Ledbury Town Football Club

Match report

Joel Skyers nods the ball away while surrounded by team-mates Mike Arlott, Jai Smallwood, Will Brandreth and Sam Booth in the box just over fifteen minutes into the Swifts’ game against Fownhope Reserves as Ledbury Town Reserves assistant coach Nick Blakeway points from the goalmouth on goalkeeping duties (📸: Chris Ponter)

Ledbury Town Football Club kicked off 2022 in fantastic style this week, as their Ledbury Town Swifts third team, formed only at the start of the current season as a result of the club’s strengthened relationship with Ledbury Swifts Junior Football Club, scored an exciting 3-2 victory away at mid-table Fownhope Reserves in a first Herefordshire FA County League Division Two fixture of the new year, following a terrific second half comeback and a last-minute winner from veteran player Joel Skyers.

In stark contrast to the 7-1 drubbing suffered at the hands of Fownhope’s second string at the Ledbury Rugby Football Club Ross Road ground during the opening league game of the season back in early September, when teenager Khayd Saxelby scored the only goal for Richard Thick and Luke Ledbury’s new young squad, things still looked grim for the Swifts shortly into the second period of play during the two sides’ latest meeting, going 2-0 down with an earlier 38^thminute penalty from Nick Bolton being saved.

Visiting spirits were lifted when Brad Potter, bolstering the Swifts’ line-up on account of Ledbury Town Reserves’ Herefordshire League Division One game against Bartestree being postponed that day due to a waterlogged pitch at New Street, raced in to finish a free kick from Skyers which had deflected down from the crossbar, before Clayton Hodges restored the stalemate with ten minutes to go on the follow-up from a Bolton corner.

A game which had become characterized by heated feelings in the challenging slippery conditions, as seasoned referee Mike Darley battled to keep order and issued no fewer than four yellow cards, reached boiling point as a furious home side made their protests vocal when Skyers chipped an 88^thminute ball over their goaltender from 25 yards out to steal all three points.

With Fownhope being unbeaten up to this point and finishing league runners-up last season, Ledbury nevertheless had the upper hand during the opening ten minutes of this latest affair, being denied only through a number of great saves pulled off by the opposing keeper as the thirteenth minute saw visiting reserves assistant manager Nick Blakeway, taking up goalkeeping duties for the Swifts on account of his side being out of action that day, made a good judgement in sliding out on his knees to save a free kick.

The eighteenth minute saw the ball bounce awkwardly for George Hackman in the box to see the Ledbury youngster drill the ball just wide of the far post although not without contact being made by a diving Fownhope goaltender to give the visitors a corner ball which couldn’t provide an opener, before the Swifts were then punished when a home attacker held off pressure from hardworking visiting man of the match for a second consecutive occasion Sam Booth, approaching the box from the far wing to slot the ball home.

Ledbury captain Mike Arlott then had to retire with a tight hamstring in the process of trying to stop the previous attack to be replaced by David Feakins in an earlier-then-expected first substitution for the Swifts as Ledbury Town chairman Pete Boyle assumed the captaincy, with the visitors’ first replacement player inadvertently deflecting a free kick from his own side off the line with a raised foot as the Swifts then received a major let-off when a corner ball was put narrowly over the woodwork back across field.

The half-hour mark saw reserves manager David Butcher, running the line that afternoon as opposed to taking up his originally scheduled position of calling the shots from the dugout, flag an opposing striker offside, before some good combined work from sixteen-year-old Jake Clueit and more seasoned team-mate Skyers in midfield was successful in getting the ball up to Potter, who was foiled in the box by a combination of two defenders and the Fownhope keeper.

Some strong sustained play from Bolton saw the keen reserves regular overcome a number of midfielders as his subsequent effort lacked the power needed to trouble an opposing goaltender who rushed out to make an easy save, before Darley went over to calm down a home linesman who believed that a Ledbury player had stamped on one of his colleagues.

Skyers was then sent flying just after rushing into the box to see the referee this time award a penalty, which was struck by Bolton to be well-saved by the Fownhope keeper as Skyers, seemingly a target of a home outfit who saw his experience as a credible threat, was once again brought down this time on the opposite touchline as Boyle played the free kick to Blakeway.

It was Skyers who received the first booking of the game however for a late challenge committed in midfield, even if the veteran forward was then able to play the ball up and on to Feakins who squandered a further chance for the Swifts to draw level in knocking the ball over the bar, before a 41^stminute throw-in from the opposition saw Darley give the goal kick to Blakeway after judging a Fownhope forward to have pushed against Boyle and Skyers in the box.

Butcher waved a second offside flag as the offending home attacker put the ball over the frame regardless, as Blakeway went on to make a great save before it was chairman Boyle to the rescue, leading by example in nodding a follow-up effort downwards off the line as the visiting club head very much put his own head to good use again in deflecting a corner ball clear.

The reserves boss then displayed a third offside flag, much to the audible annoyance of the opposing forward the flag was aimed at, before Boyle was shown yellow after continually arguing with Darley when the official blew the whistle against the chairman for bringing down an incoming attacker.

Blakeway caught the ensuing free kick from the ground in an assured manner as the man in the middle continued to talk to both Boyle and Thick over the break, before Fownhope kicked off their second half by extending their lead from a corner set-piece, even if the referee continued to warn them that further cards would be issued should protests and dissent continue.

Solid work from Potter saw the determined youngster hold off a number of defenders while running in from the far wing towards the touchline, to see his great ball into the box have no-one present to meet it with Feakins running in a little too late, before an arm from a pursuing Skyers into the shoulder plate of an opposing attacker prompted Darley to give a further free kick to the hosts.

