Ledbury Town Football Club

Match report

Tom Boyle regroups with Rares Micula and Dean Lee behind him and joint assistant coach Sam Dixon to the left after scoring the 70th minute winner (📸: Chris Ponter)

Ledbury Town took the first of three final steps towards securing the 2022/23 Herefordshire Football League Premier Division title this week, with a Wednesday evening victory over Worcester United under the floodlights of the 3G pitch at the Droitwich Spa Leisure Centre.

With an identical 2-1 win over Worcester at New Street under their belts in only the third league game of the season played back in late August, when the affair was essentially wrapped up by half-time with first period goals from Tom Boyle and Ryan Pugh being enough as the visitors could only manage a single consolation goal during the latter half of play courtesy of Joshua Lloyd, Ledbury’s latest clash against United was rather less clear-cut and much more dramatic.

Town’s opener on this occasion was scored eleven minutes in by Josh Burns, although not without the regular Ledbury forward injuring himself in the process, before disaster struck for the league leaders on the 25th minute, when Tyler Weir was judged to have handled the ball on the touchline to gift the hosts with a penalty which they successfully converted.

The real controversy was yet to come however, when referee Edgar Sanha disallowed a potential equalizer for the Worcestershire-based outfit shortly into the latter half of play through an offside flag being displayed by Pete Jeynes running the near sideline for the visitors.

A nail-biting remainder of the second half of play saw jubilation for Ledbury management and supporters when Boyle netted what would turn out to be the winner on the 70th minute.

An early scare for Town saw their opponents put an opening effort narrowly wide of the far post, before the Worcester goalkeeper left his line to claim the ball on the ground from Boyle.

A first free kick for United on the ninth minute was struck from towards the near sideline as visiting keeper Alex Goode, team-mate Ben Febery and the home captain all leapt up against each other, each missing the header as Goode raced to collect the ball afterwards on the bounce behind him.

Burns fired home his cracking opener from the far wing as he attempted to run off the leg injury incurred from the strike, before great control from Dean Lee on the near wing kept the ball away from the opposition to allow the recent Ledbury newcomer to produce a promising 25-yard effort which curled just wide of the top left-hand corner of the frame.

Town’s latest signing then fed a fantastic ball up from the same wing which bounced that little bit too far in front of visiting captain Joel Skyers in the box, before Burns managed to race away on the break two minutes later only to be flagged offside by the Worcester linesman.

Goode was called upon to punch clear a 19th minute corner ball, with Boyle eventually going on to make the clearance as the Ledbury management trio called for their players to wake up and up their game, before Burns succumbed to his earlier injury to be replaced by Nathan Ince in an earlier-than-expected substitution.

A free kick for United from thirty yards out was struck directly into a comfortable catch for Goode, with an effort from Boyle swiftly being saved by the home goaltender back across field as Weir committed the aforementioned handball offence while attempting to block a cross from an opposing attacker on the far wing.

Worcester managed to slip the ball in underneath Goode despite the valiant Town goaltender diving the correct way, as the half-hour mark saw a corner ball from Cosmin Micula being taken long to come off Febery wide of the far post in a missed chance for the visitors to quickly repair the damage done by the previous set-piece.

Hardworking Ledbury man of the match Tom Trigg advanced to make a good defensive block and clearance from a few yards outside his box, with Ince’s cross-shot from towards the near corner flag being seized by a United goaltender making another diving recovery.

Protests and calls for a booking from the Town management were ignored by Sanha when Febery was brought down in midfield, before a second corner set-piece from Micula was sent straight into the gloves of the home keeper.

Callum Shaw picked up a first yellow card of the evening for the city-based side on the 36th minute as Skyers’ free kick from towards the near touchline just over the halfway line was curled to be nodded clear by a trio of opposing defenders stationed at the edge of the box, before the visiting skipper ended up in Sanha’s book himself for stamping on a Worcester midfielder.

Goode was forced to make another save as Ledbury’s frustration over allowing themselves to let United through too easily became palpable, before a recovered Burns returned to the action for Micula for the five minutes of the first period which remained when the newer of these two Town players suffered an injury of his own.

The visitors were unable to give themselves a two-goal buffer come the break through a further offside flag being shown against them and Ince missing a couple of chances upfront, as Ledbury manager Ian Merrick gave his squad a passionate dressing-down over the break with an emphasis on the fundamentals of football.

The hosts made a very early change of personnel barely two minutes into the ensuing half of play to retire one of their own injured players, before two golden opportunities for Town to retake the lead occurred when Ince nodded a corner ball the wrong way, shortly before Skyers fired the ball well over the woodwork.

