Ledbury Town Football Club

Match report

Ledbury man of the match Zak Bonfield leaves his line to palm away a 28th minute Kington corner ball as Morgan Skidmore is shown leaping in front of him, with team-mates Alex Berry, Elliot Watts and James Kenny all being shown in the box behind them (📸: Chris Ponter)

After a wait of exactly six weeks since their impressive 3-1 victory over Hinton Reserves at Broomy Hill back at the start of March in Division One of the Herefordshire FA County League, Ledbury Town Reserves finally achieved a long-awaited win at New Street this week in front of a sizeable crowd of spectators on a sunny Easter Bank Holiday weekend, clinching a 2-1 win against mid-table rivals Kington Town Reserves.

David Butcher’s side had been plagued by misfortune over recent weeks, recording only home draws against Tenbury United and Hereford Pegasus Colts to lift the four away losses suffered away against Burghill Rangers, Tenbury Town, Holme Lacy Reserves and the most recent 2-1 defeat to Ross Juniors HCL, and so a morale-boosting win against a side who beat them 5-2 away at Mill Street towards the end of September was an extremely welcome prospect with only two home games left to play this season.

A Tom Crichton treble was accompanied by goals from booked team-mate Harry Bowen and Sam Roberts during the last encounter between the Ledbury and Kington second strings, with an own goal from the hosts occurring on the 67th minute after Sam Branch found the net for the visitors three minutes before the interval, and although this latest clash between the two sides wasn’t quite as much of a goal-fest, smiles were soon put on the faces of home supporters when first team forward Morgan Skidmore found the net after just twelve minutes of play.

Jack Gittoes equalized on the half-hour mark despite a superb block from Ledbury man of the match for a second consecutive game Zak Bonfield, before Jake Bramley went on to score both his first New Street goal and a long-awaited first mark on the scoresheet of the season since the hat-trick scored away at Burghill in the quarter-finals of the Ross Cup competition at The Copse back at the start of December.

Despite Kington threatening several times through close efforts and set-pieces during the final twenty minutes, a combination of the crossbar, further terrific work from Bonfield on the line and sheer good fortune eventually enabled Butcher’s young squad to walk away with a thoroughly-earned three points.

The hosts were on the attack almost immediately from referee Derek Smith’s starting whistle as an opening effort from George Walker was sent over the bar upfield, before a twenty-yard first free kick from the visitors was nodded clear of the box by James Kenny.

The same Ledbury defender made another decisive move on the tenth minute in charging out towards the near sideline to deflect the ball away for a throw-in to the opposition, before a good Kington cross from the far wing was nodded over the woodwork by a visiting forward.

Skidmore’s opener very nearly witnessed his opponents returning the scoreline to a level state barely a minute later if not for Bonfield performing the first of many fine saves that afternoon in leaping up to palm a great effort over the frame, with the three consecutive Kington corner balls which followed also failing to provide the visitors with a swift equalizer as the slew of set-pieces concluded with Bonfield safely seizing the ball.

Kenny went in hot pursuit of a visiting striker just after the quarter-hour mark, performing a physical challenge which sent him over his opposing target man on the touchline as Smith chose to give a goal kick to Bonfield, and, after a further Kington strike went wide of the far post, Smith ordered a brief drinks break for both sides as temperatures hovered around twenty degrees for the first time this year.

The interlude was quickly followed by Bonfield racing towards the edge of the box to fire the ball away from an incoming visiting attacker, before Walker’s strong effort back upfield came off the opposing defender leaping in front of him, with the ball ending up with Dwayne Tyndale whose strike performed while under pressure was denied by the keeper as the hosts’ first team defender couldn’t quite make anything of the second rebound.

Ledbury captain Jai Smallwood then chased down the same Kington striker twice into the box around the 25th minute, forcing the visiting player to put the ball over the bar on the first occasion as the second assault saw a cross being just about intercepted in front of a further opposing forward by Curt Williams with Kenny being on hand to make the clearance.

Two further Kington corner balls ended with Bonfield leaping out to strike the ball away with his palm, before a visiting attacker managed to break through in the box to see the busy home goaltender make a superb block with his knees, only for his work to be unjustly rewarded when Gittoes seized the opportunity to charge in and fire the rebound squarely into the top right-hand corner of the net to level the score.

An injured Smallwood had to be replaced by sixteen-year-old Jake Clueit in an earlier-than-expected first Ledbury substitution on the 34th minute, before a free kick from Williams was apprehended from Tyndale at the far post by the opposing keeper as two Kington spot kicks couldn’t provide them with a second goal to take the lead with Tyndale and Williams both defending well in the box.

