Season: 2021-22

Lads Club Colts vs Ledbury Town Swifts

After languishing at the foot of Division Two of the Herefordshire League throughout the opening weeks and months of the season, with recent back-to-back 3-0 and 3-2 victories away at Tenbury United Colts and at home to Leominster Town lifting them to tenth as a 1-1 draw against Credenhill at Roman Park last weekend helped to maintain this position, Ledbury Town Swifts stay put in the table this week following a close 4-3 defeat to Hereford Lads Club Colts at the County Ground.

The first fifteen minutes of this latest league encounter cost Richard Thick and Luke Ledbury’s side, with the Swifts going 3-0 down by the time just fifteen minutes of play were up as the visitors struggled to get going with the added disadvantage of ten regular players being absent.

Dan Powell appeared to put the ball over the line shortly after Lads Club found their first, although not to the agreement of the referee as Lads Club found a fourth by the time half an hour had been played, despite the Swifts starting to create chances.

Will Brandreth scored his inaugural goal at senior level football to get the red and blue shirts off the mark before the interval, heading the ball home after a fantastic run from visiting man of the match that afternoon Sam Booth resulted in a shot which rattled the bar.

A constructive half-time chat, with the Swifts players present that day very much taking heed of the improvements required by Thick and Ledbury, saw Alex Berry find a second recovery goal going into the latter half of play, before Dan Fish reduced the visitors’ deficit to a single goal by firing home his saved penalty on the rebound.

In fact it was only through a magnificent save from the Colts keeper to stop a last-minute header from Clayton Hodges which denied the visitors of what would have been a very well-deserved league point following such an impressive comeback, as Thick commented:

“Although we lost and were very disappointed with the way the players had started their game, Luke and myself were still delighted in how the lads managed to pull themselves back into it during the latter half of the game.”

“We had square pegs in round holes in many positions with so many players out, and from the talk at half-time, it was clear that the lads both listened to and applied exactly what Luke and I had asked for in the second half.”

“Sam Booth particularly impressed, as just ten minutes into playing in centre-midfield, a position he had never played in before, he really found his feet and was in fact our driving force, winning every tackle and header, and showing how comfortable on the ball he really is. He demonstrated a fantastic range of passing, along with a couple of assists and some dangerous long-range shots.”

“Will Brandreth also stood out, putting in a great performance at left wing-back in what was also his first time playing in this position, really seizing his chance.”

“There was a time towards the start of the season when, after going 4-0 down, we would dread it turning into double figures for the opposition, but the lads have imported and learned so much that this was never really a fear on the day.”

“We’ve started scoring goals now, with just silly individual errors costing us. So many fringe players got a good chance against Lads Club, and they showed just how much they have improved since the start of the season.”

“Forgetting the first twenty minutes of the game, the next seventy were a great effort. It’s not often you lose 4-3 and can still feel really positive. Lots of improvements are still needed, but the lads are really giving it a go and starting to show that all of the effort is paying off.”

Like Ledbury’s first team, the Thick and Ledbury’s squad now have a two-week from footballing action, having one final chance to move themselves further up the league before 2022 by taking on mid-table Belmont Rangers at New Street on Saturday 18thDecember, KO 2:00pm.

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Credenhill vs Ledbury Town Swifts

Following two long-awaited opening victories of the season in Division Two of the Herefordshire League, courtesy of a 3-0 win away at Palmers Meadow against Tenbury United Colts and a 3-2 victory at New Street against Leominster Town last week, Ledbury Town Swifts continued their recent promising run of form by holding Credenhill to a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Roman Park in the challenging conditions brought about by Storm Arwen.

Dan Powell scored his first goal for a Ledbury Town side in several years through a knee-in from five yards out, with Mike Arlott being named man of the match for the visitors for a solid defensive display as Taylor McNeil found Credenhill’s sole goal.

The hosts did well however to hold on during the second period with only ten men, after one of their players suffered an injury which put paid to their game that afternoon on the 40thminute.

Richard Thick and Luke Ledbury’s new side, remaining tenth in the league after spending the opening months of the season languishing at the bottom of the table, have two further chances to improve their standing before 2022 against mid-table opposition, visiting Lads Club Colts at the County Ground this coming weekend (KO 1:30pm), before hosting Belmont Rangers at the Ledbury Rugby Football Club Ross Road ground a fortnight later (KO 2:00pm).

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Shobdon vs Ledbury Town

George Walker puts away a second successful 75th penalty against Shobdon to complete his first hat-trick scored in senior level football (📸: Chris Ponter)

Ledbury Town stormed through to the semi-finals of this season’s Herefordshire FA Charity Bowl cup competition this week through achieving their biggest win in years, dismantling Shobdon with an emphatic 11-2 victory while battling against bitterly cold windy conditions at the aerodrome venue of the current Herefordshire FA County League Premier Division basement boys.

