Toothless Peterborough Sports well beaten at home on Bank Holiday Monday

Visiting 'keeper Danny Lewis was not forced into a single meaningful save right up until the final seconds of the game when a deflected Michael Gash effort had him scrambling back across his line to prevent a consolation goal.

Sports have now slid down to 18th having taken seven points from their opening six National League North games, scoring just four times.

Sports lined up with joint-boss Gash partnering top scorer Ben Fowkes, but failed to convert promising spells of possession into clear-cut chances.

They were then punished twice from set-pieces by an unbeaten Brackley side that looked a threat from balls being put into the box all day.

The opener for the hosts came after 23 minutes, just a minute after Peter Crook had pulled off a magnificent save down to his right from a powerful Danny Newton header.

Crook was again called into action from the resulting corner, but was helpless when the ball fell to Tyler Lyttle on the left of the box to blast home.

Sports responded well and ended the half on top, but a scramble in the Brackley box following a Dan Lawlor free-kick and a High Alban-Jones effort from 20 yards out, which he sent wide, were the closest they came.

Crook was keeping Sports in the game in the second half, making two identical saves from low Lyttle free-kicks from the left side, around 30 yards out, but he couldn't prevent Zak Lilly curling in a great goal from the edge of the box just before the hour mark.

It would have been three moments later when Crook came off his line ,but made a mess of his clearance, presenting the ball right to the visitors.

With two players in behind the keeper, Newton was inexplicably caught offside from the cross that presented him with an open goal

It was three though with 20 minutes to go when George Carline rose the highest to head home Lyttle's corner and seal three points.

Late Sports changes which included substituting Sidney Pereria after 78 minutes - when he had only come on in the 55th minute - had little impact as Brackley held on for a comfortable win.

Peter Crook, Ashton Fox, Hayden Cann, Connor Johnson, Roddy McGlinchey (sub Sidney Pereria 55 mins, sub Ryan Fryatt 78 mins), Hugh Alban-Jones, Dan Jarvis (sub Harrison Nee 74 mins), Dan Lawlor, Josh McCammon, Michael Gash, Ben Fowkes

Not used: Lewis Elsom, Luke Steele.

Attendance: 434