Ledbury Town Football Club

Tom Boyle strikes the free kick past the four-man wall of opposing players which allowed Ben Febery to sneak in and put away Ledbury’s winning goal against Clee Hill (📸: Chris Ponter)

Ledbury Town repaired the damage done by a second Herefordshire FA County League Premier Division defeat of the season incurred at New Street last weekend with their 2-1 loss to Hereford Lads Club Reserves, achieving the reverse result this week as a Ben Febery brace secured an important victory away against former league champions Clee Hill United.

Febery’s opener came courtesy of a tenth minute assist from Tom Boyle as both sides battled against strong and freezing windy conditions at the Knowle Sports Ground, before Ledbury’s opponents managed to equalize at the worst possible time minutes before the interval in a fashion which very much mirrored the two recent losses against current league leaders Hartpury University and Lads Club Reserves.

Unlike Town’s two defeats so far this season however, it was the black and white shirts who took the advantage during the second period when a 60^thminute Boyle free kick saw visiting man of the match Febery sneak in to retake the lead, despite the previous quarter-hour of play witnessing countless chances for Clee Hill to go ahead.

A battling team performance, which included many fine saves from busy Ledbury keeper Joshua Worrell as well as some good defensive work from Dale Taylor, allowed Ian Merrick’s determined outfit to retain the scoreline right up until referee for the day Les Coultas blew the final whistle.

Things started brightly for Town under the overcast skies at Clee Hill’s lofty venue thanks to the combined efforts of Boyle and Febery in securing the opener, before an 18^thminute free kick from the hosts past the two-man wall of Curt Williams and Chris Wickham was assisted by the strong crosswinds to curl into the centre of the box, with Worrell just about managing to get a hand to the ball in order to narrowly deflect the follow-up shot.

Worrell performed further quick-witted blocks with his feet at either post, with Taylor being on hand to clear the danger away in the latter instance as a 24^thminute spot kick saw the visitors just about manager to keep the ball out in a much more uncertain and nervy manner following a messy scramble in the box.

A highly-deceiving cross-shot from Ledbury’s opponents from the far wing appeared to have gone in from the viewpoint of some of the spectators braving the cold that afternoon at Clee Hill’s ground, as the ball actually made contact with the side of the netting.

Dwayne Tyndale was then judged to have committed a foul on the half-hour mark, as the resulting free kick from the hosts was helped along by the strong gusts to travel harmlessly wide of the target.

Impressive footwork from Boyle saw the seasoned striker make a run around several defenders and then out to the near wing, with his effort from a challenging angle clipping the near post although not without the diving keeper making contact with the ball to award Town a corner.

The opposing goaltender cleanly caught the set-piece away from Febery on the line as his side rattled the bar back across field, with a 37^thminute free kick this time taken by Febery being curled straight into the gloves of the Clee Hill keeper.

Worrell dived to make another good save as Boyle volleyed the ball over the woodwork from close range while under pressure from a home defender, with the visitors squandering a second chance in barely a minute when Curt Williams nodded the ball wide of the far post from the ground with two defenders either side of him in the box.

Ledbury’s failure to find the security of a second goal before the interval was swiftly punished when an opposing striker raced down the far wing on the break, taking full advantage of Tom Trigg momentarily losing his footing to fire the ball home for the equalizer.

Clee Hill weren’t done as the opening period entered stoppage time, with Wickham being required to block a further effort as the hosts put the ball well wide of the target on the rebound, before a further cross-shot from the Shropshire-based outfit soared over the head of Taylor on the touchline before bouncing twice along the crossbar.

This stark warning to Merrick’s men rang all the more true going into the second period, as their opponents dominated the first fifteen minutes but missed chance after chance as Worrell was forced to make a superb catch while under pressure on the line on the follow-up from a 55^thminute corner ball.

Wickham needed to perform a covering clearance after a Clee Hill forward put the ball through Taylor on the edge of the box, with Worrell making a close-range catch from a header as home supporters were left aghast as to how their side were not 2-1 up by this point.

This sustained attack prompted Merrick to make a rare triple change of personnel as Asten Griffiths, Wickham and Williams were all substituted for Alistair Holder, Sam Branch and Charlie Docherty, with this big shake-up of Town’s line-up heralding a turning point when Boyle’s free kick made it past the four-man wall of opposing defenders, as Clee Hill’s failure to clear the ball away was ultimately the key factor in deciding their fate that afternoon as Febery snuck around the back to complete his double in cheeky fashion.

The hosts kept the pressure on despite their major setback as Worrell was again required to make another great save in order to keep his side ahead, before Boyle managed to get the ball to Branch as the visiting substitute player’s cross-shot from the touchline saw the ball fly across the goalmouth and only just be deflected in time by the keeper.

Coultas then saw fit to have a brief word with Taylor and an opposing attacker for a spot of argy bargy between the two players near the corner flag on the 75^thminute, with the seasoned official then ignoring Ledbury calls for handball despite the Clee Hill captain’s hand appearing to make contact with the ball a few yards outside the box.

After a further shot from Boyle flew narrowly across the front of goal as the prolific striker’s goal drought since the emphatic 6-0 Herefordshire FA County Challenge Cup victory achieved against Hereford Lads Club at New Street over a fortnight ago continued, the red and black shirts chose to make a substitution with ten minutes remaining for them to salvage their game.

Holder then volleyed the ball over and wide after receiving it from Docherty in the box, before Taylor’s free kick ended up in the hands of the keeper after the new Town signing this season himself was felled towards the near sideline.

The hosts made a final change of personnel as Worrell stretched to deflect an effort by just enough of a distance to allow Taylor to make the clearance, and after George Walker came on to finish the game for an accomplished Febery, the match entered a nervy extended period of stoppage time as a further free kick was deflected out to Tyndale, who managed to volley the ball away.

Worrell, seemingly unable to escape injury in recent weeks after he was sent flying by a late merciless challenge from Lads Club Reserves the previous weekend after suffering a blow to the head during the taking of a 78^thminute corner ball during the 6-1 home demolition of Wellington Rangers a month ago, with striker Nathan Ince having to don the keeper’s gloves on both occasions, was thankfully able to continue playing after being momentarily felled on the line after the taking of the previous set-piece, with one final foul from Holder seeing one last-ditch spot kick from Ledbury’s latest opponents being sent wide as Merrick’s squad celebrated a highly-significant victory.

Fourth-placed Town, just a point behind Hartpury, Hereford Pegasus Reserves and Lads Club Reserves above them with a game in hand over the third of these table toppers, return home this coming weekend to host none other than Pegasus Reserves at New Street in another challenging encounter, before hitting the road again the following weekend to face Ewyas Harold (both games KO 2:00pm).