Ledbury Town Football Club

Match report

A home defender nods a corner ball delivered by returning Ledbury captain Joel Skyers on the half-hour mark of play clear from Lewis Williams beneath him as prolific striker Ben Miller, making his return debut for the visitors that day looks on from the right (📸: Chris Ponter)

After a 3-1 victory over mid-table Wellington Rangers at The Kensal Ground a fortnight ago lifted a miserable start to 2023, with a first defeat of the season away to Ludlow Town Colts ending a remarkable fifteen-game unbeaten streak as well as two cancelled fixtures at home to arch rivals Hereford Pegasus Reserves and league newcomers Coppertops FC, Ledbury Town’s quest for this season’s Herefordshire Football League Premier Division title suffered a significant blow this week with a 3-1 defeat against Kington Town at Mill Street.

The fifth place holders were always going to be tough nuts to crack, with Ian Merrick’s senior squad only having managed a 2-2 draw in a first meeting at New Street under the midweek floodlights back in early October when a fifth minute opener from Tom Boyle, who later received a yellow card from referee Adrian Rocke and a 78th minute goal from James Febery were levelled by Sam Roberts and booked Kington substitute player Elliot Williams.

Sure enough, a very-much-unlucky thirteenth minute of play saw Ledbury put on an early backfooting at Mill Street courtesy again of Williams, before Dan Pugh stunned the visitors by firing home a second sixteen minutes from the interval.

Even though Josh Burns was able to lift the spirits of away supporters by grabbing a goal back just two minutes later, a highly-controversial remainder of the game which saw Ledbury goalkeeper Alex Goode sin-binned, with three further yellow cards dealt out by Alan Robinson, witnessed Mike Ruckledge providing the icing on the cake for an elated home side through a great header to finish a well-taken corner ball.

Only the third fixture of 2023 for the black and white shirts at the furthest league venue from home began in a promising manner with Burns advancing down the far wing and putting the ball just wide of the far post, before Lewis Williams swiftly struck the ball narrowly over the crossbar.

A bright beginning ended when Elliot Williams managed to slip the ball underneath Goode on the ground to open his side’s account, before better play from the visitors saw Burns battle to win a corner ball over the near touchline which was delivered by returning captain Joel Skyers to be cleared by the opposing defence.

Kington scuffed the ball wide of the near post following a corner set-piece of their own on the 25th minute as Merrick and joint assistant coach Sam Dixon called for their side to up both their game and tempo from the dugout, with moods in the away camp being done no favours when prolific returning striker Ben Miller, making his return Ledbury debut this season, was contentiously flagged offside by the home linesman running the near sideline.

The half-hour mark saw a bungled clearance from Kington keeper Ben Davies forcing him to scramble in order to clear the ball over the far touchline away from Burns lying in wait, giving Skyers two further corner opportunities which culminated in the ball being nodded clear from Lewis Williams in the box.

A period of more sustained attacking play from the visitors saw Burns being unlucky to see the ball escape from under his foot while attempting to retrieve it upfield, and, after Robinson stopped the game momentarily to allow opposing midfielder Brian Dyer to receive physio for a wrist injury, Davies rushed off his line to beat Miller to the ball at the edge of the box.

Burns was relieved of the ball in a great challenge from a home defender on the far sideline, before a prime chance for Ledbury to level the score come the break went begging when Febery waited just that little too long to pull the trigger in the box.

Morgan Skidmore launched the ball well over the woodwork from the far wing, with a foul from Skyers against a Kington defender a few yards outside the box giving Davies a free kick as stoppage time of the first period saw Burns make a spirited run against a further member of the home backline, being foiled once again by Davies racing out to make the clearance.

A change of formation as the darkening skies over Mill Street that afternoon became somewhat of a metaphor for the visitors’ chances of retaining the league’s top spot, as news came through over the interval of Pegasus Reserves’s hefty 6-1 defeat of Welland after an earlier kick-off at the Upton Hill Community Centre to move two points clear, saw Matt Tristram and Skidmore exchanged for Pete Jeynes and returning striker Nathan Ince, as the second period began with recent new seasoned signing Simon Craddock being kicked in the back of the leg by an opposing attacker.

Goode made a fairly straightforward opening save of the latter half of play at the far post, before a free kick from Febery was struck to the left of the three-man wall of Kington defenders to leave Davies with a similarly simple save.

A spot kick from the hosts back across field was nodded only just wide of Ledbury’s near post by Jeynes from the ground, with the corner ball resulting from the risky clearance being more decisively fired away by Cosmin Micula as Williams then couldn’t prevent Pugh from smashing home a crucial second goal for his side.