With a double-figure scoreline not seen since the league demolition of Pegasus Reserves at New Street four years ago, and the biggest Ledbury win since their 8-0 thrashing of Welland during the second league game of the season played at home in mid-September if the Pegasus fixture is discounted due to them pulling out of the local league in late 2017, Tom Trigg opened the scoring quarter of an hour in, before the visitors’ man of the match Ben Miller as well as James Febery and Scott Roberts all found the target before the first period was up.

Despite Shobdon managing to rob Town of a clean sheet again after the visitors recorded a 5-1 league victory away at Ewyas Harold seven days previously, as Alfie Hurley and Timothy Stanley found the consolation goals on this occasion, the latter half of play saw ball after ball from the black and white shirts hit the back of the net.

Miller reached four, with twenty-year-old George Walker scoring his first hat-trick in senior level football assisted by two successful penalties, as Sam Branch also added to the New Street first string’s extraordinary goal tally on the day, making full amends for their cancelled opening league fixture of the season at this airfield-based ground nearly three months previously on account of no referee being available.

The few brave spectators who had made the trip to experience the most freezing fixture played by Ledbury in recent memory were treated to a good chance for Merrick’s men to open what was to be their gargantuan scoring account that afternoon after just ten minutes of play, when the opposing keeper blocked Nathan Ince with his feet before he and one of his defenders prevented Febery from finishing the rebound.

After the Shobdon goaltender required a brief bout of treatment on the pitch in the process of challenging Town’s brace-scorer against Ewyas Harold seven days previously for the ball, Trigg took the opportunity to run behind the group of players from both sides in the box, cheekily slotting home the corner ball from Roberts which had sailed over the bodies in the box to open the floodgates for his side that day.

Visiting keeper James Loader, making his second appearance for Ledbury’s senior side following his debut at Ewyas Harold last weekend, was then required to clear the ball away from danger on the line, before a 20th minute deflection from a home right-back over the touchline saw Roberts’ second corner ball being dealt with by the aerodrome defence, as Chris Wickham ran in to strike the ball against the opposing back-line.

A third consecutive corner set-piece from Roberts was safely caught by the Shobdon keeper above the swarm of players in the box, before yet another Town corner ball, this time struck by Miller from the near corner, was carried by the strong cross-winds to curl just wide of the top corner of the frame.

Ince used his trademark pace to race away from a defender in pursuit down the near wing, only to fire the ball into the back netting from the touchline, before a 28th minute free kick from a home forward was struck to the right of the three-man wall of Dwayne Tyndale, Wickham and Roberts to travel well over the target.

Miller swiftly replied with a direct effort from twenty yards out to double his side’s lead, before Loader leapt to catch a curling cross-shot from the opposition, assisted on its trajectory by the fierce gales battering their ground at the tail-end of Storm Arwen.

Some great defensive work from Wickham denied a Shobdon striker of a goalscoring opportunity before the hosts slipped the ball narrowly wide of the far post, before The Dons’ goaltender performed admirably in order to deflect two quick-fire attempted tap-ins from both Miller and Trigg again with his feet, even if there was little he could do to stop a determined Febery racing forward to fire home the second rebound.

Roberts then ran in to strike the ball cleanly into the net from just inside the box to place his opponents’ chances of progressing past the quarter-finals of the contest in jeopardy, with the Shobdon linesman then flagging for offside to the agreement of referee Mark Ammonds, putting paid to either Ince or Miller performing the finish barely a minute after Roberts had made it four.

A free kick from the hosts taken towards the far wing was then deflected to see the visitors race away on the break, with Ince’s effort after making another speedy advance across field only just being deflected off the outstretched foot of an opposing defender pursuing him into the box.

Ledbury missed two further chances to record a fifth mark on the scoresheet before the interval when Miller put the ball narrowly wide of the near post off yet another rebound, before a final corner ball was nodded towards the far side of the field by Tyndale.

Town continued to unleash a storm of goals matching the power of Arwen going into the second period as Branch struck the fifth on the 50th minute, before Shobdon, much to their credit in continuing to respond despite having an increasingly improbable task cast before them, nodded a corner ball to bounce just shy of the near post.

Visiting manager Ian Merrick took full advantage of his side’s seemingly insurmountable lead by letting loose his entire subs bench on to the affair on the 55th minute as Wickham, Branch, Charlie Docherty and Ince all came off for Curt Williams, Asten Griffiths, Walker and Pete Jeynes respectively to warm themselves up on the field in the frigid conditions, moments before their side hit six courtesy of Miller’s impressive 25-yard direct free kick.

Hurley managed to bag the first of his beleaguered squad’s consolatory goals, before disaster struck once again for the green shirts when Walker fired home his first penalty after Jeynes was brought down in the box.

The goals continued to rain in as Miller completed his treble, and, after a moment of controversy on the 64th minute when Wickham apparently flagged erroneously for offside with Ammonds nevertheless choosing to give the ball back to Tyndale, Walker happened to find himself positioned in just the right spot in the area, seeing the ball land neatly for him in order to slot it home and complete a second Ledbury brace.