The evening’s most contentious moment then unfolded as a Worcester free kick taken just before the far edge of the centre-circle met the head of United substitute player Joseph Grange, leaping up against Goode off his line with Trigg, Weir and Rares Micula in the mix as well, before it soared into the net as fury from home supporters was directed at the offside flag displayed by Jeynes.

After a fairly lengthy discussion between Sanha and the visiting linesman, man of the match when his side side last took on their latest opponents eight months ago, the referee ruled the goal out on the grounds of Gareth Williams-Howells impeding Goode’s view from an offside decision much to the dismay of the Worcester management.

Ince nevertheless brought the ball into the opposite box when play restarted, choosing to cross it for the United defence to take possession when he may have stood a better chance going straight for goal, being exchanged for reserves regular Kieran Loveridge as Febery went on to put the ball well over and wide of the target.

Further dogged work from Trigg around the centre-spot won the ball back for his side, before Rares Micula’s 66th minute free kick from the halfway line was nodded away from Weir before being launched over the fence by a home defender to cries of frustration from the set-piece taker.

A further Ledbury spot kick opportunity was squandered when Boyle delivered it to be deflected towards Lee, whose follow-up effort was in turn deflected by another member of the opposing back-line, even if smiles were soon put back on the faces of Town players, management and followers alike when Boyle’s strike in a one-on-one situation with the Worcester keeper saw the ball come off the gloves of the United goaltender to slowly roll over the line in dramatic fashion for a whole-team embrace to occur on the sideline.

A chance for Burns to further extend his side’s reclaimed lead just five minutes later was lost when a home defender intercepted him on the far side of the box, before Boyle skilfully turned against the opposing midfield to run the ball back towards their goal and produce a shot which was this time saved by their keeper.

After Goode struck a rather risky ball back out to Trigg, further chances for their side to cement the three points went begging when Loveridge missed a sitter in the box and Febery put another ball wide of the far post, as Burns retired for the remainder of the evening for Jeynes to take to the pitch.

Boyle was relieved of a possession by a pair of defenders to conclude another run downfield as Ince made a return for an injured Loveridge, before Matt Tristram made a crucial clearance over the near sideline away from a Worcester attacker with minutes to go as Weir denied a further goalscoring chance for United in the box.

The visitors put another ball well over the bar after Lee’s cross to Boyle was blocked by a home defender, as Ledbury’s top goalscorer, one short of thirty goals scored this season, was felled towards the near corner flag as Jeynes made one final great challenge towards the far sideline.

With second-placed formidable league newcomers and the only other side which pose a threat to Town’s title campaign Sporting Club Inkberrow, who were defeated 1-0 at their Sands Road ground last weekend through a winning header from Febery to finish a 67th minute free kick from Ben Miller, beating other newcomers Coppertops FC with a 3-1 win at home on the same night as Ledbury’s latest victory, only a single point still separates the two sides as Inkberrow retain the superior goal difference.

The penultimate league game of the season for Merrick’s men against mid-table Welland at the Upton Hill Community Centre this coming weekend therefore remains crucial, as Ledbury return home to New Street for a final re-arranged league fixture of the season against Wellington Rangers on the day of King Charles III’s coronation (both games KO 2:30pm).

Town have a 4-1 home victory over Welland in their records this season, even if the win towards the end of September looked far from certain as a surprisingly poor opening 45 minutes from the hosts saw visiting striker James Lush score the second of two penalties given to his side during the first period by referee Ian Jervis, only for Merrick’s squad to launch a stellar second-half comeback with goals from Zac Blood, Skyers, man of the match Burns and Pugh through a rebound off a great save from the opposing keeper which deflected his own 57th minute spot kick.

Ledbury’s previous away encounter against Welland back in mid-March last season was rather less successful however, going 3-2 down at half-time and suffering an eventual shock 5-3 defeat as braces from Mark Holbrow and Sean Smith, together with an additional goal scored by Omar Elmougy outnumbered Boyle’s double and further consolation goal netted by youngster George Walker.

Town scored their first victory of 2023 against Wellington courtesy of a second-half brace from Febery which followed a 20th minute opener from Pugh, who was sadly put out of action with a season-ending injury in suffering a dislocated shoulder fifteen minutes into the second period.

Jordan Mann found the hosts’ only consolation goal in controversial circumstances eight minutes after Pugh found the net, as Trigg picked up the man of the match accolade for Ledbury for a solid defensive display throughout the afternoon.