Bolton stayed strong in making it past a number of members of the Fownhope back-line before eventually being kicked down, giving Skyers the pivotal free kick which was denied by the bar as Potter ran in to finish the job with Feakins and Clueit in the mix as well, with the former player leaving the action for Hodges to enter the fray on the 60^thminute.

A further home corner ball was cleared away back to the near sideline by Will Brandreth positioned not far off the line, before Boyle dealt with a further ball which was fed back in while stationed in a similar position, and, after an injured Brandreth was swapped for Harry Eales in a final Swifts change of personnel as their last substitute player made his return following a six-month hiatus, a good defensive block from Booth was made in-between two further substitutions made by the opposition.

Blakeway safely caught a ball which had been sent to him by an impromptu 75^thminute bicycle kick from a Fownhope attacker in the box, and, after the home keeper leapt above Potter to punch away a Bolton corner ball, Boyle managed to feed the ball back in from the near wing to see Hodges catch the opposing goaltender off guard, clipping the ball in to suddenly restore the stalemate with ten minutes remaining.

The busy Fownhope goaltender caught an aerial ball again while under pressure from Potter on the line as a home midfielder was booked for felling Bolton on the near sideline, with the same Ledbury player in turn being presented with the final yellow card of the encounter moments later for a similar late challenge committed in midfield.

There was more drama to come however under the setting sun at Fownhope’s ground with mere minutes left on the clock, when the referee overruled both advantage and offside calls from the hosts as Skyers triumphantly chipped the keeper, snatching victory away from a thoroughly frustrated opposing outfit who continued to protest well after the final whistle as Thick and Ledbury’s jubilant squad conversely celebrated a well-deserved and hard-fought third win of the season.

Thick was over the moon with his young squad’s performance, with much to say about the result:

“The lads were just fantastic today. We lost 4-2 against Belmont the last game of 2021 and it hurt, but the first game of the new year, we’ve come from 2-0 down with 35 minutes left to defeat an unbeaten side 3-2.”

“When we pulled it back to 2-2 with ten minutes to go, our instructions were clear: go and win it! You could see the young lads were starting to believe, whereas at the start of the season they wouldn’t have had that confidence. This is why we do this – for their development!”

“Our squad is currently ravaged with Covid and injuries – I’ve never known anything like it in all the years of being involved in football.”

“The biggest compliment these young lads can take however is the reaction of our opponents at full time, questioning how many first teamers we brought. The simple answer is not one, but there were about ten of them on the sideline who made the journey over to cheer on our lads. That was really appreciated, and great to see.”

“The reserves game got called off about an hour before we had departed. We could have just loaded our squad with their stronger players, but that would have done very little for the development of the young players we have at this club.”

“Will Brandreth, Sam Booth (who was again awarded man of the match), Brad Potter, George Hackman and Jake Clueit were all fantastic. The majority of them are still under 18 and finding their way at senior-level football. Four of them put a full ninety minutes in today, with Will having to come off after seventy minutes with an injury to be replaced by yet another young lad in Harry Eales, who is being eased in after having six months out.”

“We went 1-0 down after half an hour, losing our captain Mike Arlott as a result of the build-up to the goal. We had Joel Skyers come out of retirement as we were so low on numbers, and he was a great help to the younger players, of course also scoring the winner. He was targeted all game, and really showed the youngsters the correct way in dealing with it.”

“Our keeper Alex Thomson messaged me on Friday night offering to put an outfield kit on and sit on the bench, so we could bring in reserves assistant manager Nick Blakeway in goal, solely to help us with numbers. We only decided to do that when the reserves game had been called off, and the exemplary attitude from Alex is just unbelievable and is exactly what we are looking for in terms of players being all in it together.”

“We remained 1-0 down at half-time after switching off once and being punished for it. Despite missing a penalty as well, the improvement is very evident when you consider that when we played Fownhope at home the first game of the season, we were 3-0 down after just nine minutes! The boys didn’t fold, shy away or back down. They listened at half-time, and put the plan into action.”

“We then conceded from a corner a couple of minutes into the second half, but the boys still took the game to our opponents. Jake and George bossed the centre midfield – a sixteen and seventeen-year-old grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck and taking the fight to the hosts.”

“Sam at the back flew in challenge after challenge, winning every tackle against men who have been playing as long as he’s been alive, while Brad, having never played up front for us before, took the half-time instructions on, made run after run off the ball and caused chaos. We told him he would get the goal, and he did, also playing a huge part in the other two goals we scored with his work off the ball.”

“All in all I’m absolutely delighted for these young lads; they really deserved that win today. They were up against it for the first half-hour, but they dug in and gave as good as they got.”

“What an exciting future these lads give this club – especially when you see the other young lads in the first team and reserves as well. The boys will be told at training however that there is no point putting in a performance like that and not turning up next week against Dore Valley – bottom of the league or not. We now need to start seeing some consistency, which is very much the next stage of their development.”

The Swifts, who spent much of the season occupying the bottom of the league table before back-to-back 3-0 and 3-2 wins away to Tenbury United Colts and at home to Leominster Town respectively in mid-November eventually lifted them, now find themselves just below mid-table, six points below Fownhope as a fortnight’s break to recuperate following this important latest victory sees them face a further chance to make up more ground by hosting basement boys Dore Valley at the Ross Road ground, before taking on current fifth place holders Belmont Rangers at Belmont Abbey the following Saturday (both games KO 2:00pm).