Walker then allowed Miller to send their team’s goal tally into double figures by providing a great cross to allow the more seasoned of the two Town players to flick the ball in, with the promising younger player being dually rewarded for his generosity through being gifted a second penalty opportunity after he himself was felled in the box.

The spot kick was coolly converted into the bottom corner of the net for an inaugural trio of senior level goals notched up by a player just out of his teens, impressively put away in the space of fifteen minutes as a ravenous home squad were in no mood to settle for eleven, with a showy Febery bicycle-kick sending the ball narrowly wide of the far post as a further twenty-yard effort from Roberts sailed well over the woodwork.

A final corner ball from Williams saw Trigg knock the ball just wide from close range, before Loader was then called upon to make one of very few saves needed throughout a highly one-sided latter half of play.

A defensive error from Trigg allowed a spirited home outfit to take the ball round Loader and put away a second consolation mark on their final score, shortly before the game had to be paused briefly due to a pitch invasion from some four-legged visitors from the local hunt.

In the end however, whether it be through the persistent freezing winds, to put Shobdon out of their misery with no way back from a nine-goal deficit, or indeed a combination of both these factors, Ammonds chose to blow the final whistle five minutes early to send Merrick’s high-flying side through in very comfortable fashion to the penultimate stage of the competition.

Town’s latest semi-final fixture will be a far stiffer challenge than their quarter-final affair however, with the New Street first string being due to face either of current league leaders Hartpury University or former league champions Clee Hill United in the next round, as Ledbury’s penultimate opponents remain undecided due to their own quarter-final fixture at Hartpury’s ground being postponed this weekend.

Merrick’s men, slipping to second in the league table by a single point after Hartpury’s 2-0 victory at home over Ewyas Harold in the fixture which replaced the above cup fixture, now face two further league games to try and regain the top spot before 2021 is out despite Hartpury’s sizeable three-game advantage, travelling to Wellington this coming weekend (KO 3:30pm), and ending the year with a visit to current fifth place holders Ludlow Town Colts at the Ludlow Stadium on Saturday 18th December (KO 2:00pm).

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Ledbury Town Reserves vs Holme Lacy Reserves

Following a solid 3-1 victory over Hinton Reserves again at New Street a fortnight ago, courtesy of a brace from home man of the match Tom Skittery and a further goal from Callum Blackmore-Davey as Marlon Ransome picked up the sole consolation goal for the Hinton second string, Ledbury Town Reserves had their scheduled Herefordshire League Division One fixture against mid-table Holme Lacy Reserves postponed this weekend.

David Butcher and Nick Blakeway’s second string will instead restart league action in an attempt to improve upon their current ninth place position in the table with a visit to third-placed Tenbury United at Palmers Meadow on Saturday 11thDecember, following a final game of 2021 away against fifth place holders Hereford Pegasus Colts at Old School Lane the weekend afterwards (both games KO 2:00pm).

Before these league fixtures take place however, there is the small matter of a Ross Cup quarter-final fixture to be played against lowly Burghill Rangers at The Copse on Saturday 4thDecember (KO 1:30pm), following an impressive 4-2 comeback from the reserves against Weston under Penyard in the first round of the competition played out in a rescheduled fixture at New Street a fortnight ago.

The New Street second string went 2-0 down after just twenty minutes of play courtesy of a successful Weston penalty, before a crucial goal scored just before the interval by Skittery, again picking up the man of the match accolade for the reserves that night, was followed by a brace from the goal-hungry young striker and a further goal from team-mate Kieran Loveridge during an excellent second half from Butcher and Blakeway’s side.

 

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Ewyas Harold vs Ledbury Town

Returning midfielder James Febery leaps for a sixteenth minute corner ball delivered by Curt Williams as Tom Trigg is shown beneath him with Dwayne Tyndale to the left (📸: Chris Ponter)

Following a 2-1 exit out of the quarter-finals of this season’s Herefordshire FA County Challenge Cup competition at the hands of Hellenic League outfit Hereford Pegasus earlier in the week, Ledbury Town showed great resolve and resilience in putting this disappointment behind them just three days later, scoring a comfortable 5-1 victory away at Ewyas Harold to stay top of the Herefordshire FA County League Premier Division.

All the goals came during a superb second half from Ian Merrick’s men, scoring four goals in the space of seven minutes as Ledbury man of the match James Febery announced his return to the New Street first string in emphatic style by scoring a brace, with Chris Wickham and Tom Boyle also on target before the latter player went on to complete a second Town double seven minutes from time.

The only negative for the visitors on the day was not quite managing to come away with a clean sheet despite a great effort from former reserves keeper James Loader in goal, making his debut for Ledbury’s senior squad this season as Ewyas Harold were able to fire the ball home on the rebound following a Dale Taylor clearance after Boyle’s first goal was scored.

A goalless first half, characterized by some sturdy defending from both sides although with Town gaining the greater opportunities, began with Curt Williams being denied a first chance for the black and white shirts through the efforts of a resolute home defender as the ball went back out to Boyle, who curled the ball well wide of the target.