Smith had words with both Skidmore and a visiting midfielder as the match started to become that ever so slightly more heated on the far wing under the warm spring sunshine, and, after further great defending from Tyndale kept the home outfit safe in and around the box, returning Ledbury defender Elliot Watts made a sliding challenge over the far sideline in front of the home dugout to give a further throw-in to the opposition.

Clueit fed a great ball upfield to Walker moments before Smith blew the half-time whistle as the twenty-year-old’s effort from towards the near wing provided the Kington goaltender with a relatively easy save, with George Hackman being swapped for Brad Potter over the break as the second period began almost instantly with a free kick from Williams taken a few yards outside the box on the far wing being deflected over the touchline by a Kington defender near the far post.

The resulting corner ball was again delivered by Williams to be cleared in the box by the visitors before being sent over the neighbouring cemetery wall by the west Herefordshire outfit, and, after Bonfield made another fantastic diving save back upfield, a superb corner ball from Williams met the head of Bramley to bag a long-awaited goal for the Ledbury regular.

Alex Berry then performed a strong decisive challenge in front of the away dugout, with Smith calling another breather for fluids on the 65th minute as an invigorated Bramley won the ball from an opposing player in midfield, sending his rival to the floor in the process as Bonfield went on to make another comfortable save up at the far end.

Bramley was brought off for Phil Davis in a third substitution from Butcher as twenty minutes remained for Kington to find their badly-needed equalizer, with a further 25-yard free kick from Williams ending up with the keeper at the far post as a corner ball from the home first team regular couldn’t quite be finished by Potter in the box.

The visitors squandered a further great chance to restore the stalemate shortly before Hackman had to unexpectedly return to the action with fifteen minutes left on the clock, taking over from an injured Skidmore as Ledbury’s opening goalscorer that afternoon required spray treatment on the pitch from Butcher on his back, with Bonfield denying his opponents upfield yet again before the hosts received a major let-off when Kington rattled the bar on the follow-up from a well-taken corner ball which was nodded out of the box.

Ledbury headers dealt with further corner balls struck by the visitors as the game entered its final five minutes, with good jockeying from Potter on the near side of the box upfield leading to a potential late goal for the yellow and black shirts being denied through an offside flag being displayed by Bramley on linesman duties for the hosts on the far sideline.

A final free kick from the Mill Street outfit made it past the three-man wall of Hackman, Berry and Clueit just inside the box, with the set-piece being denied only through a superb diving save from Bonfield to palm the ball clear at the near post.

Ledbury continued to hang on till the bitter end as a last chance saloon corner ball from the opposition was nodded clear by Watts, calling out and leaping up against a Kington forward as the rebound effort met the head of Tyndale to enable the hosts to celebrate a long-overdue eighth league win of the season after so much bad luck and misfortune, most notably against Pegasus Colts last Wednesday evening when a David Solway header from a final corner ball after six minutes of stoppage time levelled the earlier 55th minute goal scored by Potter.

Butcher was over the moon with the win his side have waited so long for:

“Finally, the lads got what they deserved after the last few results, really having something to show for all of their hard work.”

“The match against Kington was a good game of football, with both sides battling well. I do think we owe a lot to Zak however for keeping us in the running for the three points with some fine saves.”

“We have two games left both at home, and so hopefully we can now pick up six points from those.”

Despite the defeat, Kington retain a seven-point gap as well as a game in hand to keep Butcher’s young squad locked to a seventh place finish at best by the end of the season, but the Ledbury second string can still aim to finish the season strongly with the added home advantage over current second-place holders Worcester United, whom they will entertain in a rescheduled Wednesday evening fixture on 4th May (KO 7:30pm), as well as eighth-placed Tenbury Town, who will be the reserves’ final opponents of the season at New Street the following Saturday (KO 2:30pm).

Before the original home fixture against Worcester was postponed just over four weeks ago, when a very wet Wednesday created a waterlogged pitch at Ledbury’s historic ground, the reserves last drew 3-3 to United back in early October at the Jewry Field, when goals from home strikers Matthew Gardner, Rhys Turberfield and Arron Windsor equalled the brace scored by Tom Skittery and the additional goal from Jack Dandy.

The first meeting of the season against Tenbury Town only three weeks ago at the Brimfield and Little Hereford Sports Club saw the Ledbury second string defeated 3-1 in what was possibly their worst performance of the season, with Walker’s stoppage time goal being of scant consolation following earlier goals scored by home strikers Callum Gittens, James Lort and Jack Moran.