Burns swiftly went on however to keep hold of the ball brilliantly against a swarm of defenders on the far side of the opposite box, seizing the opportunity to strike the ball through the space which had developed into the bottom corner of the net to quickly restore his side’s hopes of claiming at least a point from the encounter, before Dyer came down in audible pain at the edge of the box to see Skyers receive a first controversial booking of the affair.

After youngster George Walker replaced Williams in a third substitution from the visitors’ well-staffed bench that afternoon with the hosts fighting on with a bare bones squad, Robinson swiftly showed Ollie Hughes the same colour card as his shirt for a late challenge against hardworking Ledbury man of the match for a second consecutive game Tom Trigg.

Ruckledge then leapt up against Craddock to header home his side’s superb corner ball to place their opponents in jeopardy, only furthered when Goode was booked and given his marching orders with Dyer also being shown yellow during a particularly contentious 75th minute of play, where Robinson appeared not to have noticed an offside flag displayed by Skidmore on the near sideline.

Craddock took over the goalie’s gloves as the visitors’ Young Player Award winner of last season James Kenny took over in defence, as Kington very nearly scored again when a great cross was knocked perilously close to the far post.

A great piece of defending from Trigg cleared the ball well over the bar as Ledbury’s green shirt was swapped yet again with Ince taking over from Craddock, aiding an opposing attacker with an injury to the approval of home supporters only for Kington to respond by firing the ball inches over the frame.

Goode returned to the fray for the final ten minutes as two free kicks for his team couldn’t provide them with a second consolation goal, and, after Trigg retired for other newcomer this season Jordan Thomson in a final change of personnel from the visitors, Goode redeemed himself by blocking a one-on-one attempt from a home forward as Kenny nodded the rebound clear when it was fed back into the box.

Superb defending from Walker following an earlier solid challenge from the twenty-year-old towards the far sideline forced a corner ball for the opposition, before an afternoon to forget for Ledbury was summed up during stoppage time when Febery squandered a very late penalty chance following a Kington handball offence, slicing the ball wide of the near post.

With Pegasus back on top and formidable newcomers Sporting Club Inkberrow continuing to pose a huge threat in third with three games in hand and only four points behind Merrick’s men, the pressure is on for Town to quickly bounce back quickly against Hinton at Broomy Hill on Tuesday evening (KO 7:45pm).

The New Street outfit can go into this second of three consecutive away games in the space of seven days with a good degree of optimism however, having already thumped the basement boys with a 7-1 demolition at home at the start of October, when both Burns and returning substitute player Patrick Morgan scored braces as top goalscorer Boyle, absent both in this week’s clash against Kington and the previous win over Wellington, also found the target along with Febery as booked substitute striker Robert Gonsales netted the sole consolation goal for the visitors.

Ledbury will then travel to Palmers Meadow this coming Saturday to face Tenbury United for a first time this season (KO 2:00pm), with the reverse fixture occurring a fortnight later (KO 2:30pm) as in-between, Merrick’s side have the small matter of a Herefordshire FA Charity Bowl semi-final game to play against current league sixth place holders Clee Hill United on Saturday 4th March (KO 2:00pm), following a quarter-final home walkover from Ludlow at the end of November.

The first round of the competition was quite a tussle for Town against reigning champions Pegasus at Old School Lane back in late September, during an eventful Friday evening encounter which was taken to penalties when a brace from visiting man of the match Boyle and a further goal from Febery equalled the home marks on the scoresheet scored by Corey Ellis, Harvey Evans and substitute player Charlie Jenkins.

This volatile encounter saw Pegasus defender Marc Avery receive a double-booking as Boyle and team-mate Zac Blood were also shown yellow cards by referee Ian Jervis, even if Ledbury ran away during the shootout when Pugh, Blood and Febery all put away their spot kicks as some stellar saves from Goode effectively avenged the 3-1 defeat in the previous final played at the Herefordshire FA County Ground four months previously, when a Harvey Evans opener and a Saul Thomas brace outnumbered the sole consolation goal scored by Walker.

Clee overcame Inkberrow at the Knowle Sports Ground in mid-October, when a Josh Bowen hat-trick and an additional goal from Craig Breakwell secured a first-round win, with the same result occurring against Westfields Development at home in the quarter-finals on the same day as Ludlow’s forfeit against Ledbury when a Breakwell brace and further goals from Josh Bowen and Liam Whitbread booked a place in the penultimate stage of the contest.