Williams tried again on the tenth minute in knocking the ball just across the bar from towards the touchline, with James Febery and Wickham then being foiled by the opposing defence on the touchline as a 20thminute corner ball from Ben Febery was nodded just wide of the far post by Dwayne Tyndale, who needed a brief moment to recover after being knocked in the back by a member of the Ewyas Harold back-line.

Curt Williams managed to recover the ball on the near wing as his pass to Tyndale resulted in a long ball from the regular New Street defender being nodded clear of Ben Febery by the home right-back in front of him in the box, before an excellent sliding challenge from the same Febery sibling on the near wing gave a throw-in to the opposition which was nodded back via a succession of headers from his older brother and Curt Williams.

A Ewyas Harold free kick on the half-hour mark from the far wing landed straight into the gloves of Loader, before a home defender deflected the ball just shy of the near post back across field as the resulting 40thminute corner ball from Ben Febery was squandered by being struck over the woodwork.

George Walker was flagged offside by the opposing linesman as the visitors raced away on the break following a corner ball which similarly failed to provide Ewyas Harold with a first mark on the scoresheet, as did another Curt Williams corner set-piece which saw Tom Trigg nod the ball the wrong way in the box before Ben Febery raced in to blast the ball over.

A final challenge from James Febery before the first period was out saw his home target player requiring treatment on the pitch, with referee Joshua Marchant requesting that he leave the field with a suspected head injury even if the stricken orange-shirted player chose to continue playing up to the half-time whistle.

An early Ledbury second half chance saw Boyle break through the opposing defence, only for the Ewyas Harold keeper to block the ball with his feet, before a further Town corner saw Tyndale powerfully strike the ball across the goalmouth as the hosts were then flagged offside by Pete Jeynes on linesman duties for Merrick’s side.

The visitors finally broke the deadlock on the 50thminute, when a great cross from Curt Williams allowed James Febery to nod the ball home, with this opener appearing to open the floodgates for a tidal wave of Ledbury goals as Curt Williams provided a further fine assist to enable Chris Wickham to fire home a real thunderbolt, nearly breaking the back of the net in the process for his first goal of the season.

James Febery completed his brace in the space of five minutes, before his younger sibling went one-on-one with the opposing goaltender, passing the ball to Boyle on his right to provide an easy finish for the prolific Town striker and suddenly put the visitors 4-0 up just twelve minutes from the restart.

Ledbury captain Matt Rooke, Wickham, Walker and Curt Williams were all exchanged for Lewis Williams, Alistair Holder, Sam Branch and Nathan Ince respectively over the course of the next eight minutes as Merrick took full advantage of his side’s huge newfound lead to let his well-staffed subs bench loose on the game, as a further Town corner ball saw Ben Febery and Tyndale being denied by a besieged Ewyas Harold keeper in amongst a scramble for the ball in the box.

The visitors made a first substitution as twenty minutes remained for them to scale the near-impossible mountain of a four-goal comeback, with Loader cleanly catching a header from the hosts at the far post only for the Welsh border outfit to find what was to be their sole consolation goal of the afternoon.

The Ewyas Harold keeper managed to clear the ball away from Ince rapidly closing in behind him as the hosts put the ball over the frame back across field, and after the orange shirts made their second and final change of personnel, Boyle ran down the far wing to chip the ball in for the visitors’ fifth goal scored seven minutes from time.

A final Ince effort flew across the front of goal as Ben Febery missed a chance on the line to make it six, before a final free kick from the younger of the Febery siblings bounced just shy of the far post as his side went on to celebrate a morale-boosting second consecutive away victory, hot on the heels of the important 2-1 win against Clee Hill United at the Knowle Sports Ground achieved a fortnight ago, when a Ben Febery brace secured the win against a consolatory goal for the hosts scored by Steven Preece.

Top-of-the-league Ledbury, now two points clear of Hartpury University, Hereford Pegasus Reserves and Hereford Lads Club Reserves all on eighteen points apiece although with Pegasus retaining a game in hand and Hartpury holding a crucial three-game advantage, face two further away league games to end 2021 with a visit to Wellington Rangers on Saturday 4thDecember, followed by a trip to the Ludlow Stadium to face current fifth place holders Ludlow Town Colts a fortnight afterwards (both games KO 2:00pm).

Before this takes place however, Merrick’s men will aim to take the next step on the road to a second consecutive Herefordshire FA Charity Bowl final, two years after they acquired this particular piece of silverware with a memorable 3-2 victory over Holme Lacy at Westfields’ allpay.park venue in April 2019 when an 81stminute winner from substitute player Charlie Docherty secured the win, by making the lengthy trip to face league basement boys Shobdon in the quarter-finals this coming weekend (KO 1:30pm).

This will be the first visit to the league’s airfield-based venue this season for Town after their scheduled opening game of the season was postponed at the start of September on account of no referee being available, reaching this second stage of the competition through a confident 4-0 victory over none other than the Charity Bowl runners-up the last time the contest was played out in its entirety pre-Covid.

