for Lichfield nearly allowed Corby to double their lead, but the home side managed to clear the danger.
City had two great chances that they couldn’t convert, with new signing Dan Bradley finding the side netting and a Haines strike going wide.
Josh Mansell did well defensively for City, being called into action a couple of times to clear the ball away from danger in the second period.
Tomlinson had the ball in the net for The Steelmen, but the offside flag again prevented the scoreline being added to.
But Corby did double their lead with just under ten minutes to go when Tomlinson found space in the area to finish.
Lichfield grabbed a consolation late on when Childs was brought down in the box and debutant Bradley converted from the spot to make it 2-1.