Ledbury Town Football Club

Match report

Sam Branch is challenged by an opposing defender for the ball during the 65th minute of the game (📸: Chris Ponter)

A first period of squandered set-pieces and other golden opportunities to score cost Ledbury Town Reserves dearly in their second Herefordshire FA County League Division One meeting of the season against Holme Lacy Reserves to begin the month of April, as an opening goal scored just before the interval allowed the hosts to capitalize on a lacklustre second half from the team visiting Holme Lacy Playing Fields.

With David Butcher’s young squad having already recorded a 4-0 victory over the same opponents back in mid-January at the Ledbury Rugby Football Club Ross Road ground, when a brace from first team substitute striker Nathan Ince and further goals from Sam Branch and Tom Skittery netted a convincing win, hopes were high that the Ledbury second string could recover a dip in form over recent weeks, which have seen a goalless draw against Tenbury United at New Street and two away defeats to Burghill Rangers and Tenbury Town.

Despite being by far the stronger attacking side throughout the first period of play, the visitors just couldn’t seem to find the breakthrough even with all the aforementioned free kick and corner ball chances, with Holm Lacy’s late first half opener providing a wake-up call which still didn’t translate into Ledbury getting themselves on the scoresheet as a reliance on aerial balls rather than more grounded play perhaps cost them.

An uncharacteristic miss from Ince going one-on-one with the home goalkeeper led to an 85th minute foul from visiting substitute player Callum Blackmore-Davey which provided Holme Lacy with a successfully-converted penalty, with a third goal scored three minutes from the final whistle merely providing the icing on the cake for a home outfit which had thoroughly worked for the win during the latter half of the afternoon.

An opening free kick for the yellow and black shirts was struck past the two-man wall of Ledbury captain Nick Bolton and team-mate Alex Berry to travel just wide of the far post, before Jake Bramley’s cross-shot into the box was caught by the opposing keeper in front of Skittery.

Great work from visiting man of the match Berry, putting in a solid defensive display throughout the afternoon resulted in a superb challenge which forced the ball over the touchline, before Bolton’s thirteenth minute corner ball met the head of Matti Holder in the box as the ball ended up with Kieran Loveridge, who couldn’t quite get into a position to score.

Ledbury received a first free kick of the encounter following a controversial back-pass decision, which Bolton chose to pass on to Skittery as the strike from the visiting forward hit the knee of one of three defenders forming the wall in front of him, before some decidedly sloppy Holme Lacy defending allowed Loveridge to produce an initial effort which flew wide of the near post.

The referee had words with a home attacker for bringing Berry down on the near wing, before Skittery’s strike went much the same way as that of Loveridge as a run from Bramley down the far wing was swiftly ended by a good challenge from an opposing substitute player.

A second corner ball from Bolton was then nodded over the bar by Holder, before Ledbury goaltender Zak Bonfield was then called upon to make his first real save of the game back across field on the 24th minute, in what was the first time Holme Lacy had really threatened since their opening free kick.

Ince passed the ball on to Bramley, whose effort didn’t quite have the power required to really trouble a home keeper who dived to palm the ball clear, as the resulting corner ball again delivered by Bolton was nodded clear of Holder in the box by an opposing defender.

Loveridge managed to evade two defenders on the near wing before being judged to have fouled the third, with the Holme Lacy spot kick-taker mis-striking the ball over the sideline further downfield before the hosts were lucky not to receive a first booking of the game for bringing down Ince on the run with the ball.

The free kick awarded to the visitors was struck off the wall by Bolton and volleyed only just shy of the far post by the Ledbury skipper on the rebound, with the black and white shirts going on to rue more missed opportunities to get themselves off the mark as an effort from Loveridge was saved by the keeper, while an impromptu twenty-yard effort from Bolton running towards the box went wide of the target following some good play from both Loveridge and Ince around the box.

Eventually however, the visiting outfit’s failure to break the deadlock bit them hard when they were caught static and saw their opponents put away a surprise opener five minutes from the break, with Butcher urging his team to fight on in the knowledge that they were the better side up until this point of the proceedings.

Bramley knocked the ball on to be seized by the Holme Lacy keeper, before further good defensive work from both Berry and first team midfielder Chris Wickham gave the former player a throw-in as the former Ledbury player struck the ball upfield to Skittery, only for the home goaltender to leap up and catch the ball in front of him.