Boyle struck first against Holme Lacy, with Ben Miller and joint Ledbury man of the match Ince, sharing the accolade with Tyndale that evening, going on to score within seven minutes of each other before the first period was out as Josh Burns found a fourth twelve minutes into the latter half of play.

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Ledbury Town Swifts vs Leominster Town

Ledbury Town Swifts take on Leominster Town at New Street in Division Two of the Herefordshire FA County League (📸: James Crews)

Ledbury Town Swifts secured a second victory on the bounce in Division Two of the Herefordshire League at New Street this week, after a 3-0 victory away against Tenbury United Colts at Palmers Meadow the previous weekend bought Richard Thick and Luke Ledbury’s new young side their long-awaited inaugural league win of the season.

This latest victory was a 3-2 win against Leominster Town to send them to tenth place in the league after languishing in the bottom spot since the start of the season, as Mike Arlott scored the first goal for the Swifts through a bullet header in the box from a well-taken free kick from Nat Dunk.

Jake Clueit then scored his first goal in senior level football, resulting from some great hold-up play from fellow sixteen-year-old team-mate Jude Locker as he released Samuel Palmer-Young out wide, who embarked on a terrific run before pulling the ball back to the edge of the area where Clueit’s supporting run saw him fire the ball home from the edge of the box.

With the hosts leading 2-1 at half-time, returning veteran player Jamie Roberts scored his first goal for Ledbury Town Football Club in over twenty years to seal the win through some great work in winning the ball on the half-way line, before being released via a perfect through-ball from home man of the match Callum Blackmore-Davey.

It was then merely a matter of Roberts running through on goal to coolly slot the ball away as a late second goal from the visitors scored five minutes from time saw Thick and Ledbury’s team nevertheless hold on and see the game out for a well-deserved win.

Thick was again over the moon with his side’s performance, commenting: “A handful of young players stood out, in particular Sam Booth, Jasper Wilce, Locker and of course Clueit.”

“These guys are growing week by week, and we were fantastic once again. Both goals conceded by us were silly mistakes which again need to be cut out, being purely lapses in concentration.”

“Luke and myself are absolutely delighted however with the dedication and hard work these boys are showing. We go into next week’s game having started to score goals as a team with different goalscorers, and it’s brilliant that everyone is starting to show confidence in front of goal and starting to back themselves when they get the opportunity.”

“Seeing the great team spirit starting to form and the feeling of togetherness is crucial, and right now this is running through the whole club thanks to all the hard work which Chairman Pete Boyle and Vice Chairman Rob Powell are putting in behind the scenes.”

“The great thing to see is, even after only a couple of wins, I’ve received messages from younger players and parents expressing an interest in joining our team when they are old enough, so it’s great to see that there is the beginning of a conveyor belt for younger footballers wanting to make the move to senior level.”

“The current crop are starting to inspire the next potential groups, and this is exactly what we want to be aiming for.”

 

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Ledbury Town vs Hereford Pegasus

Ledbury Town line up with Ledbury Swifts Junior Football Club mascots before their big Herefordshire FA County Challenge Cup quarter-final match against Hereford Pegasus (📸: Chris Ponter)

Ledbury Town’s fairy tale in this season’s Herefordshire FA County Challenge Cup competition, which began in a dream manner with a 6-0 thrashing of current title holders Hereford Lads Club at New Street four weeks ago, ended in unceremonious fashion under the floodlights of the same venue this week, as a brave effort from Ian Merrick’s men against higher-ranked Hereford Pegasus nevertheless saw the visitors run out 2-1 victors.

In front of the biggest crowd of spectators seen at Ledbury’s historic ground in many years, with young mascots from the Ledbury Swifts Junior Football Club walking out and joining Town players for the occasion, it took until the half-hour mark of play for Paul Jones to break the deadlock for Pegasus, only for the hosts to quickly put a smile back on the faces of their sizeable crowd of supporters by equalizing three minutes later through Nathan Ince.

The joy was short-lived however, as even though debuting Ledbury keeper Dan Brabham was able to save a penalty struck six minutes into the latter half of play, Jordan Williamson seized the opportunity to put away the rebound as Merrick’s valiant side couldn’t find a second reply against their Hellenic League opponents.

Town gained a very early chance barely a minute into the biggest game of their season so far in front of 320 people when the visiting keeper beat Ince to the ball, before a long-range effort from a Pegasus forward flew narrowly wide of the target back downfield.

A defensive error from the Hereford-based outfit allowed Ben Miller to play the ball up and on to Ben Febery who couldn’t quite manage to find the finish, with the hosts then being lucky not to give away a penalty there and then on the ninth minute when a handball offence committed just outside the box prompted referee Christopher Bounds to award a free kick to the red and white shirts.

The official brushed Ledbury protests aside when Scott Roberts was felled with a visiting attacker in the box shortly after the taking of the spot kick, with danger occurring for Town again fifteen minutes in when a long throw from the far sideline saw the ball being put narrowly over the woodwork.

