Ledbury Town Football Club

Match report

Matti Holder holds off a Holme Lacy attacker in midfield, watched by team-mate James Kenny behind him as Ledbury captain Jai Smallwood walks in from the right (📸: Chris Ponter)

After first half goals from George Walker and Sam Branch, together with a critical second-half save from man of the match Zak Bonfield secured a 2-1 victory against Bartestree in a first Herefordshire FA County League Division One game of the year last weekend, Ledbury Town Reserves continued their promising start to 2022 this week with an altogether more convincing 4-0 home win over Holme Lacy Reserves, after the previous fixture between the two sides was postponed back in November.

With David Butcher and Nick Blakeway’s side unusually playing from the Ledbury Rugby Football Club Ross Road ground on account of their regular New Street pitch needing time to recover following the Herefordshire League Premier Division clash between Ledbury’s first team and former league champions Clee Hill United the night beforehand, Branch and Tom Skittery were on target for Town’s second string as Nathan Ince found a later brace, even if the hosts really should have extended their goal difference by at least another two or three goals owing to a number of missed early second half opportunities.

Ledbury were on the attack from the starting whistle as the Holme Lacy keeper was forced to pull off an early save, with Samuel Palmer-Young hitting the ball wide as chances went begging for both man of the match for Town that day Kieran Loveridge and regular team-mate Alistair Holder.

Referee for the afternoon Mark Hays gave a controversial free kick to the visiting goaltender when a tenth minute effort from Skittery struck the near post, before the quarter-hour mark saw Palmer-Young nod away a corner ball at the near post back across field.

An alleged push from Branch gave the opposing keeper a further free kick as a well-timed challenge was then made against Pete Jeynes in midfield, before Palmer-Young couldn’t quite stop a pacy Holme Lacy striker from making a great run down the near wing, as the equally-impressive cross from the visiting attacker was squandered through one of his team-mates firing the ball wide of the target.

Loveridge was relieved of possession on the half-hour mark, going in for a risky retaliatory lunging challenge which failed to connect against the player who successfully tackled him, enabling the opposing forward to put a 25-yard effort just wide of the woodwork as Loveridge’s temperament didn’t go unnoticed by an official who chose to have a cautionary word with him.

The 35th minute saw a Holme Lacy defender being lucky to receive only a booking for bringing Jeynes down in what appeared to be a last man situation back downfield, as the ensuing free kick was well-struck by Charlie Jones past the three-man wall of visiting defenders to be nodded narrowly over by Loveridge.

Jones continued to impress with a superb challenge which this time stopped the same opposing attacker in his tracks down the near wing, with Palmer-Young, Jeynes and Matti Holder all contributing to some great home defending as James Kenny successfully covered a Holme Lacy forward before clearing the ball away.

Protests from the visitors in blue fell on deaf ears when Alistair Holder’s midfield challenge in the muddy conditions appeared to make no contact with his intended target, before some good play from both Palmer-Young and the more upfront of the Holder siblings gave Skittery the opportunity to produce a strong shot from a tricky angle which was met with a great save from the opposing keeper.

Branch then gained possession of the ball in the box, not quite being able to get his foot into a position to perform the finish as some further solid defending from Kenny on the near sideline saw Ledbury achieve the breakthrough on the 38th minute, when an exquisite ball from Palmer-Young on the near wing was cleanly headed into the bottom corner of the net by Branch to finally get his side off the mark.

Jones nodded a further corner ball away before a Holme Lacy effort was struck harmlessly wide after Loveridge couldn’t quite connect with the challenge, and after Palmer-Young nodded a cross from Jeynes the wrong way in the box, the Town player was unlucky to see the ball overplayed over the touchline.

Visiting defender Matthew Price then performed a successful tackle against Loveridge on the near wing, and after Skittery was felled in a rather less legitimate challenge from the opposition which this time saw no cards being produced by the official, the resulting free kick was struck by Matti Holder to see his brother being brought down right on the edge of the box.

Skittery’s resulting spot kick was knocked to the left of the sizeable four-man Holme Lacy wall and on to roll wide of the far post, before the closing minutes of the first period of play saw the referee give an unusual drop ball when a visiting midfielder lost his footing in the slippery conditions as contact was judged to have been made by one of the black and white shirts.