Stoppage time of the first period of play saw the visitors being denied what would have been a critical equalizer, as a great long cross from Loveridge from towards the far corner flag was nodded into the opposing keeper at the far post by Ince.

The ball came to the senior team striker again in the box soon into the second period as Bramley’s follow-up volley was deflected off a defender, as a free kick from the opposition taken from thirty yards out on the far wing was cleanly caught by Bonfield.

Butcher chose to make a first substitution of the afternoon on the 52nd minute in bringing Bolton off for sixteen-year-old midfielder Jake Clueit, before two corner balls from Loveridge saw the first being missed by Holder to come off the head of a defender, while the second led to James Kenny striking the ball into the Holme Lacy goaltender’s knee from close range.

Bramley was called off-field for Branch to enter the fray, before a great cross from the hosts only saw Ledbury not conceding a second time through no yellow shirts being available in the box to meet it.

Clueit then managed to get the ball to Branch, who lost possession to a well-timed challenge from an opposing defender, with a further free kick after Ince was felled on the edge of the box still not providing the goal which the visitors so desperately needed at this point as Skittery came off for Brad Potter with twenty minutes to go.

A Holme Lacy spot kick made it past the three-man Ledbury wall of Jai Smallwood, Holder and Berry to be blocked but fumbled over the touchline by Bonfield as the resulting corner ball for the hosts was struck to clip the top netting at the far corner of the frame, with Butcher then making further changes to his squad as Blackmore-Davey and George Hackman entered the action for Kenny and Wickham.

A prime opportunity for the visitors to change the complexion of the game entirely on the 75th minute went begging as Ince’s effort with just the opposing keeper in his way struck the woodwork in gutting fashion, with Ledbury’s anguish only being furthered by four consecutive corner balls from Loveridge which failed to provide them with the vital equalizer which they were now crying out for.

Skittery was brought back on for Loveridge for the final ten minutes, with the visitors’ chances of clawing at least a point from the affair being left in jeopardy when Blackmore-Davey’s foul, earning the Ledbury defender a first yellow card of his senior football career in the process, saw Holme Lacy’s penalty being struck into the bottom right-hand corner of the net past an unlucky Bonfield who had not quite dived far enough the correct way.

The hosts then picked up a late booking of their own, as Ledbury’s fate was all but sealed when the opposition nodded home a final corner ball, even if Smallwood finished by falling in the box with an attacker to deny Holme Lacy a chance at a fourth moments before the final whistle was blown.

Butcher was disappointed with the result, but saw positives in his side’s performance:

“It was a game of two halves really, although I thought we were the better team throughout. It was a much better performance from previous weeks, but failing to take our chances again cost us massively.”

“A 3-0 defeat is harsh on the lads as it didn’t reflect their performance, but with six games left all at home, we will be looking to finish the league strongly.”

The Ledbury second string remain seventh in the table, with a busy week ahead of them as this coming Wednesday evening sees them host current league fourth place holders Hereford Pegasus Colts at New Street (KO 7:30pm), before entertaining fifth-placed Ross Juniors HCL three days later and welcoming mid-table Kington Town Reserves to their historic ground on Saturday 16th April (both games KO 2:30pm).

Butcher’s side recorded a narrow 3-2 defeat against Pegasus Colts at Old School Lane during a final game before the Christmas break, with Will Clarke finding a brace for the hosts as team-mate Kieron Davies picked up a third, with Blackmore-Davey and Potter on target for the reserves as captain Bolton picked up the man of the match accolade.

A 2-1 loss resulted against Ross Juniors at the Ross-on-Wye Sports Centre at the end of January, during a scrappy stop-start affair which saw all the goals come from penalties awarded by referee Derek Smith, with Mike Donaldson scoring twice from the spot for the hosts, Loveridge converting the Ledbury penalty and newcomer Sam Booth being named man of the match during his debut for the reserves.

Finally, a heavier 5-2 defeat was incurred by Butcher’s team at Mill Street against the Kington second string towards the end of September, with a Tom Crichton treble being accompanied by goals from booked team-mate Harry Bowen and Sam Roberts, as an own goal from the hosts occurred on the 67th minute after Branch found the net for the visitors three minutes before the interval, with Potter being awarded man of the match for Ledbury on this occasion.