Ledbury Town Football Club

Match report

Alex Berry steps over an opposing forward whom he brought down during a defensive challenge performed towards the far sideline around the tenth minute of the game (📸: Chris Ponter)

Ledbury Town Reserves are still searching for a highly-elusive eighth victory of the season in Division One of the Herefordshire FA County League following their last win back at the start of last month with a 3-1 victory against Hinton Reserves at Broomy Hill, with only two home draws against Tenbury United and Hereford Pegasus Colts and three away losses to Burghill Rangers, Tenbury Town and Holme Lacy Reserves occurring in the meantime as David Butcher’s squad suffered a second 2-1 defeat of the season against Ross Juniors HCL at New Street.

The two sides last met at the Ross-on-Wye Sports Centre at the end of January, in a scrappy stop-start affair which saw all the goals come from penalties awarded by referee Derek Smith as Mike Donaldson scored twice from the spot for Ross, with Kieran Loveridge converting the Ledbury penalty.

With the Juniors continuing to be a ‘bogey team’ which Town’s second string cannot seem to crack, Florin Crainic and Joseph Thomas made it 2-0 to the visitors before the interval on this latest occasion, even if Loveridge again found the consolation goal during the second period for an identical result.

Zak Bonfield was named man of the match for the hosts for doing much to keep Ross’ tally down on goalkeeping duties, with Butcher commenting after the game:

“We were unlucky not to come away with at least a point really, with a blip during the 20th minute of the first half perhaps costing us the game.”

The Ledbury second string, yet again stubbornly sticking to seventh place in the middle of the table despite this latest defeat, have three more games left this season all at home to try and make up ground on Kington Town Reserves above them in sixth, who hold a sizeable ten-point and single game advantage.

It will be the Kington second string themselves whom Butcher’s side will next host at New Street this coming weekend (KO 2:30pm), before more than a fortnight’s break from footballing action sees them entertain current league leaders on goal difference Worcester United in a re-arranged Wednesday evening fixture on 4th May (KO 7:30pm), before a final game of the season on Saturday 14th May will see Tenbury Town visit New Street (KO 2:30pm).

A 5-2 defeat was incurred by Ledbury at Mill Street against the Kington towards the end of September, when a Tom Crichton treble was accompanied by goals from booked team-mate Harry Bowen and Sam Roberts, as an own goal from the hosts occurred on the 67th minute after Branch found the net for the visitors three minutes before the interval, with Potter being awarded man of the match for Ledbury.

Before the original New Street fixture against Worcester was postponed just over three weeks ago after 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 a fortnight 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 young first team striker George Walker’s stoppage time goal being of scant consolation following earlier goals scored by home strikers Callum Gittens, James Lort and Jack Moran.