Another opportunity for Ince, sharing the home man of the match accolade that evening with hardworking defender Tom Trigg, then went astray as the ball deflected off him over the touchline up at the far end, with Bounds then seeing fit to have words with a disgruntled Febery who had kicked the ball away in protest over a decision being made against him involving a foul.

The resulting free kick from Ledbury’s opponents made it over the two-man wall of Town players to be safely deflected by the home defence, before a third chance for Ince went begging as the determined marksman struck a cross-shot at the side netting back upfield.

A superb 26thminute sliding challenge from Febery relieved a Pegasus attacker of the ball on the near sideline as a twenty-yard effort from a visiting striker sailed over the woodwork, before Jones caught the Ledbury midfield sleeping, taking the ball through with little resistance and putting a long-range effort past Brabham to open the scoring.

The new Town goaltender did well soon afterwards to cleanly catch a powerful cross-shot struck by the opposition from the touchline, before Ince made great use of his trademark pace to produce a fine finish to swiftly level the score after receiving a great ball from Tom Boyle.

A further ball from Boyle couldn’t quite be finished by home captain Matt Rooke under pressure from the keeper at the far post, before a Ledbury injury worry occurred when their skipper ended up on the floor in midfield.

The Town captain was soon able to continue playing after receiving on-the-pitch treatment from home physio Steve Kirby, before a good volley from Dwayne Tyndale successfully cleared a Pegasus ball out of the box.

One final first period opportunity for the visitors witnessed a great run from one of their strikers across the box, evading a number of home defenders who up until this point had done well to keep the opposition out, as the Pegasus target man’s cross back towards the centre of the box was volleyed over the bar by one of his team-mates to see the score remain level at a goal apiece come the interval.

The game was changed in an instant shortly into the second half of play however when a foul from Tyndale gave the visitors their penalty opportunity, which was converted in a fairly mediocre manner to be saved by Brabham even if Williamson, coming on for Marshall Hopkins just after the break, was able to finish the job.

A Boyle cross-shot from the touchline saw the ball travel well over the frame back downfield, before Merrick decided to being Asten Griffiths off for Charlie Docherty to make an appearance with half an hour to go, hoping that his first substitute player could repeat the cup glory of the 81stminute winner scored against Holme Lacy at Westfields’ allpay.park ground, which netted Ledbury the Herefordshire FA Charity Bowl title back in April 2019.

A cross from Ince running in along the near wing missed Boyle in front of him as Town couldn’t seem to capitalize on the advantage of playing downfield, with a moment of controversy occurring on the 70thminute when assistant referee Liam Brace flagged for a Pegasus handball at the edge of the box, only for Bounds to continue with play as the ball went over the near sideline for a throw-in to the visitors.

The city-based squad squandered a chance to make it 3-1 in firing the ball over the bar up at the far end, before a corner ball from Miller, taken after the match had to be stopped for a number of minutes to allow Old School Lane defender Kyle Panniers to recover from cramp, was comfortably nodded clear.

The hosts’ closest chance to taking the affair to extra time occurred on the 79thminute when a free kick saw Febery head the ball on behind him to be caught by the opposing goaltender just shy of the near post, and after Panniers finally succumbed to be brought off for Harry Pitman in a second and final Pegasus substitution, Merrick made his last change of the game with less than ten minutes to go by bringing Ince off for Sam Branch.

Febery flicked the ball on to Boyle, only for the visiting keeper to rush out and successfully block the former Newent Town striker, before one final breakthrough from Branch performed well into stoppage time saw his ball to Boyle being deflected out by a defender for a last-chance corner which was nodded wide of the target.

Pegasus move on to face new Herefordshire FA County League Premier Division title contenders Hartpury University in the semi-finals, who had cruised through to the penultimate stage of the proceedings with a 6-1 demolition of Wellington Rangers away the evening beforehand, as King Baidoo picked up a second half brace with Alex Grocott, Luca Robinson making it 2-0 before the interval, as Kian Kang and Joshua Bissett also found second half goals.

Ledbury on the other hand must now dust themselves off ready to resume their own promising Herefordshire League Premier Division campaign away at Ewyas Harold on Saturday, KO 2:00pm.

Town currently sit top of the table thanks to a great 3-2 comeback against the Old School Lane reserves side after going 2-0 down after an hour of play at New Street last weekend, when visiting striker Owen Bolton lobbed Ledbury keeper Joshua Worrell to break the deadlock on the 55thminute, before Tom Dixon finished a cross at the far post seven minutes later.

A cross from home man of the match Boyle was then knocked into the Pegasus net by one of their defenders running in front of Branch in the box, before third Ledbury substitute player that afternoon Alistair Holder flicked in a well-placed free kick from Scott Roberts to level the score within four minutes of the visitors opening their scoring account.

Roberts then successfully converted a penalty awarded by referee Jonathan Williams after Boyle was judged to have been fouled in the box to add another important victory to the 2-1 win achieved away against former league champions Clee Hill United at the Knowle Sports Ground seven days previously, when a Ben Febery brace secured the win against the sole consolation goal for the hosts scored by Steven Preece.