Jai Smallwood, taking up the home captain’s armband after usual skipper Nick Bolton was forced to retire with a popped hamstring during the second half of the visit to Bartestree seven days previously, then struck a worthwhile 25-yard effort wide of the woodwork, before Jones and an opposing counterpart both lunged in and clashed boots in a painful-sounding manner, with the Holme Lacy player being judged by the referee to have been more at fault as the official brandished a second yellow card of the affair to the visitors.

The Matti Holder free kick which followed heralded the start of the interval, as the previous impact turned out to be enough to Jones succumb to injury and be substituted for teenage team-mate George Hackman as the second period began with a ball in from Skittery towards the far corner flag which was deflected away by a defender leaping in front of Branch in the box, as the resulting corner ball from Jeynes saw Skittery put the ball inches over the bar.

The squandered early second half chances continued for Ledbury when Branch gained a clear run into the box and put the ball wide, even if he appeared to have been pulled down by the opposing defender pursuing him as the referee turned a blind eye regardless, before Jeynes went on a run of his own before going on to put the ball over the frame.

Skittery then knocked the ball upfield to Jeynes who was contentiously flagged offside by the Holme Lacy linesman running the far sideline, before the 55th minute saw Skittery embark on a clear run in plenty of space, producing a shot which lacked the power required to trouble the visiting goaltender as Town’s finishing continued to leave much to be desired.

Fouls from both Alistair Holder and Kenny saw the latter home player being booked as an opposing attacker came to blows with Ledbury keeper Zak Bonfield on the floor, with the resulting Holme Lacy free kick being struck past the wall but well wide of the target as Jake Bramley replaced Branch in a second Town substitution.

A marvellous ball from Loveridge on the near wing was then seized by Skittery, whose fantastic finish finally doubled his side’s lead on the 68th minute, before a similar great ball from Kenny travelled just that little bit too far for Alistair Holder to reach it at the near post.

Butcher then chose to make a double change of personnel as Palmer-Young and Branch retired for returning defender Tom Reid and Ince to take to the field, with a direct shot from the visitors being comfortably blocked by Bonfield in one of very few saves that the home goaltender was tasked with making all game.

A clinical cross from Skittery again from the corner flag allowed Ince to find the bottom corner of the net within two minutes of entering the action, and, after the opposing outfit made a substitution of their own, Bramley and Skittery continued to work together and create chances upfront, even if they couldn’t find a fourth Ledbury goal between them.

A further Holme Lacy offside flag, this time against an audibly-annoyed Ince saw the first team striker go on to overrun the ball slightly and strike it wide of the top corner of the woodwork, and after Skittery came off for a returning Palmer-Young with just over five minutes to go, Town’s final substitute player fell down in a simultaneous and comical manner with a visiting forward on a run towards the box.

Palmer-Young then delivered a great ball in from the near corner which missed both Hackman and Branch in front of the keeper as the opposing goaltender made the save, before a further terrific ball from the latter home player allowed Ince to embark on a trademark pacy run to put away his brace.

Ince fell foul of one last offside flag after receiving a good ball from Hackman, with his side’s only yellow card of the affair then occurring as his frustration over the decision boiled over into dissent towards the official, before a final ball in from Ince saw both Palmer-Young and Bramley not quite being able to make the final connection in the box.

Butcher was again impressed with his side’s confident performance, commenting:

“The lads carried on their performance from last week and dominated the ball throughout. We never really looked troubled, with Zak only really having to make two saves pretty much all game. We deserved the win but again, the result could have featured several more goals in our favour if it weren’t for some awful finishing.”

“Everyone played well however, and generally I couldn’t pick fault in anyone’s game. Two wins from two games to start the new year – what more could you ask for?”

“Hopefully we will carry our form on to next week against a very strong Ross side, and I am sure that we will give them a very good game.”

This latest win moves the New Street second string up to eighth in the table as their game against Ross Juniors HCL at the Ross-on-Wye Sports Centre this weekend (KO 2:00pm) completes what has so far been a promising January campaign.