 

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Ledbury Town vs Pegasus Reserves

Home captain Matt Rooke goes in for a tenth minute sliding challenge against a Pegasus striker as Chris Wickham observes from the sideline (📸: Chris Ponter)

 

Ledbury Town returned to the top of the Herefordshire FA County League Premier Division this week with a stellar comeback against top league goalscorers so far this season Hereford Pegasus Reserves, going on to win 3-2 despite being two goals down after an hour of play at New Street.

Ian Merrick’s resolute squad held firm throughout the first period of play, as a combination of strong defending from captain Matt Rooke, Tom Trigg, Dale Taylor and Asten Griffiths together with Pegasus failing to capitalize from a number of corner ball opportunities kept the scoreline goalless come the interval, before Owen Bolton lobbed Ledbury keeper Joshua Worrell to break the deadlock on the 55thminute.

Tom Dixon finished a cross at the far post just seven minutes later to put the reserves firmly in the driving seat, only for their lead to be short-lived when one of their defenders inadvertently knocked a cross from Town man of the match that day Tom Boyle into his own net.

Third Town substitute player that afternoon Alistair Holder flicked in a well-placed free kick from Scott Roberts to level the score within four minutes of the visitors opening their scoring account, before fortune favoured the hosts once more as referee for the day Jonathan Williams awarded them a penalty when Boyle was brought down during one of several runs he made that day down the near wing into the box.

The spot kick was confidently converted by Roberts to huge cheers around Ledbury’s well-attended historic ground, as Merrick’s men added another important victory to the 2-1 win achieved away at former league champions Clee Hill United seven days previously.

Following a well-observed minute’s silence in honour of all those who have given their lives in conflict as part of Remembrance weekend, a nervy Town start saw an opening corner ball being dropped by home goalkeeper Joshua Worrell as a Hereford-based striker put the ball narrowly over the bar, before a superb tenth minute sliding challenge from Rooke relieved an opposing forward of possession on the near sideline.

A series of controlled defensive headers from Taylor and his skipper were successful in getting the ball safely back to Worrell, before a corner ball from Roberts back upfield was deflected out to Boyle, whose cross-shot back into the box saw Dwayne Tyndale nod the ball wide of the far post.

A good deflection from Rooke over the touchline saw Worrell make a solid catch after the resulting corner ball was played wide to a Pegasus marksman who fired a cross-shot past Roberts, before a further cross-shot from Boyle bounced off the corner of the net back up the far end.

Taylor doggedly pursued a reserves attacker on the ball before making an exceptionally-timed challenge just outside the box, and after Roberts curled an effort wide of the woodwork, Worrell made another clean save to keep the top goalscorers at bay.

Griffiths performed a crucial defensive block in the box as the visitors continued to squander a number of corner ball set-pieces, before a potential goal for Boyle on the 28thminute was disallowed on the grounds of the opposing linesman running the far sideline displaying an offside flag.

Further tenacious work from Taylor saw the new home signing this season chase down a Pegasus striker on the run with the ball down the near wing before cutting in and knocking the ball away over the sideline, with the Ledbury back-line continuing to hold up well as Trigg, Rooke and Griffiths made further blocks in order to keep the visitors out.

Josh Burns had to be substituted earlier than expected for George Walker on the 35thminute through a knee injury which put paid to his game, and after two efforts from the reserves went wide, sending a signal to Town that the danger was very much still there, Walker put in some good covering work towards the corner flag as the score nevertheless remained level at the break.

Things heated up a little going into the latter half of play as the official saw fit to have words with an aggrieved midfielder in red and white just before Roberts took a free kick from the near wing, with the city-based keeper then managing to punch away a corner ball while under pressure in the goalmouth as Nathan Ince mis-timed a volley on the rebound when the ball bounced awkwardly in front of him at the edge of the box.

Ince’s missed chance to finally break the stalemate saw his side swiftly punished as the opposition’s overhead ball upfield allowed Bolton to lob Worrell, before a further free kick from Roberts, given by the referee after he judged a Pegasus midfielder to have performed a foul in front of Sam Branch, despite the offending player ending up on the floor in the centre-circle, led to Taylor firing the ball wide of the target from the far wing.

Merrick saw fit to make a double change of personnel with twenty minutes of the second period having passed as Pete Jeynes and Holder came on to replace Griffiths and Ince, before a well-placed cross from the reserves was finished by Dixon at the far end to leave the hosts with all to do if they were to claim at least a point from this latest upper table league clash.

The good seventy-strong crowd of Ledbury supporters didn’t have to wait long for the comeback to begin however, as Boyle’s cross after making a further strong run down the near wing was deflected into the net by the visiting defender aiming to keep the ball away from Branch running in behind him, before Roberts’ free kick allowed Holder to swiftly level the score.

The 73rdminute saw a further stroke of luck occur for a revitalized Town outfit, when another determined run from Boyle ended with him being felled in the box, with Roberts wasting no time in firing the spot kick upwards to strike the underside of the netting, turning the game on its head.

The Hereford outfit reminded the hosts that they could not afford to rest on their laurels having achieving their new lead as an effort sailed narrowly over both a leaping Worrell and the bar, with Holder having to make a pivotal block in the box as Curt Williams came on for Branch with ten minutes to go.

Ledbury’s final substitute player that day wasted no time in making his presence on the pitch felt as it took an opposing defender to deny him of a finish just in front of goal following yet another pacy Boyle run from with a cross again being delivered while under pressure on the touchline, and, after Pegasus made a final substitution of their own, some decidedly static defending from the reserves saw a free kick from Williams towards the far sideline landing straight in the hands of the visiting keeper.

Boyle, Roberts and Jeynes all became involved in some sustained tussling play with the ball along the near sideline as the match entered its closing minutes, culminating in Williams firing one final effort over the bar as a clearly-delighted Town squad and manager celebrated a superb comeback against formidable opposition to give them two big league wins on the bounce.

Ledbury must now carry this momentum forward to face an even bigger test on Wednesday evening, hosting Pegasus’ first team under the floodlights at New Street in the quarter-finals of the prestigious Herefordshire FA County Challenge Cup competition (KO 7:45pm), exactly a month after Merrick’s side caused a major upset in knocking current title holders Hereford Lads Club out of the first round with an emphatic 6-0 home victory courtesy of braces from Boyle and Burns, with Ince and Roberts also on target.

Town then have a final league game to conclude an exciting month of November, travelling to Ewyas Harold this coming weekend (KO 2:00pm).

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Tenbury United Colts vs Ledbury Town Swifts

Ledbury Town Swifts had much to celebrate this weekend in finally securing a first win of the season in Division Two of the Herefordshire League.

Two consecutive close 3-2 defeats in recent weeks away against Worcester United Reserves at Martley Village Hall and against Ross Juniors Reserves at the Ledbury Rugby Football Club Ross Road ground meant that the win had been coming for Richard Thick and Luke Ledbury’s new young side, and sure enough this week finally saw the breakthrough as they secured a decisive 3-0 victory against Tenbury United at Palmers Meadow.

Samuel Palmer-Young found a brace for the visitors, also performing the assist which enabled David Feakins to put away a third as youngster Jake Clueit just pipped fellow teenage team-mate Jude Locker to the Swifts’ man of the match accolade.

Thick was absolutely delighted with his squad’s performance, commenting: “The lads were absolutely fantastic from first whistle to last, and now nice is it to have two 16/17 year olds as the standout players in our first win?”

“The transformation in this group of players in the last two months has been absolutely unreal. They are learning every game, and starting to show that they can put the skills and experience gained from previous matches into their own game.”

“Despite having seven players from last week’s squad missing due to injuries and other commitments, the other lads coming in did brilliantly. We have players missing out every week at present due to the high number of players in the squad, yet they are all turning up to training every week and waiting for their opportunities.”

Both Luke and myself are absolutely delighted with how these young lads are all stepping it up, and they are really starting to believe in themselves. There’s a real togetherness forming, and it’s brilliant.”

“When we arrived back at New Street from Tenbury, the first team and their supporters were still there following the win against Pegasus Reserves. They applauded our lads and celebrated the win with them, and it was really nice to see the recognition and delight from everyone at the club for these young lads.”

“But now it’s time to build on it; there is no point celebrating one win and thinking we are suddenly world champions. We will keep going and developing these young players.”

This latest result finally lifts the Swifts off the foot of the league table, two points clear of Dore Valley as a busy November sees them continue the campaign by hosting Leominster Town at the Ross Road ground this coming Saturday, before travelling to face Credenhill at Roman Park to end the month (both games KO 2:00pm).

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Ledbury Town Reserves vs Hinton Reserves

Ledbury Town Reserves moved up to ninth place in Division One of the Herefordshire League this week, courtesy of a 3-1 win over lowly Hinton Reserves at New Street.

Man of the match Tom Skittery, picking up his side’s star player accolade for a second consecutive game following an impressive hat-trick scored during the remarkable 4-2 comeback achieved by the reserves at New Street against Weston under Penyard in a rearranged Ross Cup first round fixture just three days previously, added a brace to his stellar recent tally, with returning defender from injury Callum Blackmore-Davey also on target for the hosts.

Marlone Ransome found the sole consolation goal for Hinton as Ledbury second string manager David Butcher was extremely pleased with his side’s performance, commenting: “The lads dominated the game from start to finish, and it was probably the best performance we’ve put in all season. We deserved the win, and hopefully this will carry on to other games.”

The reserves now have the luxury of a fortnight’s break before entertaining mid-table Holme Lacy Reserves at New Street (KO 2:00pm), with a tantalizing quarter-final encounter in the Ross Cup awaiting them on Saturday 4thDecember following their fantastic first round performance, taking on Burghill Rangers at The Copse (KO 1:30pm).

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